Kway Chap may not be the kind of hawker food people have an immediately liking to, but I find myself more drawn to the dish the older I get.
For the unacquainted, Kway Chap consists of two parts: the kway or flat, broad rice sheets in a dark soy-based broth.
This is paired with braised sides like pig intestines, pork belly, pork rind, pig tongue, pork trotters, duck meat, tau kwa, tau pok, fishcakes, preserved salted vegetables, and braised hard-boiled eggs.
Though this Teochew dish looks ‘simple’, it requires meticulous preparation.
In Singapore, you often find this dish paired with Braised Duck Rice.
Some of the well known Kway Chap stalls include Double Spring Teochew Lor Duck Kway Chap (Pek Kio), Covent Garden Kway Chap (Havelock Food Centre), Lao San Kway Chap 老三餜汁 (Kebun Baru Palm View), Guan Kee Kway Chap (Toa Payoh Lor 8), Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap (Chinatown Food Centre), Ying Yi Kway Chap (Cheng San Market), Hai Fa Kway Chap (New Upper Changi Road), Lai Xing Cooked Food (Hainanese Village), Chai Chee Kway Chap (Bedok 216), San Ba Wang Guo Zhi Shu Shi (Sembawang Hills Food Centre), and Ah Keat Kway Chap and Pig Organ Soup (Marsiling Crescent 211 Lucky Star Coffee Shop).
Here are 10 more:
Chris Kway Chap 瑞庆粿汁
216 Bedok North Street 1, #01-80 Block 216 Bedok North Street 1 Market & Food Centre Singapore 460216
Opening Hours: 8am – 2pm (Thu – Sun), Closed Mon – Wed
This highly-recommended stall often attracts long line once it opens at 8am in the morning, and till 2pm (or sold out).
Though not the cheapest of them all, you can get a bowl of kway and a platter for meats starting at $5.00.
This is a “set menu” which includes the chef’s choice of 5 items. So some customers may not like that they cannot choose their preferred 5 items.
You can choose to top up additional items such as egg, tau pok, tau kwa, pig skin, pork knuckle, pork belly, preserved vegetables (only weekends) and tau kee.
The secret comes the seemingly bottomless pot, simmering a well-balanced braising liquid – it is both sweet and savoury and carries herbal notes.
All ingredients, from thoroughly cleaned intestines to pork belly, are braised for hours in this potent pot of umami flavour.
Another secret to its success is that Chris is particular about keeping all the intestine and parts clean, and braises them separately (rather than dump them together in a pot). Chris Kway Chap (Bedok 216)
Garden Street Kway Chap 呀侖街粿汁
49A Serangoon Garden Way, #01-21 Serangoon Garden Market, Singapore 555945
Opening Hours: 8am – 3pm (Wed – Sun), Closed Mon, Tues
One of the most popular stalls in Serangoon Gardens Food Centre, Garden Street Kway Chap is known for its diners lining up to buy their highly rated rice noodle sheets and braised meats.
Founded in the 1940s by the late Mr. Koh, it has been run by grandson Jason since 2005.
Jason prepares, cuts, and arranges his food meticulously, so do be prepared to wait.
Their Kway Chap has a noticeably lighter flavour compared to other stalls. The boiled flat rice sheets <em<kway are delicately smooth, silky and not unpleasantly too thick.
The brown soup base, made with from a home recipe of 15 ingredients, is boiled for at least 2 hours to develop its robust, herbal taste.
To complete your kway chap, add a platter of their meticulously cut meats – pork belly, pig trotter, pig intestine, pig stomach, pork skin, and lean meat.
Though lean, they are not dry but still tender and well braised. Intestines are prepared well and cooked properly, leaving out the unappealing stench and retaining a springy texture. Garden Street Kway Chap (Serangoon Garden Food Centre)
To-Ricos Guo Shi Blanco Court Food Centre Kwap Chap (3rd Storey) 多丽哥粿汁
51 Old Airport Road, #01-135 Old Airport Road Food Centre, Singapore 390051
Opening Hours: 10:30am – 3pm (Wed – Fri, Sun), 10:30am – 3:30pm (Sat), Closed Mon, Tues
This stall has several names, from “Blanco Court Food Centre (3rd Storey)”, “Blanco Court Kway Chap” (unofficial name) to “To-Ricos Guo Shi”, so it may get a bit confusing.
They have sets for or 1 or 2 persons, and you can order an add-on if you like additional ingredients or innards.
Ingredients that can be bought separately include pig trotters ($5), big intestines ($4), pig’s stomach ($4), pork belly ($4), pig skin ($1, $2), tau kwa (80cents), to braised eggs (60 cents)
Some of the other components were more to the average side, which I wished had a more braised taste. The pork slices were slightly leaner and blander than I wished.
The favourite part in the entire plate was the intestines, cut in large bite-size pieces, are spongy tender yet not springy.
Interesting to note that the stall does not offer small intestines. Blanco Court Food Centre Kwap Chap (Old Airport Food Centre)
Bishan 284 Kway Chap
284 Bishan Street 22, Singapore 570284
Opening Hours: 8:30pm – 3am (Mon – Sun)
Open starting at 8:30pm, this Kway Chap stall at 284 Bishan is an ideal venue for a cheap and filling supper option.
It has been a popular spot for late-night cravings as it dishes out Kway Chap until 3am.
Their version of kway is doused in a soy-based broth that leans on the sweet side.
If you enjoy things sweet, then a bowl would not be enough. Soft and thin, the rice sheets complement that light bodied, not-too-oily broth.
Ingredients are fresh; you can tell they thoroughly cleaned and cooked the intestines, marinating it for full flavour.
Sorry, but they don’t have pork trotters here. They do offer pig ears aside from their pig skin and pork belly.
Worth mentioning for chili lovers that their chili packs a punch and sour-good. 284 Kway Chap (Bishan)
Chuan Lai Guo Zhi Wang, Quan Lai Kway Chap
560 MacPherson Road, Sin Fong Restaurant, Singapore 368233
Tel: +65 6744 1252
Opening Hours: 9am – 3am (Mon – Sun)
This is one of the Kway Chap not found in a hawker centre. Quan Lai’s Kway Chap broth is quite well-known with its strong spiced and herbal taste. It has been around for more than 50 years.
While savoury, it is easy on the saltiness. The rice sheets are cooked together with the rich broth, absorbing all the flavours.
For the braised platter, they offer duck meat aside from the usual pig intestines, pork belly, taupok, tofu, ngoh hiang, fishcake, and egg.
Portions are generous but comes with a price at $12.00/person with duck, more expensive the other typical Kway Chap stalls.
Order their Fried Large Intestines, enjoyably crispy outside and slightly chewy inside with little gamey taste. Quan Lai Kway Chap 泉来粿汁 (MacPherson)
Boon Tong Kee Kway Chap Braised Duck 文通记粿汁卤鸭
70 Zion Road #01-24 Zion Riverside Food Centre, Singapore 247792
Tel: +65 9184 9881
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Thurs – Tue), Closed Wed
Bong Toon Kee’s slurp-worthy version of Kway Chap ($10 for 2, $15 for 3) comes with a generous portion of well-cleaned offal (small and large pork intestines), braised duck meat, braised eggs, tau pok (fried bean curd) and tofu.
If you are dining alone, there is an individual set priced at $3.50, worthy for its price for the generous portion also included with pieces of duck.
Interesting to note is that recipes developed by the owner Madam Yang, derived from the internet and through experimentation instead of being some age old family recipe
The intestines won’t give you that the ‘off’ smell, as they take time to clean then carefully before braising them in a thick gravy made from dark soy sauce, meat stock and aromatic Chinese herbs. Boon Tong Kee Kway Chap Braised Duck (Zion Road Food Centre)
Cheng Heng Kway Chap and Braised Duck Rice 進興粿汁.鹵鴨飯
44 Holland Drive, #02-05 Holland Drive Food Centre, Singapore 270044
Opening Hours: 7:30am – 2:30pm (Mon – Sun)
Serving its own version of Kway Chap ($3.50 for individual set), Cheng Heng is one of stalls to head for when you crave for those soft and smooth rice noodles and, at the same time, Braised Duck Rice.
Of the two components, I enjoy the ”kway” part better – which were really smooth and would just slide down as you take you bite.
Also, the sheets do not clump together, which is also a testament to their ‘skills’.
While the intestines could be slightly softer and the base sauce was slightly on the saltier side, there was no strong gamey taste and portion was good.
The pig’s skin – even though I don’t normally order it, is not to be missed. Cheng Heng Kway Chap and Braised Duck Rice (Holland Drive)
Blanco Court Kueh Chap 白兰阁粿汁
44 Holland Drive, #02-02 Holland Drive Market & Food Center, Singapore 270044
Tel: +65 9848 7399
Opening Hours: 7am – 2:30pm (Tues – Thurs, Sat – Sun), Closed Mon, Fri
Open as early as 7am, Blanco Court Kueh Chap allows you to start your day with a breakfast of kway chap.
Named after its former location at the 4th storey of Blanco Court (junction of North Bridge Road and Ophir Road), it kept its name as Blanco Court Kueh Chap despite moving to Holland Drive. It originated in the 1950s by current operator Uncle Tan’s grandfather.
Get a bowl of Kway Chap with a plate of braised meat, tau pok (fried beancurd), tau kwa, and braised egg for only $4.50. The braised pork is lean, tender and tasty.
Blanco’s kway are delicately thin, very smooth and soft yet don’t stick together.
They sit on a bowl of silky herbal broth, which appeal to those who prefer a lighter taste and not too heavy on dark soya sauce.
If it is too mild for your taste, add some fried shallots or their piquant chili to enhance its flavour and cut through the sauce.
Their chili has a tangy flavour with some sour notes to mingle with the proteins. Blanco Court Kueh Chap (Holland Drive Food Centre)
Shi Le Yuan 實叻園
Redhill Food Centre, 85 Redhill Lane Singapore 150085
Opening Hours: 11am – 2pm, 5pm – 9pm (Mon – Fri), 7:30am – 1:30pm (Sat – Sun)
Shi Le Yuan 實叻園 (selling Kway Chap) was once listed in the Michelin Guide Singapore in 2017, and made its return back in the 2019 list with a Michelin Plate.
The Kway Chap is affordably priced at $3 or $4 for individual portion, $6 or $7 if you intend to share.
I enjoyed that the intestines were soft and without that wonky after-taste. Perhaps the pork belly could have been softer, and customers may prefer tender and fattier melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Compared to some other stalls which are usually heavier and dark braising sauce, could tell that this takes on a milder and perhaps ‘healthier’ approach. Maybe it has got to do with the customer base being generally more elderly. Shi Le Yuan (Redhill Food Centre)
Ah Heng Duck Rice 同济前阿兴鸭饭
531A Upper Cross Street, #02-64 Hong Lim Market & Food Centre, Singapore 051531
Tel: +65 9023 9420
Opening Hours: 6:30am – 4pm (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
Ah Heng at Hong Lim Food Centre sells Kway Chap ($4 for one pax) with pig intestines.
The kway – the broad, flat rice sheets were smooth though nothing to shout about, in a bowl full of the dark soy sauce gravy “chap”.
What’s the draw was all its ingredient, from the greasy pork belly, soft and tender intestines without a strong smell, and the braised egg, all drenched in this dark sauce.
I worried a little about my cholesterol levels, but the soft pig skin was totally appealing. Ah Heng Duck Rice (Hong Lim Food Centre)
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