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For about 3 years, ex-pastry chef and gym instructor, Ken Lee and his wife, Kim have been running Kim Lee Hokkien Zhang and Crispy Puff. The kopitiam stall at 27 Jalan Berseh also houses the famous Sungei Road Laksa. Amid the hustle of making curry puffs and bak zhang, Ken has been quietly toying with recipes for Nanyang-style dishes behind the scenes.
“It has always been my dream to open 1 or 2 more outlets, or perhaps to operate a Nanyang-style café,” Ken shared with me. For now, though, he’s taking baby steps — having rebranded his stall as Kim Lee Oriental Street Kitchen just 3 weeks ago. The menu now offers dry mee siam, mee rebus, and nasi lemak.
For regulars, not to worry. The couple is still offering the signature curry puffs and bak zhang, but producing smaller quantities according to customers’ needs. Kim has always been the one in charge of the rice dumplings, but due to the extra menu offerings, she has learnt the art of making the curry puff dough as well.
I started off with the Mee Rebus Satay (S$5). The mound of yellow noodles is drenched in a thick, dark orange gravy and drizzled with dark sauce. It’s crowned with fried shallots, green chilli slices, and an interesting addition of sliced youtiao. The dish also comes with half a boiled egg, calamansi and 3 sticks of homemade chicken satay, which Ken marinates and grills himself.
Though not served with the usual peanut sauce, the meat skewers were incredibly tasty with spices like lemongrass and a slight smokiness coming from the charred bits. The mee rebus was decent and perfectly seasoned, with crunchy textures of the youtiao that gave it an interesting contrast.
The Nasi Lemak with BBQ Sambal Fish (S$6.50) comes with a grilled chencharu fish (a type of horse mackerel), a fried egg, achar, peanuts and anchovies, sambal, and of course, coconut rice.
Ken shared that he has painstakingly spent over 3 months perfecting the nasi lemak and uses premium-quality rice. Initially adopting the rice-cooker method, he now uses the ‘kukus‘ method, a traditional way of steaming rice. The coconut flavour was strong without being overpowering and the texture was just right. The sambal veered more to the savoury side rather than sweet, which was fine for me.
The fish was tender and tasty and the sambal, thankfully, didn’t overwhelm my palate. However, you’ll have to be mindful of some small bones here and there.
On a side note, I liked how the peanuts and anchovies had a light dusting of sugar which really lifted the flavour up a notch. The achar gave the dish a much-needed tangy zing.
If mee siam is your jam, savour the Dry Mee Siam with Ayam Goreng Berampah (S$5.80). It’s served with a whole fried chicken leg filled with spices, achar, half a boiled egg, and a little quirky surprise — a few pieces of fried chicken skin. It was like finding mini treasure bonuses on a plate.
The huge fried chicken leg was aromatic and flavourful with juicy flesh. The dry mee siam, paired with beansprouts is certainly not for the faint hearted, it packed a fiery punch which knocked my socks off.
If you’re craving something for lunch or an early dinner while getting their curry puffs, give Kim Lee Oriental Street Kitchen’s range of new Nanyang-style dishes a try.
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