I want to say right off the bat that this kway chap stall at Chong Boon hawker centre in Ang Mo Kio is slightly controversial. Some people found the food "bland" and the elderly stallholders a little brusque. Google review score is 2.4 ⭐ as at Oct 2023.
But, this stall have their own loyal following. It's been here for over 30 years and I have been dropping by occasionally for the past 20 years.
We were here for another stall but that hasn't open yet, so we needed a gap filler. I suggested MacPherson Hai Sing kway chap because I remember eating here before and I quite like it back then. I remember they have crunchy 生肠 fallopian tube here (yeah..... ).
Anyway, they don't have 生肠 today 🤷 Uncle and aunty confirmed that they still sell this esoteric, boomer dish when ingredients are available.
I ordered my usual of pork intestines, stomach and pork belly. There were large intestine, small intestine and powder intestine. No tofu, taupok, fishcake and such for me.
Everything here for $20.
You know me, I don't like those factory fried shallots but it worked well here. The salty fried shallots melted into the lightly savoury soup and the resulting concoction tasted quite nicely layered.
The kway was soft, smooth and picked up the savoury sauce well. We would have ordered another bowl each, if we weren't going to try out another food stall right away. Anyway, I like this.
I like the tender, spongy, squeaky texture of the braised offal. They were skilful in preserving the subtle natural spring of the fresh pork. Definitely not those braise until everything is limp, almost disintegrating (nuah) type.
Everything was very well cleaned - there was no off taste of any kind. The food may look "pale", very unlike the usual dark braised offal commonly seen in Singapore. The braising stock was also relatively mild (some people described it as bland) so there was no chance at all of hiding any off taste. No bitter taste too (which I sometimes get elsewhere).
Just a nice gentle savouriness with subtle layers of savoury sweetness so I can discern the fresh meat they use.
The pork belly was a bit firm and cut a bit too thick which made it more chewy. I'll skip this next time
The skin was perfect (for me). The fats were 99% removed. The springy coil was tight and texture was like chewing gummy candy but this tasted gently savoury.
Uncle said their kway chap is Teochew style. I know what he meant as there are quite a few kway teow kia stalls that taste like this in Johor Bahru (Malaysia's Little Swatow 小汕头). Similar taste profile and texture of offal.
Their thick chili sauce is good - nicely balanced blend of savoury, spicy, tangy flavours which makes everything taste better.
The taste is not mind blowing - it is not supposed to, this is traditional comfort food. It doesn't have the intensity of Chris or Chai Chee kway chap, and taste profile is also different. Its taste profile is like Toa Payoh block 93 night time kway chap but with 30% less intensity.
Only one "paiseh piece" left, which I ate up after taking this picture. I drank up all the braising stock in the large plate. I like. It was that gentle and tasty - I don't consider it "bland" at all. It's a class of its own.
I will be back for the 生肠 san cheong, etc., I don't care about this stall's spotty reviews online 🤭
Written by Tony Boey on 3 Oct 2023
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The food itself does deserve better ratings but the 2.4 stars u are referring to is not about the food. The stall operators are quite 'famous' for their quirky service attitude towards the residents and customers there 😁
ReplyDeleteyour mentioning of their google review makes me go read their google reviews. wow, there were some super scathing comments!
ReplyDeleteSometimes is better to remain low profile or under rated and not so high published.
ReplyDeleteThis could render the operator to increase their pricing thus leads to lost their taste and passion over profits and expansion.
There’s a hawker chicken operator whom loses his Michelin star ⭐️ as beginning was in a similar underate situation!
There is a Hai Sing Kway Chap at Aljunied Crescent Hawker. They have their regulars and fans there. Good braise and reasonably priced. Friendly too.
ReplyDeleteAfter the 3 months renovation there, they have shifted over to circuit road hawker center.
One of my favourite Kway chap , like the crunchy 生肠 which hard to find at other stalls. It is much lighter in favour which might not like by people who use to a much heavy favour like Lao San. This stall don’t seem to be affected by the google low reviews , every day still have many people Q up for their kuay chap. I am one of their fans for many years. 😂.
ReplyDeletethe Aunty is an asshole. Extra chilli 50cents!
ReplyDeleteAgree...Our fav kway chap stall for a decade or more .
ReplyDelete