Need something to curry you up? I was so excited to finally find a decent store serving up traditional Hainanese curry rice smothered in a piping hot delicious sauce. There’s no such thing as too much gravy when it comes to curry rice.
十一指剪刀剪咖喱饭 Eleven Finger (Eu Kee) Scissors Curry Rice is just a stone’s throw away from Bugis+, located in a kopitiam. You’ll almost miss it if not for the snaking queues during the lunch hours.
I headed down to the much raved about hawker in the late afternoon and was promptly informed by the stall’s aunty that most of the ingredients were pretty much sold out for the day.
Do come early if you’re looking to get a full selection for the curry rice.
Here’s what I managed to get! (Yes, I had more than one plate).
For the first plate, I got the curry rice with Chicken Drumstick, Egg and Fish Cake ($4).
The kind lady at the store gave me a generous portion of rice drizzled with the signature curry and braised gravy. This might look like a little too much but that’s just how I like it.
Here’s a little tip: When you first get the plate, your hunger pangs might be urging you to dive in and start eating but give it a moment and let the rice grains soak in all that goodness. You have to trust me on this, the flavours only get better.
The one thing you definitely have to order here would be the Chicken Wings. The epitome of a good curry chicken wing is where the tender meat falls off the bone with a gentle tuck, and the ones I got were perfect.
For that extra oomph, get a fried egg to go with your curry rice. Nothing completes the ultimate curry rice experience like eggs, right?
Feel that crunch as you chomp away at the crisp edges of the egg. Then, you’ll be greeted by a semi-oozy yolk as you work your way to the centre; the eggs here were really something.
Just as I was about to finish up this plate of curry rice, I was abruptly distracted by a somewhat intense saltiness piercing through the array of flavours.
It turned out that it was the Fish Cake that I was tasting. It was, unfortunately, a little too much saltiness for my taste buds. Nevertheless, this was a pretty impressive plate of curry rice (sans the Fish Cake)!
Next up, I tried a curry rice combination of Pork Cutlet, Braised Pork Belly and Stewed Cabbage ($4).
The Pork Belly was marinated to perfection, with strong flavours from the braising process.
While the meat was a tad too tough for my liking, I was absolutely in love with the layers of fats melting in my mouth. If you know your meats well, you would know that it’s no easy feat to achieve this sort of texture.
Definitely, give the Braised Pork Belly a try!
I also really enjoyed the Pork Cutlet at this stall, which was done just right. What you’ll get is a delicious piece of Pork Cutlet that’ll tahan being soaked in curry.
The difference between your regular fried pork fillet and the curry rice’s Pork Cutlet lies in the ability of the golden brown breaded crust to remain firm and crispy despite being soaked in curry.
You might find the meat to be slightly dry on the inside but that’s just how it should be. A juicy piece of pork would not be able to absorb the curry and would almost certainly overpower it.
On to the classic component of every curry rice stall, Stewed Cabbage.
Here at Eleven Finger (Eu Kee) Scissors Curry Rice, the cabbage is lightly seasoned and cooked till soft. It was a delightful complement to the curry gravy!
Taste-wise, this stall didn’t have flavours that will blow you away, but you’ll definitely be reminded of home-cooked food. The subtle flavours worked so well with each other. I’ve been to many places that serve curry rice but none made me feel the way I did at Eleven Finger (Eu Kee) Scissors Curry Rice.
By now, you would have probably figured out that it was almost impossible for me to finish two whole plates of curry rice by myself. I dabaoed them, of course. Curry rice this awesome shouldn’t be wasted.
“Girl, your friend didn’t come? That’s why you dabao right?”, asked the friendly stall aunty as I sheepishly returned to her with two plates of curry rice.
The curry rice itself already left an impression on me, but it was also the service that made a difference. It made me feel at ease, it made me feel at home.
Expected damage: $4 per pax
