Many of my makan kakis (foodie buddies) are fans of Toa Payoh Lor 4 Kuey Chap (also spelt Kway Chap). So, I jio (invite) Uncle Bob to try it together on this Sunday evening. Uncle Bob has eaten here many times before.
Many people were here waiting before the stall opened at 5:30pm (2018 photo). A long snaking queue formed up immediately after the stall opened for business (slightly late today at 6pm).
This kway chap stall started as a pushcart (similar to the one at right of the photo) in the 1960s at the Kim Keat Bus Terminus. (Image courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.)
Second generation owner Seow Kim Seng said "I've helped out at this stall since young. This work was very tiring for my mom so I kept helping until the day I took over the business. I never really had time to reflect on my choices". Source: Not for Sale: Singapore's Remaining Street Food Vendors.
Uncle Bob who is familiar with the stall did the ordering. We had an assortment of braised big intestines, small intestines, fallopian tube 😱, tongue, pork belly, stomach, and skin. Kuey chap is a throwback to those lean times when no part of the animal was wasted.
We made it a point not to order any fish cake, meat roll, tau kwa, tau pok etc as we uncles & aunties were here for the offal 😂
The braised offal, pork belly and skin are eaten with kuey, which are thin sheets of rice served in a bowl of savoury stock.
Singapore's kuey chap is similar to Johor Bahru's kway teow kia. Both the Singapore and JB dishes consists principally of braised pork offal. Where they differ is kuey chap is served with thin rice sheets whereas kway teow kia is served with slender rice ribbon noodles.
The kuey at Toa Payoh Lor 4 is served soaking in a mild savoury stock with subtle herbal / spice notes.
The offal at Toa Payoh Lor 4 were very well cleaned. They have a tender bounce but slightly firm bite. They tasted mainly moderately salty i.e. quite flat. There was no porky taste at all (I would like some natural porky sweetness but I know most people prefer none of it 😛).
The braised offal and meat may taste slightly salty and flat but when eaten together with the soft kuey and a bit of stock, the salty meat, subtly sweet kuey and slightly herbal stock blended together into a delicious well balanced mouthful. The slightly firm meat and soft kuey worked well together. The bits of fried shallots added a bit of crisp and more than a bit of aroma to the dish.
Three of us, we had 5 plates of braised offal and meat, and 4 bowls of kuey. Our total bill came to S$17, which is reasonable (2018 price).
The popularity of Toa Payoh Lor 4 Kuey Chap belies the reality that kuey chap is one of Singapore's disappearing street food heritage. It is hard to get new hawkers into selling kuey chap as preparing offal is tedious and time consuming. Profit margin is also unattractive. Young customers are also spoilt for choice and old school food like kuey chap is not often their top of the mind dinner option.
So, I am grateful that Song Fa which is famous for their peppery Teochew bak kut teh, is reviving kway chap - introducing the dish to new audiences in modern shopping malls in the heart of Orchard Road and in Ponggol.
This is the best night owl kway chap in Toa Payoh but the best early bird kway chap in Toa Payoh is here 👈 click
Restaurant name: Kuey Chap 粿汁 Blk 93, Toa Payoh Lor 4 (stall actually doesn't have a name)
Address: Stall #01-40, Blk 93, Toa Payoh, Lor 4 Market & Hawker Centre (Toa Payoh Palm Spring)
GPS: 1°20'18.2"N 103°50'59.9"E | 1.338390, 103.849968
Nearest MRT: 5 minute walk from Braddell station
Hours: 5:30pm - 11:00pm (Mon & Thurs off)
Non Halal
Kway chap is a Teochew dish, not Hokkien. You’ll find it being sold by Teochew in Bangkok and of course in Chaozhou China. But you won’t find it in Fujian or Taiwan.
ReplyDeleteYes. Thank you for pointing out.
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