No. 18 Zion Road Char Kway Teow in Singapore · One of the Usual Suspects

(26 Jan 2022 visit.) Back at the famous No. 18 Zion Road fried kway teow. We got two $5 plates to share. Just reeling from had an underwhelming slightly atas (upscale) restaurant lunch nearby and needed something down-to-earth to save the day 🤣 A dose of humble char kway teow never fails to revive jaded palates.

Stall name: No. 18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow

Address: 70 Zion Rd, stall #01-17, Zion Riverside Food Centre, Singapore 247792

Tel: 9868 5507

Hours: 12:00 noon - 10:00pm (Tues off)

The queue was about 6 or 7 deep. Very orderly. There were even social distancing officers to manage the queue 🤔 

Note that No. 18 is actually at stall #01-17 😝 But, don't worry about being confused - just look out for the longest queue in the hawker centre.

Waited about 15 minutes. The lady boss was very friendly and steady despite the queue.

First, impression was good. I like the nice brownish colour with whiffs of steam floating from the mound of noodles. And, it was a generous serving for $5. 

Of all the fried kway teow in Singapore, Zion Road CKT is among the few that has all the definitive ingredients for the dish (Singapore style) - kway teow, yellow mee, bean sprouts, lup cheong (Cantonese wax sausage), fish cake, blood cockles, chives, lard, egg,... Okay sans duck eggs.

Who else prefers to eat char kway teow with a spoon?

Okay how does it taste? 

The dominant flavours were sweet and savoury from sauces, mainly sweet. There were traces of lard but not much. A bit of spiciness because I requested for chili. A bit of wok hei, but not much, if you mean that smokey, toasty taste and aroma. I missed the taste and smell of fried garlic. I asked around the table and the rest didn't detect it either.

Overall, I felt the char kway teow is likeable because of the sweetness balanced with savouriness. Moistness was just right for me, neither too wet nor dry. It wasn't too greasy either. 

The last time I had Zion Road char kway teow was nearly 8 years ago. Looking back at my previous post, the taste profile has shifted from savoury-sweet to sweet-savoury i.e. more sweet than savoury. Other than that, little changed at No.18 Zion Road char kway teow.

Zion Road has a lot of fans, and among the most popular in Singapore. When asked to name their favourite char kway teow stalls, Zion Road CKT will be one of the usual suspects named by Singaporeans.

If I have to guess, this is a char kway teow that is sufficiently tasty that doesn't make you feel guilty about living recklessly unhealthy 😝 Am I correct? Let me know! 😄

                  

Written by Tony Boey on 26 Jan 2022

Singapore's No. 18 Zion Road Char Kway Teow comes with an impeccable reputation. 

This humble stall counts Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the head of its legion of fans, with a framed newspaper article hanging proudly at the stall to prove it.

Singapore state and social media are flooded with raving reviews of No. 18 Zion Road char kway teow.

I have eaten here a few times before in my previous non-blogger life but somehow, this has never been quite my plate of char kway teow.

I am not sure why I didn't get it, so today, I try and pin it down.

This char kway teow is above average, for sure, but I still don't get that "Wow! I must blog about this amazing discovery straightaway" urge.

Fellow food bloggers will know what I mean.



The queue on a Thursday evening was relaxed and manageable.



The towkay 头家 Mr. Ho is friendly and approachable despite his fame.



No. 18 Zion Road Char Kway Teow is one of the most generous in the country.

Even the basic SGD3 plate has got everything - noodles, bean sprouts, chives, lup cheong (Cantonese sausage), fish cake slices, seeham (cockles), eggs and more.



I found it! 

There were a few nuggets of lard crackles but they were a little dark and lacked the coveted sensuous lard oil flavour 猪油味. Perhaps, the pork fat was fried a little too long, and worked a little too hard to squeeze out more molecules of lard oil.



The soft and nicely gummy noodles were enveloped in a greasy sauce that was salty and savoury with sweet notes.

Perhaps the saltiness of the soy sauce was a little too heavy for my taste buds. The saltiness seemed to overwhelm much of the layers of flavours that might underlie this char kway teow.

Individually, I could taste the savoury lup cheong, fish cakes, and fresh seeham, and they were all good and tasty, especially the sweet fish cakes. But, I could not discern the flavours these ingredients imparted into the sauce and noodles - so, the char kway teow seemed to lack layers of flavours, except for saltiness, sweetness and a bit of lard flavour 猪油味.

The char kway teow was served still puffing steam and tongue scathing hot. However, aroma and flavour of wok hei 镬气 wasn't pronounced, and the fleeting garlic and lard aromas faded fast.



I strive to eat everything on the plate to get to the bottom of the food that I am blogging about.

No doubt one of the best char kway teow stalls in Singapore.

Try it, you might find yourself joining No. 18 Zion Road Char Kway Teow's huge following too.



Restaurant name: No. 18 Zion Road Char Kway Teow
Address: Zion Riverside Food Centre, 70 Zion Rd, Singapore
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/VjjyA
GPS: 1.292570,103.831282
Hours: 12:00 noon to 11:00pm (Closed on alt Mon)
Non Halal



Date visited: 8 May 2014 | Reviewed on 26 Jan 2022

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