✍️ 9 Apr 2026. Hong Kong Style Kitchen stall 港式小炒 has been in this dingy old food centre at Blk 93, Toa Payoh for over a decade. Still under the social media radar partly because of the humble dishes served and also because the stallholders are media shy.
Stallholder chef Tong Yu Chou hails from Hong Kong and an accomplished chef there before coming to Singapore in 1993. Worked in various leading Singapore restaurants before setting up Hong Kong Style Kitchen stall (last stop being Teochew City Seafood 潮州城 at The Centrepoint).
Known to avid foodies for his Hong Kong dai pai dong 大排档 fare - well executed dishes served at competitive prices. I enjoyed many dishes from chef Tong's menu, especially his HK style steamed fishes and har cheong gai (prawn paste fried chicken).
For har cheong gai 虾酱鸡, chef Tong uses the famous 大澳蝦醬 fermented prawn paste from Tai O fishing village in Hong Kong to marinade his chicken. Less salty than average har cheong gai, the chunks of chicken have distinct layers of umami savouriness thanks to the Tai O fermented prawn paste. Being less overpoweringly salty, chef Tong's har cheong gai allows us to better enjoy the natural sweetness of the fresh, tenderly juicy chicken.
Who is Tony Johor Kaki?
✍24 Jun 2018. We enjoyed a nice and simple lunch at Hong Kong Style Kitchen 港式小炒 in Toa Payoh Lorong 4 market and hawker centre. It's a good go-to place for reasonably priced and tasty homely HK style dishes when no one wants to cook at home 😄
The signboard doesn't say Hong Kong Style Kitchen in English, only the Chinese 港式小炒 - look out for stall #01-44 and the bold red sign that reads "Fried Bitter Gourd Fish Head" 炒苦瓜鱼头.鱼片.
The menu includes 香港式蒸鱼 Hong Kong style steamed fish, 生炆鲍鱼鸡 Braised abalone with chicken, 鱼鳔炆烧肉 Braised fish maw with roast pork belly, 大澳虾酱鸡 Tai O style fermented prawn paste chicken, 菠萝古老肉 Sweet & sour ku lou yok, 青龙菜牛肉 Dragon vegetable with sliced beef, 双菇生抽虾 Mushroom with prawn & soy sauce, 苦瓜鱼片 Bitter gourd with sliced fish / fish head, etc. The type of street food fare we find in Hong Kong dai pai dong which are disappearing there (but that's the story for another another day, another article).
Hong Kong Style Kitchen 港式小炒 is a classic mom and pop hawker stall - chef Tong Yu Chou 汤 does all the cooking singlehandedly and his wife handles all the front office work - takes orders, delivers, collects payment and gives change. So, they are extremely busy during operation hours.
The couple hailed from Hong Kong. Chef Tong worked nearly two decades in Guangzhou and Hong Kong before the couple came to work in various leading Singapore restaurants in 1993, including Teochew City Seafood restaurant in The Centrepoint at Orchard Road. Chef Tong later set up Hong Kong Style Kitchen stall in Toa Payoh.
Our first dish was chicken stir fried with fried pork skin, black fungus (wood ear mushroom), mushrooms and fermented black beans. The gooey sauce was moderately savoury sweet and we were able to taste the various ingredients' natural flavours.
Fried pork with yam. The gooey sweet savoury sauce complemented the natural sweetness of the tender yam and pork. I especially enjoyed the soft mashy grainy yam texture.
Crunchy sweetish bitter gourd stir fried with lightly battered fish slices and dressed with fermented black bean paste sauce.
By this third dish, we got the idea - Hong Kong Style Kitchen's dishes come with sauces that have well balanced, moderately intense flavours that allow us to taste all the ingredients' natural flavours. I like dishes that work this way 😋
Old school Har Cheong Gai made with pieces of lightly battered chicken (not only wings).
The marinade had the distinctive savoury taste of fermented prawn paste and still allowed us to enjoy the natural sweetness of the fresh, tender juicy chicken pieces.
Cantonese style steamed grouper.
The fresh grouper fish was steamed, dressed with a blend of gently savoury soy sauce.
👉 From our sampling of humble, homely dishes at Hong Kong Style Kitchen 港式小炒, we enjoyed the comforting flavours and tastiness of every dish, especially the stir fried ones. Our total bill for 5 satisfied and satiated diners came to S$51 including rice (2018 price).
Restaurant name: Hong Kong Style Kitchen 港式小炒
Address: Stall #01-44, Block 93, Toa Payoh, Lorong 4 Market & Food Centre (Palm Spring), Singapore
GPS: 1°20'18.2"N 103°50'59.9"E | 1.338390, 103.849968
Nearest MRT Station: 5 minute walk from Braddell station
Tel: +65 9385 0417
Hours: 12:00 noon - 1:30pm | 4:00pm - 8:00pm (Monday off)
Date visited: 24 Jun 2018
total bill $51 ? how much does e grouper cost ?
ReplyDeletethe grouper costed $20
DeleteHaha! Found this stall many years back. The couple will always shouting at each other due to high level stress. So my kids called them angry birds.😂😂😂😂
ReplyDeleteFood is good and reasonable price.👍🏼
Good food at pocket-friendly prices. My wife & I usually ordered 3 dishes including a 700gm steamed grouper totally about $30 odd dollars
ReplyDeleteI seldom eat zhi char in SG, and this one really caught me when I was there a few years ago. Their steam fish are excellent 👌🏼😋 Think every year they go back to HK and closes a few days if I’m not mistaken
ReplyDeleteTheir food is very nice and not expensive, my sister friend stays next block & I took my fro Australia to had lunch there when she came to Singapore last December. 👍
ReplyDeletethis stall zhi char is really good, must go early the queue is super long
ReplyDeleteThe food there is very nice and price reasonable. Both my sisters also like their dishes, sometime we had to wait for quite a long time before we can be serve.
ReplyDelete