Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
You know it’s going to be good when even residents in the area swear by a particular stall. That was the case for Fried Kway Teow, an unassuming yet insanely well-loved char kway teow stall at Ang Mo Kio Central Market & Food Centre.
How unassuming can it really be? Just take a look at its storefront, which doesn’t have a fancy name. In fact, it only has the word “fried kway teow”! Fans of this hidden gem might know it as Ang Mo Kio Char Kway Teow instead.
An elderly couple has been running the stall for the past 43 years, with the friendly auntie taking orders (often on a large, brown sheet of paper) and the skilful uncle doing the actual cooking.
As the name suggests, Fried Kway Teow only sells one thing: Fried Kway Teow, and it is available in two portions: S$4 for small and S$5 for large. Both come with cockles and chilli, though you can ask for your char kway teow to be cooked without these two components if you’d like.
Don’t be alarmed by the potentially massive queues, though— it moves relatively fast and trust me when I say that it’s going to be worth the wait.
What I tried at Fried Kway Teow
I decided to bring my colleague, Aaron, the resident AMK-expert, along for this meal. We shared a plate of Fried Kway Teow (S$5), and of course, we opted for the cockles and chilli for the full experience.
I was impressed from the get-go. My Fried Kway Teow was served to me piping hot and fresh off the wok, with steam billowing up from the plate of char kway teow. As we walked to our table, I could already smell the smoky scent of wok hei, and I was beyond excited to start eating.
Having patronised this stall countless times, Aaron warned me that the quality of the char kway teow varies. “There are good days and bad days,” he shares. “On the bad days, the char kway teow is a little mushier.”
As we tucked into our first bites of Fried Kway Teow, I could see Aaron nodding his head. “Yes, this is a good day,” he says.
Indeed, it was a good day. This plate of Fried Kway Teow was excellent— it was garlicky, savoury, full-bodied, and filled with glorious smoky and wokhei flavours. At the base of all these delicious flavours was a well-balanced sweetness (which I suppose is from the dark soy sauce and some sugar), which helped all the flavours come together in a rich and yummy manner.
It was spicier than I’d liked. The chilli was bright and came across in a prominent manner, and after a few mouthfuls, I found myself sniffling from the built-up spiciness.
As for the texture, it’s definitely wetter than most char kway teows I’ve had, but each glistening strand of kway teow was lusciously coated in a mixture of sauce and oil, making each bite completely sinful but utterly worth it.
Hidden inside the thick folds of char kway teow were your usual ingredients, such as sliced fishcakes, lap cheong, cockles and beansprouts.
For a plate of S$5, the amount of cockles and lap cheong that we had been given was unfortunately quite little. It took Aaron and me a few minutes to dig up two to three pieces of each, as if it were a scavenger hunt!
Out of these ingredients, my favourite was the lap cheong, as it seemed to have been seared beforehand, creating a charred saltiness that went fantastically well with the Fried Kway Teow.
The lard pieces had been tossed so well with the char kway teow that it looked as if they had soaked up the gravy. I was worried that it had softened in the process, but all it took was one bite for me to be won over by these little morsels of goodness.
Though it indeed was a little soft on the outside, each piece of lard was still deliciously puffy and crispy on the inside, and biting into it released a mixture of smoky, salty and umami-filled flavours. Sorry, diet, you’ll have to wait— these crispy pork lard pieces are too addictive!
Final thoughts
Was this plate of Fried Kway Teow worth every single calorie? Absolutely yes. I thoroughly enjoyed every single spoonful, and I can definitely see myself coming back to Ang Mo Kio for this.
If anything, my only gripe would be the sparse amount of ingredients, such as lap cheong and cockles, but the char kway teow was fried so beautifully that Aaron and I polished off the entire plate within 15 minutes anyway.
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