Alright so 2 days ago was the day I officially graduated and ORD from my 2 years of army life. It's been a topsy-turvy experience filled with many ups and downs(much like a sine curve) and it was simply an enriching experience that I have learnt so much from.



So there has been so many posts and pictures of people ORD-ing on my news feed and sharing the happy moment with everyone. So how about I do this differently and enjoy this moment by doing up a fun post on quality army food with everyone?

Without a shadow of a doubt, food plays an important role during the training phase of every soldier. Most NSFs tend to lament and complain about the quality of food on offer and it usually sucks if that is really the case for your camp food. Outfield experiences with combat rations are pleasant at first but nightmarish as it drags and I'm sure every infanteer and NSFs alike would agree with me.

 

I can't cover all the camps as I have not been to all but I will still cover some that I have not been to regardless as they are common camps that NSFs usually get posted to.

Unfortunately, this post would not have pictures of the food as the camps are obviously red zoned but I would try to make it as detailed as possible.

After all, in the army, food is not just for your stomach, food is for your soul - to have better and greater motivation to carry on in your trainings.

So here goes!

Clementi Camp:

The Officers' Mess in Clementi Camp serves up plenty of good food for the soldiers to try out. Some of the dishes on offer are the Commando Cutlet, Cereal Chicken Set(like a Western set meal) and Sambal Chicken Fried Rice. The Fish And Chips set is worth a buy due to its crispy crust and tender meat and there is also a real value for money American Breakfast that is only at $3. The Breakfast set includes Toasted Nutella Bread, Sunny Sideup Eggs, Sausages with BBQ Sauce, Baked Beans and Salad. The Breakfast is only available till 10am.

HQ 6 DIV:

Forget about the canteen. Save up your money and go to the cookhouse to try out the food there. Most army cookhouses provide horrible food that demotivates one rather than motivate one for more trainings. It is definitely not the case in HQ 6 Division. Every day, there will obviously be different food and in a way, it is like opening a present during your birthday - you simply do not know what good surprises you will get after you unwrap the packaging. I managed to try their laksa and western food and it is safe to say that I am not disappointed with them.

ITI:

The Chicken Cutlet with rice and fries is hands down the best chicken cutlet that I have tasted during my army life and is even better than the one I tried in Pasir Laba Camp. It is little wonder with food like the chicken cutlet, the mess is always patronized with many army personnels. There is certainly much food to look forward to for Infantry Reservicemen.

Khatib camp:

One of the few camps that I have not been to. So I seeked expertise from my friend who goes to that camp often. Apparently, the wanton mee stall is quite good and to add on, there's a double beef patty burger with cheese and egg that is served at "Barrel" officer mess which brings flavour to the fore. Seems to me that Nee Soon Camp isn't the only camp that provides good tasting burgers.

In the Specialists' Mess named Base Plate, Char mee, Hor Fun and Fried Rice are the picks from the food sold there.

Kranji Camp 1:
 
So Kranji Camp isn't only a camp where strict regimentation and training are being carried out. In camp 1, there is a Muslim stall that sells decent chicken rice only on Wednesdays. I do not know why that is the case but it is worth a go to try it if you are from this particular camp. The Officers' Mess is also worth a go as well.

Kranji Camp 2:

In Camp 2, there is this stall named Redwoods that sells outstanding Sambal Fried Rice and Beef Horfun. Just having these 2 food types on the menu, can make one's army life that much happier and better.

Kranji Camp 3:

So you have read my post to this point. Right now, just take a breather because there is a lot of information of outstanding food that you have to absorb from Kranji Camp 3. Firstly, there is the Teh Ping which is thick and full of flavour along with the Iced Milo and Coffee. Noodles wise, the Wanton Mee, Mee Rebus and Bak Chor Mee are worth a thumbs up. Rice wise, there are the Nasi Lemak, Rendang and Cheap Vegetable Cai Fan. Dessert wise, there are Belgium Waffles(Can you believe it??!?!) and Fried Ice Cream. There is even Roti Prata that can be found in this Camp.

Whether you believe it or not, all these dishes can be found in KC3.

Simply Crazy.

Nee Soon camp:

The first time I was here to help out in certain In Camp Trainings, I knew from one of my camp mates that the curry puffs in Nee Soon Camp are cheap and fantastic. They certainly lived up to my expectations as the curry puffs were simply outstanding. I personally prefer sardine puffs to curry puffs but on this occasion, curry puffs would get the vote from me. The cheap value of $1 for 3 puffs is too enticing a price to make one come back for more.

In addition, most drinks stalls in army camps have the habit of selling sandwiches and even burgers. But which stall actually puts in more effort to prepare the burgers? In Nee Soon Camp, the stall goes one step further by making the burger warm with the oven, melting the cheese within. It is definitely not a big deal if it is out in civilian life but in army camp, small things like this counts. At merely $2 for a fish/chicken burger with melted cheese along with the added option of having an egg, it provides an added motivation for soldiers in Nee Soon Camp to put in more heart and soul on the training ground.

To top it all off, what is better than having a nice thick Avocado milk shake to soothe oneself from the warm heat experienced during training?

Pasir Laba Camp:

The home where all specialists are born. Every SCT at Pasir Laba Camp would always be happy when given a canteen break as the food served there is so delectable and delicious. One of the star attractions is the sambal fried rice from the mess shop that every specialists can relate to.

The other would be the cheese fries from the Chinese stall right outside the emart that is comparable to the cheese fries from KFC. And to add on, the Roti John from the drinks stall at a cost of $2 would definitely leave you yearning for more of it.

SAFTI:

The most famous stall from SAFTI is the fried egg noodle shop outside the Officers' Mess. The stall has appeared on Pioneer Magazine before and that is enough justification on how good it is.

Unfortunately, the shop has already closed down. So from a suggestion from my friend, in another canteen nearest to the parade square and near the top of SAFTI, there is also a noodle shop that is cheap and worth a go.
 
Selarang:

To be honest, Selarang camp does not really have outstanding food for me to write about. However, through that long absence of that certain stall, I have really grown to appreciate its presence. The stall I am referring to is none other than the nasi lemak stall. It offers up decent curry puffs and mee rebus and serves great nasi lemak with sweet chilli.

When the stall was trying to renew the lease, most of us NSFs and regulars would have to go to the Chinese stall which takes an extremely long time to prepare its food. I wouldn't fault them for that as the couple manning the stall are aged and they do serve noodles that taste decent. It is just at times frustrating to have to wait so long just to get a meal.

Sungei Gedong Camp:

The 46 SAR cookhouse manned by Mr Bala serves up decent Indian food and fried rice chicken wing. It just happens to be a coincidence that most food served in the cookhouse have curry and they taste great too. The black pepper meals at the western stall in 42 SAR canteen are worthy to try as well.

Tekong:

Yes that's right. Your eyes are not playing any tricks with you. Tekong Camp has got nice food. Unfortunately, it is not for recruits and instead, it is for the commanders that do their daily job in Tekong Camp. The reason why that is so is because the quality food from Tekong is found at Ladang Café. The Butter Fried Rice with Egg and Stir Fried Chicken with Chilli Padi are the intriguing selections from that venue that can whet your appetite.




You must be wondering, wow what the heck have I been doing in the Army. Why would I know about so much good quality food from so many different camps. In actual fact, my job scope requires me to hop around different camps so I kind of have the luxury to experience different surroundings and to try out food in different camps.

I am perhaps one of the lucky few that is able to go to so many different camps albeit at a very painful cost of having to wake up extremely early on certain days. I was supposed to post this on my ORD day but I got a tad too carried away with having fun and enjoying my freedom so I ended up only posting about this today.

So surprise surprise, you think Army food sucks? Think again. They are just not within our reach when we are at different phases of our Army lives.

Certainly, one of the many lessons learnt during my Army Life is to grow to appreciate food. Whether they are nice or not so tasty, it doesn't really matter. When one is shag from training, anything would taste awesome. It would be a great bonus if the food given during trainings are really good tasting and that is why I decided to do a fun post on good quality Army Food.

Thankfully I won't have to worry about army food anymore for the time being and I am just relieved to finally ORD.


Freedom never tasted so sweet.



So with that, Peanut has left another marker on a food place once again.

Stay tuned for more adventures!