Koon Kee: Wok Hei Hor Fun with Paul McCartney!
With ieatfamily
Hor Fun $4 
There are some places which I just fall in love with at first sight. Koon Kee is one of them. ChinChyeGuy's dad told me about this place which sells a pretty mean Hor Fun and since I have been searching for a Hor Fun with wok hei, I simply had to pay the place a visit. But it wasn't the food that got me at first. It was ambience of the place. Situated in a row of old shophouses opposite Serangoon Stadium, stepping into Koon Kee is like stepping into a time machine back into the sixties. I am not saying that it feels like a old Cze Char coffee shop. No, it's just that the owner of Koon Kee happens to be an antique collector, so the place is filled with old metal toys, Beetles records, bulky one door fridges and the like. Its just got that old "Hole in the Wall" rustic feel to it that I haven't felt in Singapore since I came back from Bangkok.
Koon Kee has been around for a long time. They started at the Civil Service Club, then moved to Hwa Chong JC for a while before Mr Lim decided to retire. After a restful retirement for 2 years, his younger son decided to resurrect his father's restaurant and they found themselves at this lovely little hole-in-the-wall.
My first plate of Hor Fun was a bit of a letdown as it did not have the wok hei flavour which I was eagerly anticipating. When I complained about it, the chef told me that a lot of people nowadays did not want the charred flavour so they had to cut back. So I had them fry another plate of hor fun for me with wok hei.
The state of Hor Fun in Singapore is pretty lack lustre nowadays and this one stands out as one of the best one I have eaten so far. However, I still felt that it still lacked that special something from the past. Perhaps I need to persuade the "old hand" to come out of retirement to fry one for me?
The Hor Fun here is sold out everyday because they order fresh Hor Fun daily and never keep it overnight. An expertly fried fresh Hor Fun is smokey with chewy charred bits at the edges and soft and slurpy at the same time. The sauce is pretty good and they do have fresh and good quality seafood although they do lack the more traditional pork tripe. 4.25/5
The other item which was recommended to me was the fried chicken. It is supposed to be Har Cheong Kai, but I think it tastes better if you don't call it that. It's a really tasty fried chicken but a mediocre Har Cheong Kai. I felt that day that it had just spend a minute too long in the oil so it was not as juicy as it should be. 4/5
Conclusion
Judging from the standard of the two dishes I had and the fact that dining here is really like eating in someone's home, I have already decided that I will be coming back to try their other dishes. I was told that the red wine chicken is really good as are some of their Thai food since the Lau Ban Niang is Thai. The Hor Fun was very good and one of the few places which I would recommend for Hor Fun, but is this really the best a Hor Fun can get nowadays?
Koon Kee
66 Yio Chu Kang Road
Opp Serangoon Stadium
12 - 2.30pm
6pm to 9.30pm
Closed Thursdays
62881206, 92718875
15 comments:
Hi Leslie,
For traditional hor fun with wok hei, check out this stall called "Yuet Loy" in the Chinatown hawkers' centre. They are open for lunch and dinner (closed on Thursdays), but they only serve the fried hor fun during lunch. I have been eating at this stall since I was a child - they are typical Cantonese purists who prepare their ingredients from scratch (after their stall closes at about 9 pm, they stay on to prepare their stuff until about 4am). When they were at Maxwell Rd, the queues used to be long, but over time, because they moved a few times, they have been very much forgotten. Check out their cze char dishes.
According to http://www.skypigeon.com/, 66 YCK Rd is quite a distance from Serangoon Stadium. Could you verify the address, I'd love to try it!
The Hor Fun looks dark, did they used soy sauce to fry the noodles?
Yes they added a bit at the end.
hey paddychicken, tried the skypigeon thingy. It insists on showing me the route from serangoon community park though I specify serangoon stadium but the park is at serangoon ave 4 is quite far away. My mighty minds directory show 66 yck is next to stadium. FYI
Strangely, The 'sup kum' hor fun with the nicest wok hei I've tried is actually at Five Star!
That's right, five star chicken rice @ katong.
You must be thinking 'siao ah go five star eat hor fun' - but that's why they're called hidden gems *wink*
Really? Must go try!
Totally agree with Yuet Loy but the horfun usually sell out by 2pm.
Have not tried them since they moved to Outram Temporary FC however, will be popping by pretty soon.
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The Hor Fun cost 5 sgd now.. perhaps your visit helped bump up the prices. The hor fun was alright I felt but was not worth the 5 sgd price. Had the fried chicken as you suggested. Cost 13 sgd for a small order (according to the young man who took my order) and was rather expensive I felt. Taste wise nothing to write home about. The shop was quaint but will not be back again. kk
the place is opposite the road from the serangoon swimming complex. near the SPC petrol kiosk.
personally i feel that the food there is only average. but the place is really cool to look at.
i eat there quite often due to convenience and the price has indeed increased =(
Celebrated my b/day last week and the entire family enjoyed the home-cooked meals here.
We had the bittergourd with fish $16 (good wok hei), thai-styled prawn vermicelli salad (nice balance of sourness and spiciness), deep fried toufu (average), fish maw soup (generous amounts of fish maw in a light broth), pork rib king (average), hor fun (good but could be better with more wok hei), steam prawns with garlic (shiok! very fresh prawns topped with generous amount of minced ginger).
Wanted to try the braised duck but it was not available that evening.
All in all, a good place to have home-cooked/styled meal in a cosy environment.
Paid about $120+ including 2 beers and drinks.
After looking at the picture taken by ieat, I really tempted to try this dish which I have not eaten for a long time!
I finally get to eat this Hor Fun this afternoon, $5 a plate, quite a big size and hot from the wok, taste delicious. One of the restaurants that will make you go back again, has the nostalgia ambience, quite difference, aircon inside. Worth to check it out.
Thanks ieat, cheers!
Fei Lao hor fun has moved from it's joo chiat premise. Does anyone know where they had moved to?
Just dropped by over lunch after procrastinating for so long (I stay in the East). No bad the hor fun but price have gone up like Wall St bonuses, its $5 now. A bit too steep, so that's my beef.
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