Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Singapore’s hawker scene is rife with noodle dishes that locals just can’t get enough of. Personally, char kway teow is one of my all-time favourites — this seemingly simple plate of fried noodles manages to perfectly combine sweet, savoury and salty flavours. One hawker stall that has captured the hearts of fellow char kway teow lovers over the years is Lai Heng Fried Kuay Teow & Cooked Food 来兴炒果条 • 熟食.
I paid a visit to Lai Heng Fried Kuay Teow & Cooked Food’s outlet in Shunfu Mart Food Centre, and was greeted by a queue for their food. Surprisingly, the wait time wasn’t too long, and I managed to obtain my plate of char kway teow relatively quickly, despite the number of people ahead of me in the line.
Lai Heng Fried Kuay Teow & Cooked Food serves 2 items on their menu, first of which being their titular Fried Kway Teow dish. The second offering, their Specially Made Otah, is what makes them stand out from other char kway teow stalls — this unique and unorthodox pairing is one of their main selling points.
Unfortunately, during the time of my visit, the otah had already sold out, leaving me to simply wonder what a char kway teow and otah pairing would taste like.
What I tried at Lai Heng Fried Kuay Teow & Cooked Food
Lai Heng Fried Kuay Teow & Cooked Food offers 2 portions for its Fried Kway Teow dish, costing S$3 and S$4 each. I decided to go for the S$4 portion, and soon received a plate of glistening, golden brown fried noodles.
My plate of Fried Kway Teow came with a mix of flat noodles and yellow noodles, as well an assortment of ingredients like egg, cockles, fish cakes and bean sprouts.
There was also a smattering of cooked vegetables within, though the amount was so negligible that it barely made a difference to the dish.
The Fried Kway Teow was a little more on the watery side, and the noodles donned a much lighter appearance. This, sadly, also meant that the intensity of the flavours were not as strong as I would have liked.
The Fried Kway Teow lacked the signature wok hei aroma that I’ve come to associate with stir-fried noodle dishes, and was less robust than what I had expected. Compared to the char kway teow that I had recently tried at another famous kway teow stall, Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee, Lai Heng Fried Kuay Teow & Cooked Food’s version was significantly less sweet and flavourful, and also unfortunately didn’t have any crunchy pork lard, which is one of my favourite elements of char kway teow.
There were pieces of lap cheong (Chinese sausage) scattered throughout, which was effective in adding a boost of sweetness to the otherwise more savoury noodles. I also enjoyed the silky texture of the fried eggs throughout, though in general, I wasn’t too impressed by the dish as a whole.
The cockles, at least, were nice and plump, with a juicy texture and briny taste. Though there weren’t that many in the dish, I still found them to be pretty adequate.
Final thoughts
Though Lai Heng Fried Kuay Teow & Cooked Food’s char kway teow did not live up to my expectations, I found that perhaps, my different views towards it may have been a more preferential thing. I personally like char kway teow with richer, more “sinful” flavours, including charred crunchy bits, a strong wok hei aroma and generous amounts of pork lard. However, those who prefer milder and “cleaner” flavours may gravitate more towards Lai Heng’s version.
The stall did impress me with its affordable prices — in more recent times, it’s hard to find hawker stalls that offer generous amounts of food for just S$3. My S$4 portion of Fried Kway Teow was incredibly filling, and kept me full for hours.
If you’re in the area, do give it a try for yourself, especially if you’d prefer a less intense take on char kway teow. And hopefully, you’ll be lucky enough to try their otah too.
Expected damage: S$4 – S$6.20 per pax
