Zi char stall in Eunos serving Singapore’s greatest fried rice

You know that feeling of tidying up your room and coming throughout cash that you simply by no means knew you had? Well, working at SETHLUI.com may be like that. Yesterday, I found this gem of a hawker stall just some minutes’ drive from my house that simply blew me away. This is its full title on Google Maps: Hong Kong Street Chun Tat Kee 81 XO Fish Head Beehoon XO Crab Beehoon

It’s additionally identified by the much less hectic Hong Kong Street Food Chun Tat Kee or, as I abbreviate it, the scandalous-looking HKSFCTK. It’s a series with a number of different branches within the central area, together with on Balestier Road and Serangoon Road.

Sitting on the somewhat quiet nook of Changi Road and Everitt Road North, this nondescript eatery jogs my memory of outdated Singapore with its laidback vibe and naked fundamentals furnishings. Helping the phantasm alongside was the skinny crowd that consisted primarily of aged uncles and aunties.

That was early on a Monday night once I arrived however the place was full of patrons by the point I completed round 8.30pm.

What I attempted at Hong Kong Street Food Chun Tat Kee

Our first order was for the Yang Zhou Fried Rice (S$7.50 for small, S$13 for medium, S$15 for big). When the waitress had prompt that we get a ‘small’, I felt that it may not be sufficient for my eating accomplice and I. My doubts weren’t fully erased when the waitress assured us that the parts had been satisfactory. Then, it arrived.

‘Small’ at this place is outwardly a synonym of ‘pretty big’. My image doesn’t fairly do it justice since you can’t see how excessive the mound of rice was from that angle. Rest assured, it was positively not ‘small’.

Serving dimension apart, the rice was incredible. An exquisite perfume wafted from the little hill marked with small bits of pink shrimp, yellow fried egg, inexperienced lengthy beans and purple char siew. Each grain of rice had a light-weight sheen of oil which advised me that this dish wouldn’t be dry.

It took only one mouthful for me to change into a fan of this stall. Everything got here collectively so effectively— the moist rice, the gentle sweetness of the pork, and wonderful crunch of the thinly-cut lengthy beans had been enhanced by the bits of egg and complete shrimp.

If you’ll be able to have just one dish from right here, make it the Yang Zhou Fried Rice.

One of essentially the most appetising photos within the menu was of the Lemon Chicken (S$14 for small, S$26 for big) and it was an correct depiction of the dish that we had been served. The crispy hen bits sat in a shallow pool of lemon sauce, garnished with twin lemon slices.

There isn’t any query of the standard and style of the meat however this was essentially the most primary of what we tried, fully devoid of any veggies. I didn’t really feel the absence as a lot since we had different dishes as effectively however some cucumber and onion would spherical this dish up properly. 

We opted for a small plate of Chilli Kang Kong (S$10 for small) however, as all dishes are at HKSFCTK, it was not small. The tangle of inexperienced kang kong stems and leaves had been dressed up with purple bell pepper, lengthy strips of onion, bits of garlic, and shrimp paste. I used to be barely apprehensive of the orange mattress of oil, although.

Perhaps it’s as a result of I’m not a fan of veggies however this was my least favorite dish of the day. Slightly much less oil would assist, as would chopping up the kang kong stems to smaller, extra manageable lengths. That mentioned, it’s definitely not ‘bad’ and the crunchiness was a superb companion to the tender meat dishes.

Our Sweet Sour Sliced Fish (S$13 for small) took a tad too lengthy to reach, for my part, making it to our desk about 20 minutes after the fried rice. It’s onerous to complain, although, as a result of it was ready so effectively. 

This dish is served on a mattress of lettuce with pineapple, cucumber, tomato, onion and, most significantly, large chunks of crispy boneless fish. The pores and skin had the right crunch which simply served to intensify how tender the meat inside was. 

Some cooks prefer to slather an excessive amount of candy and bitter sauce however that simply finally ends up making the meat soggy. There was no such misstep right here and each the quantity of sauce and its depth had been good.

Final Thoughts

I like this place. That evolution of my opinion from certainly one of gentle curiosity once I arrived there to fondly recalling the scrumptious meals as I write these phrases is fascinating to me. It’s onerous to imagine that such an exquisite hawker stall existed just about in my again yard and I’d by no means come throughout it.

Well, I’ll make amends by visiting it much more now.

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