Singapore, October 19, 2010
Hai Kee Teochew Char Kuey Teow
Telok Blangah Crescent Food Centre
If you like your Char Kway Teow to be a juicy cockle feast, then you'll love this stall to bits.
And if the dozen to 15 cockles in the $3 Char Kway Teow are still not enough for you, then pay $1 to get another 15.
That's one of the reasons Hai Kee Teochew Char Kuey Teow stall is so popular since its old days at Margaret Drive.
Hardcore fans followed Mr Low Kwee Weng when he moved to Telok Blangah Crescent food centre in March this year.
A true Char Kway Teow master honing his skills over wok in the past 40 years, the Teochew man fries up an honest old-world Char Kway Teow without frills like prawns, fishcake and Chinese sausage.
It's just good 'ol Char Kway Teow with simple ingredients - kway teow and yellow noodles, eggs, bean sprouts and cockles - fried in lard over a mean fire. Added too of course are the seasoning ingredients like garlic, sweet soybean sauce, fish sauce and chilli paste - if you like yours hot.
What's good is the balance of sweet, salty and savoury flavours which give a satisfying mouthfeel without having you to rush for a glass of water. Yup, it's traditional Teochew-style all right - not the overly sweet and salty version which seemed to have crept into our modern palate.
I can fully accept this on a day when I think I've already had my "1 sugar and 1 salt".
But if it's to be my first meal of the day (the stall opens at 5pm), then I don't mind it to be a little more sweeter and salty.
In any case, Hai Kee's version is definitely more flavourful than other bland Teochew ones.
The smoky lard pieces are well done too - you get the sensation of biting into light and airy crispiness rather than morsels of partially-fried fat.
The star of Mr Low's Char Kway Teow must be the abundant cockles. Although he gets his supplies from a factory, they are reasonably fresh, sweet and juicy. Not the chewy ones you get at many Char Kway Teow stalls.
My dining companion, a Teochew, preferred the $3 plate with 15 cockles to the $4 one with 30. "It's an overkill," she said.
But to me, every gulp of the fried noodles with the burst of juice from one cockle in the $4 plate was just moreish. You just wanna have more and more.
Craving for Char Kway Teow with lots of see hum? You'll get your satisfaction here.
Rating: 8.9/10 (for an authentic and good Teochew Char Kway Teow)
Rating for frying: 9/10 (Mr Low fries each plate at a time, up to 200 plates a day)
Hai Kee Teochew Char Kuey Teow
Block 11, Telok Blangah Crescent
#01-102 (opp mount faber safra)
Singapore 090011
Read also:
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| Dong Ji Char Kway Teow is deliciously charred |
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| Lucky Char Kway Teow at Old Airport serves a decent sweet version |
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| Read review of Lao Fu Zi Char Kway Teow |
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| Sheng Chen Char Kway Teow - one of the best |
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| Outram Park Fried Kway Teow - one of the best |
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| Zheng Heng Fried Guo Tiao Mian - the best in Toa Payoh |
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| Gui Lin - possibly the best Char Kway Teow in Bukit Batok |
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| Chomp Chomp's popular Char Kway Teow |
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| Smoky fried kway teow at Different Taste comes close to Penang's |
Tell us about your favourite Char Kway Teow: email us - soshiok@sph.com.sg
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