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Singapore, August 10, 2010 Despite our carefully crafted image as a vibrant city, 24-hour eateries are not that easily found. We may have the glitzy glossy establishments but scant amount of eateries willing to service the hungry party goers. Well, all-night revellers can be happy: There is a new option in Zion Road, which is near enough to the clubs but enough distance away to get you in the mood for the wind down. The Sun Coffee Planet is a cosy cafe that serves a variety of local favourites. So it means if you have a chicken curry craving to settle at 4.30am, this is the place. The cafe is unpretentious. The only ode to design would be the bright signboards. Everything else is simple and functional. The food served is just as unpretentious. I ate there twice and the quality was consistent. Everything I liked I still liked, everything I had a problem with remained problematic for me. On both visits, my favourite item was the chicken curry ($5.80). It’s a Chinese style curry – heavy on coconut and almost creamy – that has chunky pieces of chicken. It’s spicy and aromatic. The portions here are generous. My only gripe is the comparatively tiny pieces of potato. These pieces were soft to the point of gooey. A strong curry needs a firm potato to balance it out. I also liked the seafood crispy noodle ($5.80), although the two times I was there (with two different sets of people), I was more enthusiastic about it then the others. It’s adequately salty and the noodles held its own, although one of my lunch companions said it felt like fried instant noodles. That wasn’t a problem for me though. It’s not a dish but the iced coffee is also very good ($1.50). First, I like that it’s called ice kopi here instead of some fancy name. The coffee is thick, sweet and powerful. I wasn’t even able to finish it up. I tried two rice dishes: Nasi goreng ($5.30) and nasi lemak ($4.80). The goreng was very spicy. It came piping hot with the aroma of chillies. But the rice is better than the meat. The accompanying chicken pieces were covered in a doughy coat that did nothing for us. It was the reverse with the nasi lemak. It is served with chicken too, with a sweet but hot sambal poured over it. My companions were raving about the sambal, although I found it too sweet. The disappointment is the rice. The first time I had it, it was timid and flat. The second time, it was almost damp but equally tepid. As expected, in a 24-hour place, there will be hits and misses. It’ll take a huge kitchen to ensure everything works all day long. And while service can be trying, the prices are a draw (although someone pointed out to me there are places serving cheaper food in the area during the day). Nonetheless, the dishes that work were quite tasty and the relaxed atmosphere is a plus. If you need a place to hide out or chill out, where you can grab a hassle-free coffee or a meal, I cannot think of many more places like this. The Sun Coffee Planet
54 Zion Road
Singapore 247779
Tel: 6737 0562
