Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
When one utters the words ‘kway chap‘, one often receives reactions ranging from delight to disgust. As for me, I stand relatively neutral on the subject. However, I’ve been slowly pushed by my kway chap-loving friends to give the dish a fair shot, their words directing me to Ah Keat Pig’s Organ Soup and Kway Chap in Blk 233 Yishun Kimly Coffeeshop.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard about the hawker franchise. In fact, it’s considered kway chap royalty by Singaporean foodies. Ah Keat Pig’s Organ Soup and Kway Chap began its journey more than 30 years ago in a coffeeshop around the Marsling area, a short walk away from Woodlands Checkpoint.
They’ve grown to become one of the most well-known hawkers of pig’s organ soup and kway chap in Singapore, with numerous franchise outlets. Fortunately, there’s one right here in Yishun where I live.
What I tried at Ah Keat Pig’s Organ Soup and Kway Chap
For a famous hawker franchise, Ah Keat Pig’s Organ Soup and Kway Chap maintains surprisingly affordable prices. Their signature Kway Chap Set costs S$5.50, with an optional add-on of Kway or White Rice for just S$0.80. The kway chap price is about the same as that of other hawkers in Singapore, even though the brand can justify a price increase.
One nitpick I have straight out of the gate was how messy everything was. There was soup and sauce spilt all over my tray as I collected my meal, and while I understand that kway chap is a meal almost messy by design, I still think more effort could’ve been put into making the meal more presentable.
In no particular order, these are my top 3 ingredients of their Kway Chap Set. The pig skin was just the right amount of chewy and acted as a palate cleanser when eaten after the other innards. I’m a sucker for their pork belly, too. It had a mildly herbal flavour accentuated by the natural sweetness of the meat.
Finally, the large intestines were pleasantly firm and had a clean flavour. In fact, there was zero foul odour to be smelt. Kudos to the chef!
Unfortunately, I found their small intestines to be quite lacking. The outer layer of meat was too tough for my liking and tasted bland compared to the depth of flavour that came from the other components. It was a similar story with their braised egg, the yolk inside being a bit dry and chalky.
In my opinion, tau pok is the most hit-or-miss component on a plate of innards. I have a personal pet peeve with hawkers who overboil tau pok to avoid it resembling a dried sponge. However, this results in a tau pok that’s just bland.
That’s why I was ecstatic when I tasted Ah Keat Pig’s Organ Soup and Kway Chap’s tau pok, as it hit that sweet Goldilocks zone of absorbent firmness.
Feng Ji Kway Chap: Super cheap $2.50 kway chap set with prices unchanged since 2012
I was impressed by their chilli as well. It had a sharp, tangy flavour with a touch of saltiness that paired well with the foul taste of most innards. The zest left a lasting impression, lingering on my tongue long after I swallowed each mouthful.
However… the sheets of kway could really use some work. Portion-wise, they were very generous with the amount of rice sheets, and I had no issues with the size either. However, I found the broth to be rather tasteless. It had some notes of sweetness, but they were very hard to pick up.
The rice sheets failed to absorb the broth’s sweet hints, resulting in a kway that didn’t add much to the meal. Perhaps the story would’ve been different if the broth had greater depth of flavour.
Next, I moved on to their other speciality, Pig’s Organ Soup (S$5). The vibes were instantly different from the kway chap, with such a clear and clean soup. It had a mild pepperiness that reminded me of pepper bak kut teh, with an iron-like aftertaste which likely came from the pork liver swimming in the soup.
It was impressive how many ingredients were in the soup, with beloved staples like pork meat and belly. I did think the pork meat could use about a minute or two longer in the pot, as it could’ve been more tender. Still, it was a fair slice.
The meatballs honestly deserve a shoutout. While I only received a pair, both absorbed the peppery soup well and gave a punchy heatiness. The pork liver was a bit generic, but they didn’t need to be anything special outside of, well, tasting like pork liver.
Final thoughts
Is this truly the best kway chap and pig organ soup hawker in Singapore? Probably not, but Ah Keat Pig’s Organ Soup and Kway Chap still put together a solid showing. Are things different at their main branch in Marsling? Perhaps that’s something worth investigating in my free time.
Expected damage: S$5 – S$6.30 per pax
Order Delivery: foodpanda
