Chuan Kee Satay: Authentic Hainanese Pork Satay!
After over a year of blogging, I must admit that I am getting a little spoilt. It is getting harder and harder to find dishes that really make me go "Phwa Say!!" I guess the threshold to delight keeps getting higher and higher because once you have tested the best, the rest just don't thrill anymore.
Fortunately, there are still many gems out there just waiting to be found. And finding this satay was a "Holy Grail" experience after quite a long lull period.
The elderly couple manning this stall told me that they have been dishing out their satay for almost 50 years. The uncle started out by helping his father sell satay when he was just 5 years old along the streets of Geylang. Back then, satays were 5 cents per stick and they were not as popular as they are now.
This is traditional Hainanese style satay which means Pork Satay served with a peanut gravy that comes with a pineapple slush. The flowery bouquet from the freshly grilled skewers was too much of an unbearable tease and the first bite of the satay was like getting infatuated all over again. The meat is really tender and coated with spicy golden syrup that hinted strongly of lemongrass and coriander. Fantastic. 4.75/5
I remembered as a kid, pork satay used to come in 5 sections. Meat, fat, meat, fat, meat. This one only had 3 sections. Meat, fat, meat. I thought it might be because they cut down on the fat because of health concerns, but the uncle told me that this is the "pattern" that they have kept for as long as he can remember. Ok, the fat makes the satay really juicy and delicious but do remember to always eat in moderation ok?
Conclusion
Heavenly pork satay. I must admit that I have not eaten such tasty Pork Satay, at least not for a very long time. Now before I get carried away, I must warn you that the waiting time on the weekend is around 45 minutes and while I was queuing, a young lady was bitterly complaining that the chicken satay she just had was not worth the wait. OK, so I am only vouching for the Pork Satay not the chicken. My advice is to head straight for the stall, order your satay and go eat other stuff while you wait. And make sure you order more than enough. It was so good, I came back to reorder some more and that meant more waiting!
Chuan Kee Satay
Old Airport Road Food Centre
#01-85
6pm until sold out around 10pm
Closed Mon and Thurs
Sunday opened at 1pm
15 comments:
how coincidental to see this post! our family have been visiting this stall of late. my gal took (their) satay for the 1st time and got hooked!
agree that the pork satay is the BEST! the marinade is a bit sweet but we love it.
i think gotta specially ask for the pineapple sauce for takeaways (if they do give you in the first place). we ta-bao and realised that they didn't add it in the peanut sauce....duh.
Oh.. I tried this stall around a month ago and I totally agreed that the pork satay is the best I have eaten so far.. a pity that the meat is a tad too small on each stick and the wait is really long.
http://www.hisfoodblog.blogspot.com/
Yes I whole heartedly agree on their pork satay. Been eating this for a few years now!
I just had some last night and it definitely wasn't worth the wait. The satay sauce was not flavorful and satay was quite tough and not tender. The satay at Chomp Chomp so far is still the best.
I remember those 5 layers of satay..! but i donch think they have it anymore. Gotta try pork satay .. the next time i come home.
tried it yesterday wif my bf.. e pork is not bad.. 6/10 (becos of e crunchy fats!!) but other than tat, i find it quite normal.. e meat is quite tough though..
u guys can forget abt e chicken satay lor.. only e pork is ok..
The BEST Satay is at Blk 448Clementi Central Market & Food Centre. The store also got sell Bak Gua (BBQ Meat). The Chicken Satay is the best... If u haven't try it yet, you have wasted your life man...
I just had this yesterday and didnt realise that the wait was this long.
Got a table beside the stall and ordered 5 pork and 5 chicken. As i did not order any food yet, was hoping to eat before queuing for my usual wanton mee or char quay tiao.
BIG MISTAKE. I went back after 15 mins to check as I saw the auntie giving out satays to patrons who "tar pao" and were after me in queue. Thought they had forgotten my order. The auntie held her palm up, gesturing me to wait (without looking at me). I obliged thinking that it is popular and wait is long on a Saturday.
After another 10 mins, my gf went to check as we were starving (and she was also waiting for the famous western food chicken chop). The auntie again pointed to the list she scribbled, without eye contact. From then on, I was looking intently at her to see who they were serving first. I realised that she only starts serving tables after clearing waiting customers who "tar pao". And she served a table jsut right next to ours that came 20 minutes after I ordered. after serving all other tables, she finally brought us our precious satays. Now that is really bad attitude. IF I were told nicely to wait because there were many orders, I can understand perfectly. I am sure all of us passionate about what we eat are used to waiting for our favourite food. I gamely waited even though I asked politely if they remembered my order. In return, i waited like everyone else (which was totally fine), but she purposely served us last. Going to ban this satay stall myself and tell my makan khakis to avoid. It was a total turnoff for me and my gf as Old Airport ranks up there as one of our fave haunts.
I am relating this, hoping that anyone who reads will order and wait for the satay at the stall to avoid my unpleasant experience. It will be worth my rude experience if you guys manage to get your satays without going through this. Happy Makan all my fellow foodies!!!!
Hey desonicyank,
Had a similar experience with a whopping 45-min wait. Never had to wait for satay for that long.
Already at the end of my meal, I pressured the lady boss by standing right in front of them and telling her I will take the satay myself. Ended up bringing the styrofoam plate and bowl of peanut sauce to the car and enjoying it under the moonlight.
Well, the quality almost compensated the waiting time but I'm not sure if I'm going to wait 45-mins again for this.
Tried out the pork satay today,it was ok.You should try the one at Alexandra Village Hawker Centre, sold by a old man,it also comes with peanut gravy with a pineapple slush. For pork satay this is the stall to beat.
Is that one called Punggol Satay?
old man ? whats the time that you went ?...everytime i go...its a young fella.....maybe his son ?
Yes it's Punggol Satay.I went few times only saw old man, opens in evening.
I spoke to the man 2 months ago and found out that they have stopped making their own satay. They now source from Kwong's Satay which is still very good.
I last had Punggol Satay early January this year.Even if they don't make their own,I strongly believe the hands that does the cooking can make wonders to a dish.Maybe Chuan Kee Satay I just tried just after Chinese New Year rush.Will tried again some time after the New Year mood fates away.
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