Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Ole Bubble Cafe: Doubly Ramly in my Tumbly


ieat Special Ramly: $3.50 Double pattie, double cheese, egg

Unless you have eaten a real Ramly Burger in Malaysia, you might not think much of it. But I remember my first Ramly enlightenment experience which occured 30 years ago in Pekan, a town just before Kuantan in the East Coast of Malaysia. Pekan's a little fishing village where my grandfather settled to open a grocery store when he came from Swatow carrying only a little bag of clothes. It was the sleepy little town where my father grew up. The old grocery store is still there in its original condition doing essentially what it has been doing for almost a century.

Anyway, I remember visiting my cousin in Pekan as a kid, and on one occasion he brought these "burgers" wrapped in pink tissue paper. Being the city boy, I thought little of a Kampung burger. We had afterall the latest advancement in Burger cuisine in Singapore, namely MacDonald's. So what do these Kampung folks know about Burgers?

I remember he bought like 6 burgers in a plastic bag for afternoon tea. I got hungry after a while so I decided to have a bite of this Kampung Burger. WOW! Damn Shiok Man! I finished like 3 burgers at one shot.


Ramly burgers are always split into two and seasonings are added

Fast forward 30 years.

As you know the standard of Ramly Burgers in Singapore is pretty dismal, which explains why guys like carnineviand did not get excited when I told him I found this cafe that sells Ramly Burgers. I don't blame him. After tasting Ramly Burgers in Singapore a few times, I gave up thinking that I would never find a good Ramly Burger here.

Then one day, I chanced upon a Ramly Burger stall in a Pasar Malam. It looked quite promising so I tried one. WOW! THIS is the Ramly I remember! Shiok shiok! I took some pics and posted them in the forum. (I had not started blogging then). I was pretty excited that I had found my "original" Ramly at last. Not only I say, but the Baker also concurred that this was one shiok Ramly. But there was only one problem. Being a Pasar Malam, you had to track them as they move around the island.



But as fate would have it, I met this Chinese lady recently who told me she ran a little cafe and that she makes a pretty mean Ramly Burger. She seemed quite confident of her burger, so I decided to pay her a visit. After all, a Chinese Lady (who happened to be an ex-secretary) making a Ramly Burger is like a Chinaman making prata. Must go investigate, no?

We tried the standard Ramly burger which I found was quite good. The pattie was actually juicier than the usual Ramly and having the eggs done over easy was better then the usual way of wrapping the pattie with the egg. The great thing about her bread is that she actually steams it so that it is really soft like a "fillet o fish" bun. But there was something still missing.

So I asked her to do a special one for me with 2 patties, 2 cheese and with the addition of curry powder when the patties were split. Ohhhhh, yes! Almost there. The only other missing ingredient was worchestershire sauce and I think we got the perfect Ramly. No, the perfect Doubly Ramly! 4.25/5 Should be a 4.5/5 with the additional tweaking!

Conclusion

Ramly burger moves upmarket! For $3.50, I got 2 patties, 2 slices of cheese, 1 egg, mayo, chilli and BBQ sauce in soft steamed buns. This is what I specially ordered, so if you want the same deal, just ask for the ieat Special Ramly. Tastiest $3.50 burger in town! POWER!

Price of Normal Ramly is $2.50. With egg and cheese is $3.

Ole Bubble Cafe
Blk 731 Yishun St 72
#01-27
10.30am to 7pm

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

errmm.. halal not?

lyn

Anonymous said...

Whoa Ramly Burger!!!!
MAn they trash McD burgers man.

I had mine in JB
cheap and nice.
RM2 with egg

Oh well we cannot get that kind of price in SG here....

Well done doc.. i gonna drop by yishun to try it hehehe

liverpool1965 said...

yup yup...Yishun here I come!!!

Foodzilla said...

Gosh, I'd lost all hope on Ramly burgers in SG ... esp when I have had so many good ones across the causeway in some unsuspecting stalls [but there have been some disappointing experiences there too but to a lesser percentage]. Ole Bubble Cafe here I come!

smart said...

Noted down the address already

Camemberu said...

Why oh why YISHUN?!?!?!? So far away! Oh well, I suppose it beats Mersing, where I had the best Ramly burgers ever...(well, could be due to hunger caused by scuba-diving).

ieat said...

Yeah I know. Trying to persuade them to open one in Katong! But really worth the trip. I am thinking of going again next week. Anyone else wanna come?

Anonymous said...

why katong? so many resturants failed there

Camemberu said...

Katong simply because we live near there! Hehehe. Aiyoh, I want to go leh but next week is a very tight week.

ahbeR said...

Shit! That looks good!

Now thats a damn fine Ramly I gotta say!

Double pattie, Double full slices of cheese!

Think of the number calories this Ramly contains!

I normally wont go to a faraway place like this for food. But heck, here I come Ole! All the way from Jurong! $10 petrol for a $3.50 burger!

If only McDonald burgers were half as decent as this.

Too bad it closes so early at 7pm.

Woohoo! Burger outing anyone?!

EastCoastLife said...

I want to go Ramly burger hunting! Count me in Les!
*slurp slurp*

Lay said...

I eat out all the time. I could like to have home food. Do you know of any tinkat-carrier?

The Gluttonous Animalia said...

the pasar malam ramly burger u mentioned in e forum is now in Yishun MRT Pasar Malam, which will end this June end!

SCS butter said...

Antone ever notice the cheese in Mac's fillet O fish? Its ridiculously half the size of a decent cheese single serve. On top of that, check out their pictures on display, it sure doesnt depict the actual product we're paying for....

Think we can go CASE and complain or not.... ha ha

Mark said...

it definitely worth the value for doubly ramly .
Go for it !!!!!! My fav choice :)

ieat said...

How is the taste? Authentic right?

Sammy said...

Wah looks damn shiok. But I still prefer my ramly meat patty wrapped inside the egg and squirted with alot of sauces. Can she customize to that?

When r u going back for some ramly man?!

yao kwee said...

mm thank god i live in yishun hehehehhe more burgers for me hehehhehe

Jim said...

Man, as a burger-lover from CHICAGO, I dunno if I'll ever get to try one of these...thanks for clueing me in on a fantastic-looking variation on my favorite dish, though!

xiaomei said...

Wah can I join on your Ramly burger trip~?

pickles said...

Just had a Ramly burger from the pasar malam two days ago. I couldn't finish it because it was so awful! Why is it SO different from the ones in Malaysia????

Anyway, I have copied down the address of this cafe already and will be on our way there soon to try this burger out. Yum!

ieat said...

If you read the blog, there is a link to a forum post which I did earlier. The post highlights the special technique of preparing the burger so that it tastes like Malaysia. The problem with Singapore is that the Ramly Beef Pattie is not allowed to be sold in Singapore by the authorities. So our vendors here use other patties. But these can be made to taste like Ramly if they use certain seasonings. viz curry powder and worschestershire sauce. Try the one at Yishun and let us know what you think. For me, it was so good I ordered a second one.

liveyrdream said...

Oh Ramly burger!!! My FIRST Ramly burger was in Malaysia during a day trip...

It was actually a make-shift stall near the beach and I was super hungry and decided to buy it...

It was really shiok!!! Shiok to the extend that I die die had to "ta-bao" 1 across the causeway back to Singapore to let my dear taste it!

I can't believe that I actually "ta-bao" 1 humble Ramly burger from Malaysia back to Singapore! I must be crazy then!!! :P

Why didn't I discover so many nice eating places in Yishun earlier??? Now, it's so far away from my present home.

Please persuade the boss to open one in the east!

Anonymous said...

Please take note i have find out from the lady boss that sunday , they are close .The burger are 'POWER' worth eating.... soft & juicy. Try it !

Anonymous said...

I don't know is it me or what, but i realize the curry powder abit bitter..

MightyRoy said...

I tried it today!!!
My doctor ordered about 10 for everyone to try. It was superb!!! One of the best I've eaten. I ate through the burger part by part and tried to identify everything they put it. Theres worchestershire, sweet thai chilli sauce, margerine/ butter, cheese, beef, salt, curry powder... A slight lifting soury taste to the savoury burger from the worchestershire. I wanna set up a burger store too!!!

Spatula said...

Ahem Leslie: Kuantan is on the east COAST of WEST Malaysia hor.

I had my first Ramly Experience 14 years ago in the same area too! I was on a university trip to Tasik Kenyir when the tour bus made a food and toilet stop along the way. I HAD to have the Ramly Istimewa (patty wrapped with egg and dripping with sauces). It had me hooked. Sadly, no other Ramlys have come close.

Like good teh halia terik, it all depends on the cook/mamak/barista.

Doc Spatula

ieat said...

With due respect to everyone who has had a Ramly in Singapore. Please do justice to this stalls Ramly and give them a try before making comments about your past experience with Ramly in Singapore. So far only one or two have actually gone down to try this one. Those who did all said it was shiok. That is precisely my point. I finally managed to find a Ramly that is worth eating. As I said it is not 100% exactly the same as the one in Malaysia but close enough and you don't have to travel so far. Please, will more people give their comments on THIS Ramly and not other Ramlys they have eaten in Singapore.

yishun-man said...

tis is wat a burger should be, mayb mcdonalds need 2 send its executives to learn the art of burger making heheheh, i'll onli go 2 mcdonalds for milkshakes onli, nuting else...

UNITED said...

Hi all,

i went to this humble store at around 3.30pm today. look like it was more famous for its bubble tea among the neighborhood students. apparently, they are not reading ieat blog about this super burger.

i was looking for ieat special ramly on the menu, aha, it was nicely printed out exactly like the pics. so i pointed to the pics and 5 mins later came this super burger. i call it super because for 3.50, it was quite huge for me. i must say i enjoyed it thoroughly, the egg done separately was good, order it with any bubble tea for $1. total cost 4.50. beat any mac/burger king burger hands down.

Discovery of the month!! well done ieat. cheers

ieat said...

I think I might need a Ramly in my Tumbly today! Will get there 2.30pm to get my burger fix. Anyone free can come join in!

pickles said...

Told hubby about this Ramly burger in Yishun and he went there the very next day. Yup! confirmed that it is GOOD :-)
Should have asked him to tar pau for me one leh. Dang!

Anonymous said...

dunno if anyone here has tried it, but a rather decent ramly i've had in singapore is on malaysian property. i'm referring to the train station by cantonment. i'm not certain if they use worchestershire, they might, but i'm pretty certain they add maggie seasoning to it.

for those staying in the east, i.e. myself, that's a whole lot closer than yishun.

enjoy.

Anonymous said...

My hat off to you Doc for induling us with your new finds to whet our appetite.

rit said...

it was really good!
the cheese fries were yummy too

Anonymous said...

is it available in chicken patty?

ieat said...

Yes. The Chicken patty is deep fried original Ramly brand. I saw the packaging.

zhouzi said...

hey ieat,

the Ranor Ramly burger is now available at Bedok Central Pasar Malam. Be aware that there are a total of 7 stalls selling the burger but the one and only Ranor is next to the mamak news stand. It has a banner proudly proclaiming the Ranor name.
I spoke to the cook, he told me they will be there for one month. The pasar malam is already in its 2nd week. So, foodies in the east, go for it. For me, I plan to try the double burger and maybe the others. Stay tuned.

ieat said...

Thanks for the headsup! I think it is time for the Ranor to be on the blog!

CoWaBanGa said...

ShiokAliCiouS!!!!tried the i eat special ramly yday...ordered the lamb patty...phew~~~well worth my search arnd the neighbourhood for it~~~GrEat find!!!those who happened to be arnd the area can try the fishball noodle at chong pang market too...for $2...u get 6-8 ping pong size fishball!n it bounces like 1 too!yummy~

zhouzi said...

as promised, I went back today to ask for the double beef burger. I observed this time the cook put on the griddle two pink patties unlike the last time which was pale beige. The first time I told the cook that it look like chicken to me. He told me that since I ordered beef it cannot be chicken. I did not challenge such "worldly wisdom". My wife said that the cook is obviously not honest.

Anyway, the two double burgers were fantastic. I almost regret leaving the other for my other.

Like cowabanga said "Shiokalicious". My other went hhhmmmm....as her chompers chomp on it.

With the above encounter with the cook, please BE AWARE, beef patties are pink not pale beige(cream). REmember also to ask the cook for ladah (pepper). he went looking for it ,only after I ask.

zhouzi said...

ERhem, my last comment was for the Ranor ramly burger at Bedok Interchange pasar malam, latest update - went there last weekend - the stall operator had changed, the Ranor banner is missing. Did not try other ramly burger stalls. Learnt from ieat's post - watch them grilling the burger and I concluded not to "waste my calories on yukky food". I lived in the east so did not tried the old bubble cafe burger. The old bones can't bear travelling that far.

mr.burger said...

dream burger is lamb + egg... finally here... no need 2 fly 2 bombay 2 get lamb burgers animore hehehheh the beverages on sale also nice, lady boss also very sexy. good food n drinks + good babe to oggle.... value for money

ieat said...

Hmmm, better let Catherine know there are people going there for more then just the burgers!

rle said...

this may be a bit irrelevant but i agree with damien that the fish soup at seah im is one of the best i've ever had...

Anonymous said...

hi there. I only came across ur blog these few days. I will make a trip down to this Ramly Joint to give it a try. Hope i wun be disappointed. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

so...the yishun ramly burger - halal or not?

ieat said...

They don't use pork, but not halal certified.

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