Review: Kombi Rocks

This is an ultimate throwback post. I was looking at my phone for old photos and happen to come across photos taken at Kombi Rocks - as part of my birthday celebrations... last year.

I think I literally bring procrastination to another level. 

Kombi Rocks Diner has quite a long history behind it, with the present owner taking over from his parents, serving dishes thought by them. It was founded in 1971. Today, it not only serves Thai and Chinese food passed down from 3 generations, it sells vintage collectibles and rents vintage vehicles too. (From their name, it's pretty obvious what kind of vintage vehicles they rent right?) To be honest, that was the main reason my sister wanted to bring me there. 

I have an obsession over Volkswagen. I get happy when I see this brand on the road, especially if the make I saw was a beetle or a kombi van. *Fun fact: I never knew the van was called the kombi van till a friend told me a year ago - I always just called it the volkswagen van*

When we arrived at the diner, I have to be honest and say I was in awe of the amount of kombi vans they had; they were so nicely decorated too! They certainly named their diner well. When I got in though, I felt a little confused. On the right was a display of vintage collectibles, ranging from vintage cars to vintage biscuit tins and  mason jars (ok i dont really get the mason jars, but yeah haha). On the left was a pretty imposing character, the Hulk. I have to admit I took photos with the huge sized sculpture, BUT I was super confused at the same time. Why was there a Hulk in the middle of nowhere? It didn't really make sense to me. Hulk wasn't even vintage. And I wish they would do something about their ice cream booth. I digress - I was quite distracted by the overall decor. The place didn't have air-con and did not have sufficient fans to combat the hot weather. 

On to the food. We had 

Thai Basil Minced Pork Set (with egg and rice) - $13
Wok Hei Seafood Horfun - $6.50
Koon Kee Mee Goreng - $6.50
Wok hei Beef Horfun - $8.50
Shrimp and Charsiew Fried Rice - $6.50

The food was average. I had the Mee Goreng, which I find a little bit too oily. That aside, mee gorengs are usually quite oily. On average, their food is a little on the salty side.
Why the 5 dishes when there were 4 of us? My (rather suay) sister ate her dish halfway and found an insect in her dish (we later found out it was a flying ant). Apparently, it is quite common because of outdoor cooking. I cringed internally when I heard one of the staff say that.

Now, I believe in service recovery. We tried to get the attention of the staff. I was a little irritated that the staff took a while before deciding to attend to us. They then told us they would check and get back to us. And so, they came back and told us they would change a dish for us at no charge. At this point, my sister was a little unnerved and she was really worried the next dish would have some sort of insect again. Still, we ordered a fried rice.

I know I should not expect so much at coffee shops, but this wasn't exactly a coffee shop. It was a non-air-conditioned theme cafe. I don't think I am expecting too much when I expect my sister's dish to be waived. Heck, even a cup of coffee or tea as a form of apology is good for me. It's not that much about the cost. It's about service recovery. I was a little disappointed at their service recovery because it seemed like a common problem they have. It must be so common that they think they need not do much. Alright, if I were to view it as a coffee shop then I wouldn't expect so much.

If your main aim is to take photos with the kombi vans and catch a glimpse of couples taking wedding photos (which we did see!), go ahead and try this place. The food is average though, don't expect too much.

Recipe: Fried Bee Hoon

Whenever I cook this dish, I think of my grandma. 

For as long as I can remember, my grandma has been cooking almost every meal. The only time she doesn't cook is when we go out for dinner. 

Once, I arranged for my friends to come over for a BBQ and borrowed her kitchen to cook this dish because her kitchen was equipped with huge woks and pans. 

I regretted borrowing her kitchen. 

While grandma didn't know how to drive, she sure knew what backseat drivers, or in this case, backseat chefs, do. She stood by me in the kitchen, telling me my bee hoon would not taste nice because there was not enough oil and that she was sure it wouldn't taste nice without the oil. Countless times, she asked if she could take over. 

I was sooooo frustrated. 

I mean, I wasn't stepping into the kitchen as often as I do now, but I was pretty sure I knew how to cook beehoon, using water instead of oil. 

And so, I ignored her and kept telling her to go out of the kitchen. I knew what I was doing. 

At the end, she ate my beehoon and said she didn't actually think it would taste nice, but it was actually alright in taste. I had to resist the urge to tell her that fried beehoon can be cooked in a healthy yet tasty way too. *She never told me, but I know that she still felt that hers tasted better though, I just know it. She was politically correct that way.* I'll have you know that my friends enjoyed it, grandma! 

And so, in tribute to my grandmother, a woman who loved cooking, here's my own rendition of the fried beehoon - the healthy version.

INGREDIENTS

1 package 400 g rice vermicelli

2 tbsp. chicken stock

3 eggs, beaten and seasoned with pepper and ½ tbsp. soy sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, julienned

10 pieces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

½ cabbage, sliced 

200 g diced meat, marinated with 2 tbsp. sesame oil, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. rice wine, 1 tsp. sugar

2-3 tbsp. Oyster sauce

2 tbsp. Soy sauce

Pepper to taste

Spring onions, for garnishing 

METHOD

1. Soak rice vermicelli in water for 20-30 minutes. In the water, add 2 tbsp. chicken stock. Drain, but keep the stock.

2. Heat wok with some oil, then fry egg till both sides are cooked. When cooled, cut omelette into thin slices and set aside.

3. Heat wok with 1 tbsp. oil (I use sesame oil) and fry the garlic. When fragrant, add carrots (~1 min). Season with pepper and some stock.

4. Then, add the mushrooms, frying for a while (~2 min) before adding cabbage. Simmer ingredients for about 5 minutes. 

5. Add in the marinated meat and mix well in wok.

6. Add in the vermicelli, and mix well to combine. 

7. Pour in 2-3 cups of the stock, then season with 2-3 tbsp. oyster sauce, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, and pepper to taste. Adjust taste accordingly, by adding more soy sauce if not salty enough.

8. Allow the vermicelli to absorb stock and cook till stock has been absorbed, mixing now and then to ensure that stock is evenly absorbed.

9. Mix in the cut egg strips and serve, garnished with spring onions. 

Enjoy!

Something I learnt from this - there is no hard and fast rule with this dish.