Sunday, July 8, 2007

Ya Kwang Kway Chap: Heavenly Kong Bak, $10 Crab Bee Hoon, Yuppie Kway Chap and Peking Rectums!



Just in case you are wondering what this stall actually sells, the answer is.....anything that the owner Jason is passionate about. Well, the mainstay of the stall is the Kway Chap which was recommended by one of our readers, Iris. She described this as a Yuppie Kway Chap that would appeal to people who would otherwise not go near piggy spare parts. The other thing that caught my attention was that the stallowner happened to be an ex-flight steward. Now, an ex-flight steward opening a Yuppie Kway Chap stall in Geylang, don't you think that is worth investigating?

And amazingly, that is exactly how I would describe this Kway Chap. The taste is new age, delicate and clinical. The flavour is subtle such that you can't really make out the spices, but they combine to give the Kway Chap that umami kick. Even for a person like me who don't usually eat Da Chang Tou aka rectums, I actually found this one to be quite delectable. 4/5



Are you all familiar with the Ma Ling canned Kong Bak? I grew up eating it and ooohhhh, it is so yummy! It's got a very special taste that I can't quite describe but I instantly recognize when I eat it. Unfortunately, even though there have been many new stalls sprouting up selling Kong Bak Pau, there really has not been one that I could rave about.

Not anymore! I think I have found my regular Kong Bak Pau haunt. The Kong Bak here has got that special Ma Ling Kong Bak taste but without all that lard oil in the sauce. It is not overly sweet but instead has got a really "Kiam Pang" (Salty Savoury) taste that is quite irresistable. Jason told me that his method of cooking the pork is quite different and though he did not reveal what gave the pork its "Ma Ling" flavour, he did say that he uses Japanese sauces to marinade the meat before steaming for several hours. It was so good, I tar paued a whole box home only to find that my kids finished it all up when I got home late from work! Now if he had deep fried the skin so that it was wrinkly I would have immediately give it a 4.75. But even as it is, it deserves a commendable 4.6/5


Crab Bee Hoon $10

For those who like to eat Crab Bee Hoon for the Bee Hoon and not necessarily the crab, this is a good place to have your bee hoon without having to fork out at least forty bucks. The Bee Hoon here is pretty good and has that crustacean flavour infused into the Bee Hoon. For ten bucks you get a small but solid crab. Not a bad way to satisfy that crab bee hoon crave. 4/5


Peking Duck? Guess again!

I have to hand it to Jason to come up with this next dish which is "Peking Rectum". Yes it is Peking Duck but instead of Duck skin, Jason has substituted it with deep fried Da Chang Tou. The idea was so novel, I had to try it at least once. I must say that the texture of the deep fried Da Chang Tou was really like the skin of the duck. But of course it does not taste like duck, it tastes like a sweet crispy morsel of meat. It's something you definitely need to try and take a picture of so that you can tell the world about it. 3.5/5

Conclusion

Jason's the kind of new age hawker chef that is going to change the way we eat hawker food. Passionate, well travelled and innovative, his constant experimentation has already produced a Kong Bak Pau that really is darn shiok. I am really looking forward to more new creations coming out from his kitchen. He has already promised me that he will look into the possibility of stir fried Lobster noodles........ akan datang or should I say... makan datang... I hope... I hope....

Ya Kwang Kway Chap
709 Geylang Road (Lor 37)
98170006
11am to 11pm daily

18 comments:

smart said...

u gave 3.5 for the Da Chang Tau but I am going to order that for my priority.
Right now my favourite stall for Da Chang Tau (not fried) is at Tampines Blk 201D. They also sell Braised Duck cheap and delicious.

zhouzi said...

Hi smart, I heard the da chang tau at tampines B201D had moved out. Where is it now?

ieat,

went there today, the crab bee hoon price list is $20 min. How did u get $10 order. Ar kao liao with the owner?

ieat said...

Just spoken to Jason. $20 is for 2 crabs. $10 for one. If you are alone eating you can ask for the $10 portion.

liverpool1965 said...

did he use to run a kway chup stall at the Suntec Basement food court?, they added a bit of caramel to the kway chup and was one of the better stalls I tried.

ladyironchef said...

Cool, so they sell Kway Chap and others as well ar? a bit confusing. haha

smart said...

Dear Zhouzi, Just had my da chang tau on Sunday. There are 2 Braised duck stalls both have their good point.The one I am talking is at a coffee shop called Feng Sheng (I am not sure the name. It is facing the PAP Educare Centre.

ieat said...

Yes they used to be at Suntec

Camemberu said...

Peking rectums??? Funny...I love large intestines but when it comes too near the exit, it suddenly becomes fear factor food! :s

Christine said...

LOL Peking Rectum is too funny!! I wonder how they would comapre to Hainanese Rectums? One would be the crisp and the other smooth, I suppose... :P

kenneth said...

The food here is not bad, especially the Kong Bak Pau and the Crab.
Die Die must try..


YUM!!!

zhouzi said...

smart, saw your comment today, wonder if we are talking about the same stall, anyway plan to go back and scout for it.
Christine, the serving staff refers to it as Da Chang Jing, get it? Korean serial.;)

smart said...

Zhou, Was there for lunch today. Yes confirmed the coffee shop is called Feng Sheng Blk 201D. It is the most run-down coffee shop in the 201 blocks and the sing board are green.This duck stall very reasonable and their Da chang tua superb.Served very good porridge and kuay chap.

smart said...

Zhou, Was there for lunch today. Yes confirmed the coffee shop is called Feng Sheng Blk 201D. It is the most run-down coffee shop in the 201 blocks and the sing board are green.This duck stall very reasonable and their Da chang tua superb.Served very good porridge and kuay chap.

rx7efini2002 said...

This Ya Kwang Kwap Chap no longer sell $10 crab bee hoon. The in charge there had attitude problem too. When I make an order for the $10 crab bee hoon (17/05/2008), he replied 'we only got the $25 crab bee hoon, no such thing as $10. Why don't you ask if we sell crab bee hoon for $1 or even free?' Lose appetite immediately and left... Will never come back to this stuck up rubbish shop...

jems said...

Finally tried Ya Kwang last night. The best dish for us was unanimously the stir fried hua la handmade noodles. The sauce was very good and it reminded me alot of the vongole spaghetti of Bakerzin that came in a soupy based style - there's a huge similarity in the taste with Ya Kwang's being less soupy and more milky. My sis did comment that her bit of her noodles was a lil hard - I wonder was it cuz Jason apparently didn't do the cooking and the cook inside didn't fry it throughly? Our crab beehoon $28 order - came only with one crab which was inbetween a medium to an extra large sized one in size, not 2. The crab tang hoon was obviously simmered over fire for awhile for the sauce taste to infuse into the tang hoon but the sauce though tasted interesting (it's a unique taste and kinda sweet) wasn't quite what my taste bud will crave for. The da chang dou peking duck style was good but sooo small in portion. Other than that we also had the teriyaki ribeye, pork leg and stir fried kailan which both were all normal. Prices were not cheap but reasonable. We also did not have any issue with the chinese waitress, she was very friendly and smiley to us and also polite even far more so Jason~

smart said...

Ya Kwang used the medium size crabs but if it is Sri Lanka crabs u got to pay $35 to $40 depending on the season.
Talking about crabs, we had the Dungenesse crab at Greenwood Bt. Timah, cost $70 per kg. It is once a life time to have Dengenesse crab.(Daugther celebrate Mother's day)

Anonymous said...

Ya Kwang's food is really damn lousy. When they just opened, the food is nice but now totally out of standard. Anywhere, Ya Kwang have been taken over by others, but the staff still remind the same.

Anonymous said...

Deep fried intestine is nothing new boy....it is so famous in hongkong....ya kwang this guy obviously stolen the idea.....not his invention.

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