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There are so many coffee shops in Yishun that I’ve stopped counting. However, a stall in the recently opened Blk 293 BK Eating House, not to be confused with the other BK Eating House in Yishun, which is a short walk away.
Unfortunately, this stall hit my radar for all the wrong reasons: accusations of rude owners, bland rice, and uncooked meat. But what is this mysterious stall’s name? Well, it’s Uncle Steven Fried Rice.
To be clear, this isn’t the first Uncle Steven Fried Rice stall in Singapore. The stall is part of a chain with locations in various other coffee shops, but this one in Yishun is rated as the worst, with a horrific 2.3/5 stars on Google Reviews.
Reviews mention subpar food quality, with the fried chicken being undercooked. Others discuss the lack of wok hei in the fried rice, and the cashier being impatient. With the coffee shop a stone’s throw from my home, I decided to investigate.
What I tried at Uncle Steven Fried Rice
The first myth I dispelled was that of a rude cashier. The auntie serving me was your run-of-the-mill hawker stall auntie, who served me with minimal interaction but competently.
The first dish I tried was their XL Chicken Cutlet Fried Rice (S$8.50). Frankly, I felt like the price was a bit outrageous. While inflation is a monster all of us have to fight, I still don’t think it justifies the price of the dish, even if it came with a big chicken cutlet.
Another thing I noted was the oily surface of the plate. Either the chef’s hands were coated with oil, or the chicken cutlet was so oily that it seeped through the rice and all over the plate. Regardless, it was a very bad omen.
I took my first spoon… and don’t think I have ever tasted a spoonful of fried rice as plain as this. Each grain was quite dry and tasteless, with little to no wok hei at all. The fried eggs tossed together with the rice had absolutely zero fragrance. Overall, the rice was just disappointingly bland.
What a disaster, and for a fried rice stall of all places. I feel like more seasoning and wok hei need to be added to the dish to make the rice pop more.
Thankfully, the chicken cutlet was cooked, unlike what the reviews suggested. I was taken aback by how dark the skin was, likely meaning it was fried for quite a while. If that were the case, it would explain why the plate was so oily.
The chicken was actually quite juicy and soft, with crispy skin that had a mildly peppery taste. In a vacuum, I think this super oily chicken cutlet works well with plain egg fried rice. However, S$8.50 is a big ask for plain fried rice and an oily chicken cutlet, and some may consider it too expensive.
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Next up, their Penang Char Kway Teow (S$5). Some people claim this is more like a “Singapore char kway teow“, which isn’t true, as char kway teow from Singapore is characterised by the addition of yellow noodles.
Funnily enough, the stall labelled this dish as “the best” in all caps on their signage. Unlike the fried rice, I actually found the portion-to-price ratio for the char kway teow to be fair.
It is served as a wet-style char kway teow, with each flat strand of kway teow and tau geh well-coated in an oily sheen. The spiciness was just right — hot enough to leave a lasting impression, but not so hot that it burns your tongue off.
I would have preferred if the rice noodles used were shorter and wider, but their current selection is alright too.
The char kway teow only came with 2 prawns, and they weren’t exactly large. Unfortunately, the prawns were tough to chew through as well. Perhaps they weren’t cooked long enough? I also felt like there were too few slices of fish cake and lup cheong, as I counted only a handful of both toppings combined.
Final thoughts
Tragically, Uncle Steven Fried Rice was not able to put out a decent plate of fried rice, which is a sentence I never thought I would say till now. Whoever Uncle Steven is, perhaps they might need help from an Uncle Roger to fix their fried rice game.
Expected damage: S$5 – S$9 per pax
Order Delivery: foodpanda
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