Saturday, August 26, 2006

Hai Kee Teochew Cha Kua Teow, Margaret Drive, Singapore

You know that a place is pretty decent when you rock up half an hour before they're opened and you're still not the first one in queue. This place was Hai Kee Teochew Cha Kua Teow at unit1-550 in the Commonwealth Avenue Cooked Food Center. I have been asked repeatedly by a colleague to check out this joint and finally found the time to do so. I'm damn glad I did.

If a hawker's only decor is a solitary lightbulb under his sign, it can only mean that he channels the rest of his efforts into honing his art. Then again, maybe the lightbulb is a visual representation of an idea, an idea to create one badass Cha Kua Teow.

This guy is almost a purist when it comes to his version of cha kua teow. The only ingredients used are blood cockles (extremely fresh here), chinese sausage, eggs and beansprouts (hence making it healthy and balanced). His generous use of pork lard in conjuring up this dish is most appreciated. I bit into a crunchy piece of lard that I reckon was as huge as a fifty-cent coin. I ordered the upsized version at SGD3.50 and it was sufficient for two to share. He doesn't mind custom-orders as well, so don't be afraid to ask for less or more chilli, garlic, sweet sauce, oil (don't kid yourself) etc. Lastly, for the health freaks, he does have a "B" score for his store, so this is healthy eating. Then again, I'll still join the queue even if he's got a "F".

D

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahh! One of my favourites! Thats it that will be my craving for the day :p

There used to be this really good store in Chinatown you know...but it closed down...rumoured to be haunted and all that (but if it was a ghost that was making their food taste that good it must have been some philanthropic ghost)

Cheers, and do one on Kuriya when you're free so I can keep the pictures for a memory! :)

-grace

D said...

It's on file, somewhere in the queue...

Anonymous said...

*drool drool drool ahhh my father land dish... hehe only half Teochew man... Perth needs more of this "professionally cooked style... not some of these psuedo Cha Kua Teow in northbridge >.<

God Bless

Anonymous said...

wow, it's so hard for me to find a good char kway teow now, our preferred place used to be Lao Fu Zi at Old Airport Rd before we moved which was rather nice but not great!

You do know the B is for cleanliness lol, not healthiness? ;)

Anonymous said...

This Char Kway Teow, is it at 40A Commonwealth Avenue? What else would you recommend at this hawker centre. do they open both lunch and dinner?

Jeremy Yao said...

The stall only opens from 6pm to 10pm daily i think.. anyway i just ate there.. Highly Recommended