HillStreet Char Kway Teow - The Anthony Bourdain Trail: Part 1 of 8
What's the next best thing if you can't meet with the famous American Foodie, Anthony Bourdain? Go visit all the places he ate at when he was in Singapore, that's what! For those who have not read his article on his Singaporean adventure, you can find it by clicking THIS.
OK, I admit it! I am one of the minions of foodies who envy what Anthony Bourdain actually does. Travel and Eat. What else can you ask for in life? (Well, a lovely wife, two wonderful children, good health, treasured friends and a peace that transcends all understanding, Php 4:6-7, that's what).
Nuff said. A little stall in the middle of an HDB Heartland Food Centre seems an unlikely place for a MakanSutra Legend. But there he was, a feisty old man bent over the wok frying kway teow with an enthusiasm that betrays his 44 years of frying experience. Yah, put me behind the wok and I'd probably be frying kway teow sitting on a high stool and having a can of Coke Lite in one hand and the ladle in the other. You should look at how this TeoChew Ah Chik (Uncle) swirls the kway teow around the work with ladle in the right hand and chopsticks in the left! Most Char Kway Teow Ah Chik's left hands are resting on their hips! No wonder he complains to me about his sore shoulder.
Let me share with you a few secrets about a good Char Kway Teow. First, you must have good Lard. (Please read disclaimer on the right hand side panel) No point eating Chay Kway Teow without Lard. You are still getting calories from carbohydrate and oil, albeit without the cholesterol. But if you want good Char Kway Teow, you MUST have crispy, crunchy and oh so savoury Lard bits. Second, the wok fire must be well controlled. This is the reason his Kway Teow comes out with just the right texture every time. Thirdly, and this is the little secret he shared with me after much persuasion and my free medical consultation, his Sweet Black Sauce has undergone a bit of modification. Ha! That one caught me by surprise! Oh yes, a bit of pandan leaves, a bit of this and a bit of that goes into the Secret Black Sauce of unrevealed origins. (I could tell you, but then he wouldn't be very nice to me the next time)
The steps in frying Char Kway Teow has already been outlined my previous blog, so please read this if you want to know.
This Char Kway Teow is the real deal. The texture and taste of the Kway Teow is absolutely fabulous. Plus, he uses a liberal amount of crunchy sweet Towgay (Bean Sprouts) and Gu Chai (Chives) which combines together to culminate in an explosion of taste and texture in your mouth. Notice the attention to detail? Each Towgay has got the head and the tail removed so you only get the nice middle bit and the Towgay is of exceptional quality such that it is so subtly sweet. If you never liked towgay, this is your chance to learn how to appreciate it.
See, he's still enjoying his job, nay, his PASSION after 44 years. All I can say is that I am really blessed to have met this really humble and down-to-earth Hawker Legend. Unfortunately, his sons do not want to take over the business, so this famous Char Kway Teow receipe will be lost once he retires. Sigh.
Conclusion
No wonder he is the Hawker Legend. Is this as good as Char Kway Teow gets? So far, for me at least, it sure is. 4.75/5
Hill Street Fried Kway Teow
Blk 16, Bedok South Road, #01-187
Opened for lunch till about 4pm. Then around 6pm till all he runs out of food.
Closed on Mondays
23 comments:
Hello, is this char kuay tiao used to be at beside a fire station near funan IT mall?
I dunno, but it's so good. I'm surprised there have been little comment on how good this place is...Am craving for it now but CNY is here and I bet it won't be open for some time. Sigh
I think it's over-hyped, overrated. I was a temasek jc student and it was never in my top3 stalls in the food centre
So...which are your top 3 stalls? I might go blog them as see what is in your opinion not overrated or even underrated.
To me this is the best CKT so far.I only buy if i see the old man doing it.
Sorry i dont know the names of my top3 stalls. They are (1)Cuttlefish Kangkong (2)fishball noodle(not the opera estate 1) (3)ktv yong tau foo
Sorry anyway, my top3 may not be super-licious but they are not as hyped up as the hill st stall and to me better than it
went all the way from cck to eat it today. damn worth the 2hr trip. best CKT i ever ate! had two servings!(SINFULL!!!!)
Ah, the words of a true foodie!
Kudos to differed opinions & taste, no divine tongue. Cheers to OWN critiques
tsk tsk tsk. (1)Cuttlefish Kangkong (2)fishball noodle(not the opera estate 1) (3)ktv yong tau foo? u are a disgrace to TJC.
I wouldn't want to challenge you for 1 and 2 (although the quality fluctuate greatly for 2). but choosing 3....i must say you dont know food at all.
The Hill street CGT is a true gem. It should be nominated for UNESCO heritage.
Hill street CKT a gem may not hold when you eat whilst it's cold and the fats coagulate and u will feel so "lar" or "ni" thereon.
Actually had CKT for dinner (more than this actually haha). CKT from the popular stall at St Margaret's Drive HC; always long queue. Thot it's good too altho I get soso feeback from others.
Bedok S HC; new kid on the block is Fei Fei homemade Wanton mee; Love the kangkong bee hoon; fish ball noodle once in a while; Hokkien mee years ago was very good but again they have added too much fried lards to eat that we stopped; rojak I prefer from the coffee shop..so many good food here.
This uncle is the real deal from Opposite Funan, he used sell on the 1st floor. The 2nd floor one cannot fight him. But both are using Hill Street Fried Kway Teow now. =)
This uncle cooking this is a close friend of my mum.. There is a Singapore's Best Char Kway Teow competition and we can vote him for the best char kway teow..
Send the following to 77877:
smscitygas(space)2(space)ic number(space)your name
Lucky person who chose the top stall may walk away with $50 food voucher!
Hi,
Anybody knows what happened to the char kway teow stall at stamford road? it's diagonally opposite the bible house and it's at a coffeeshop called Hock Hiap Leong. There's a good ngoh hiang stall there too. The place is now demolished... I wonder where they've gone to??
GG
Yeah, they were real good! I also wonder where they went to?
Anyone knows?
last i heard, they have relocated to Blk 10 North Bridge Road, # 01-5101 , Vic's Place Coffeeshop ( Behind ICA Building and 5 mins walk from Lavender MRT Station)
agree that the ngoh hiang stall is gd ... unfortunately, ive no news of their new location ... does anyone knows?
Damien went there today and there was no CKT stall at the place you mentioned.
apologies damien ... as explained in the earlier post, ive not personally checked the 'new' address out but did personally see a paper pasted on the boarded up walls of the old shophouse (presumably by the stallowner) with its new address as being near Lavendar MRT ...
anyway, i googled and someone claimed that it is actually at 9 Maude Rd, (corner of Townsend Rd, near Kitchener) ... again, this cannot be verified!
No worries calamari_rings.
I know there is an old school char kway teow stall at a coffeeshop you mentioned but did not know that it is previously from Hock Hiap Leong :)
So confirmed that 9 Maude Road got Old School Char Kway Teow?
Yes i know this uncle from last time when i worked at Funan. I still visit him in bedok. Best Char Kway Teow!
There is a vote for best char kway teow at Stomp website. So if you like it, vote for him! Hill Street Char Kway Teow!
Yep, this used to be the one that used to be beside the fire station.
The quality does seem vary from time to time though; maybe he's getting old, but it still doesn't deter me from eating there once a week! When it hits the spot, it really is fantastic!
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