Top 3 Food Dishes You Must Try At Alibabar Hawker Bar

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Over the recent weeks, I’ve been seeing pictures of By The Fire’s Scotch Eggs taking my Instagram feed by storm, and I couldn’t resist missing out on this glorious creation for another day. By The Fire is the newest addition to Alibabar Hawker Bar, a coffee shop by day and a bar by night. Its modernly furnished interior exudes the vibe of a new-fashioned Kopitiam, and By The Fire fits right into its facade.
Opened by the former chef of KeyStone (a mod European Restaurant) and his former colleague, the owners at By The Fire offers a delectable array of Western dishes through using Asian ingredients, which is a welcoming change. Unlike most coffee shops, the chef uses bintochan charcoal grills to retain the flavor of their meats better. From 12-3pm daily, there is also a lunch promo going on where you can order a range of pasta for only $7.90 each.
All prices here are in nett.
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Food Menu
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Scotch Eggs – $6.90

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw how affordably-priced the food was. It’s rare to find dishes priced less than $10 these days and, what’s more, something of this calibre. The chefs at By The Fare aced with their own rendition of Scotch eggs. Bounded by minced pork, a breaded crust and the slightly runny texture of the eggs, I must say that this dish came together perfectly. It sat on a bed of raisin coleslaw which I felt was a tad overpowering with its sweetness. Still, a double thumbs up for this one! I would gladly order this again.
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BBQ Pork Ribs – $14.90

The Pork Ribs here were served with their signature homemade BBQ sauce which comprised of ingredients such as Oyster Sauce and Chinese Wine. It came with hint of sweetness in its aftertaste that resembles a little to Ranch sauce. As aforementioned, By The Fire uses Bintochan Charcoal, also known as the best charcoal for grilling meat. This technique was first brought about in Japan and dates to a few centuries back. As a result, the pork was slightly charred and it added a nice crisp texture to its meat. A downside was that the meat clung on so hard to the ribs that I had to spend quite a bit of time slicing it off.
The Mac & Cheese was served with creamy cheese sauce, topped off with crispy bacon bits and spring onions which were a delight to my tastebuds.
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Squid Ink Pasta – $12.90

The Squid Ink pasta was served with 2 freshly grilled Hokkaido Scallops and creamy sea urchin sauce, topped off with Bonito (Shaved Fish) flakes for an extra crunch. The chef was rather generous with the portion of pasta. A pity that the sea urbin cream sauce tasted no different from that of a Carbonara sauce, and it got a little gelat for us after a while.
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By The Fire also serves other signature dishes such as their Grilled Pork Jowl and Grilled Hanger Steak which I heard are a must-try. Located opposite i12 Katong, you get the pleasure of having such lip-smacking delights in a casual environment without the need to pay a hefty sum, or having to wait more than 15 minutes for each dish to be served.
This humble restaurant should definitely be a place to visit on your check-list!
By The Fire
125 East Coast Road
(S) 428810
Nearest MRT:
Paya Lebar MRT / Dakota MRT
Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday: 12 – 3pm (Lunch), 6pm – Late (Dinner)
Saturdays and Sundays: 12pm – Late
All images are taken from cforcassan.com
Top Image: cforcassan.com