Written by: Shernice Phuah
Edited by: Andre Neo
Photos by: Yau Wenyun
I’m not sure if you have tried all the food that Crescent and Pioneer Hall’s (Crespion) canteen serves, but if you haven’t, this is for you. Three NTU-USP students will be giving you an honest review of the different stalls.
First Stall: Korean and Japanese
This stall sells both Korean and Japanese food. The franchise also extends to Canteen 2 and Quad Café.
Omurice With Fried Fish
This large serving of omurice comes with a complementary serving of coleslaw.
Hong Lin (Psychology, Year 1): Delicious, one of the best items they sell. I like the rice, but the portion is a bit too much.
Wenyun (Accounting and Business, Year 1): Sinful but nice!
Chicken Bibimbap
This bibimbap comes in a huge portion as well. There are all sorts of standard vegetables that come with a bibimbap.
Hong Lin: Average, but I feel very healthy when I eat it.
Wenyun: Very tasty.
Shernice (Accounting and Business, Year 1): The beansprouts are the short ones, which may not be appetising to some. The chicken is very red.
Ginseng Chicken
The ginseng chicken comes with a bowl of rice. One good thing is that patrons are assured of a piping hot bowl of soup, not something lukewarm or cold.
Shernice: This tastes like MSG soup – it is extremely salty. Prepare to buy a cup of water to go with this.
Hong Lin: Yes this is very salty, but it is still delicious to me.
Saba Fish With Rice
This comes with complementary miso soup. This costs $5.50 and the serving of fish is relatively small.
Wenyun: The fish is fresh and tastes amazing.
Shernice: Only the miso soup is good.
Second Stall: Economical Rice
The price of the food here is relatively cheap compared to other canteens in our cluster like Canteen 1. One good thing is that this store opens really early. If you are up for a heavy breakfast, the economical rice stall is waiting for you.
Fried Rice With Other Ingredients
We ordered fried rice with green vegetables, broccoli, and sweet-and-sour fish.
Hong Lin: The food is cold!
Wenyun: If it was hot, it would taste better.
Shernice: The food from this stall is always cold, perhaps because they open early and cook the food equally early. But the fish is really good.
Third Stall: Taiwanese Food
There isn’t really any crowd at this stall most of the time.
Pork Mixed Rice
The base was rice. The sauce is starchy with generous amounts of meat, potato and carrots.
Shernice: So mushy, I don’t like it.
Wenyun: This is pretty worth it for $3.50. It tastes decent.
Fourth Stall: Yong Tau Fu
This stall is one the most popular stalls in Crespion canteen. During dinner time, it’s always crowded but definitely worth the queue.
Stir Fried Yong Tau Fu With Noodles
You can choose a minimum of 6 ingredients to go with your noodles. But they only have instant noodles as their base.
Shernice: This is excellent – it’s the only thing I eat in Crespion canteen. Add some vinegar to it and it will taste heavenly.
Wenyun: This is nice but sometimes the noodles are undercooked which is gross. The mushroom is a must-try because it is so soft and flavourful.
Stir Fried Yong Tau Fu With Rice
This is similar to the previous one except the base is changed from noodles to rice.
Shernice: The noodles are a bit tastier as they soak up the sauce.
Hong Lin: I like the one with noodles better.
Fifth Stall: Drinks Stall
For breakfast, you could try out the drinks stall breakfast. A breakfast set comes with toast, eggs, and tea. However, one negative about the eggs here are that you need to cook them yourself. Other than that, the toast is very light and delicious.
There are other stalls in Crespion canteen that are not reviewed such as the Western Food Stall and Beef Noodles. But as a whole, Crespion canteen does serve up quite wholesome meals.
