Toxic Purity's Makan Review

I've never been particularly adapt at being Singaporean, but there's one trait that still marks my origins in that tiny island state: their national obsession for good, cheap food.

Yesterday I tried out the new eatery on Barrack St, Prima Taste, which is apparently a Singaporean franchise specialising in, well, Singaporean favourites like Chilli Crab and Prawn Noodles. In fact, it's not so much an eatery as an outlet for Prima Taste cooking products that's been cleverly disguised as an eatery.

First up, the smell. The second you walk in, you know the food's good. The place smells exactly right. Second, the service. Early days, a couple of teething problems, running short on items like lids for takeaway containers. But the aroma. You can forgive them anything when it smells right.

Like their Nasi Lemak. All I did for the first 30 seconds was inhale. Short of serving it all tucked up inside a newspaper and banana leaf package, it was the genuine article. The delicately rich fragrance of the rice, the nutty-salty crunch of the ikan bilis (anchovies), the sambal, the crispy boiled egg... Nothng like the 50cent Nasi Lemaks we scrambled for on Mondays at recess time back when I was in primary school, or even the $2 version at the market near my parents' home back in Singers, but for a high end affair, the Prima Taste version was damned good. At $6.50, it was one of their cheaper meals. An Aussie-priced Singaporean-sized meal. Prima Taste can't lose either way, it seems.

Now, their food is excellent. But what you get for what you pay is going to be an issue. Why would any sane person - however homesick they are - pay $7 for a Mee Goreng, when they can stroll up Murray St to the nearby Karache Cafe (another Singaporean franchise) and pay just $4? Tastes just as good, bigger portion, and no waiting at Karache.

And there's the menu. It may not be as extensive as say, Han's Authentic (ha!) Cafe, but it's not designed to be. Quality vs Quantity. These guys are prepared to stake their success on a discerning (read: fussy) customer base with a select handful of classic Singaporean dishes done well rather than overwhelm you with sheer numbers of similar offerings. I'm guessing they're targetting the 20,000 strong Singaporean expat population rather than the average Australian diner.

Even so, I suspect they'll be successful enough to hang around for a while. There're cheaper places to eat on that block, but they don't have any real direct competition in terms of quality and authentic makan-ness. I for one plan to go back there. If only for the aromas!