Chinatown Char Kway Teow Stall
×Char Kway Teow
Char Kway Teow / 炒粿条
Why you must eat itFlat rice noodles (kway teow) fried in a hot wok with lard and dark soy. In go prawns, fish cake, bean sprouts, chives and sweet Chinese sausage, and at some stalls cockles. Beaten egg is folded in last, and carrying the char of the wok — the "wok breath" — is where the skill shows. Plated, the noodles are black and glossy, sweetness, richness and a faint scorch fused into one. It is quite heavy with fat, so one plate split between two is about right. A sit-down heavyweight of the market. Ask for "extra chili" and the heat goes up.
Char kway teow spread from the Malay Peninsula and stands as a signature of Singapore's hawker centres. It began as heavy, fatty food to fill a labourer, and to this day the older stalls use lard without apology. The Chinatown Complex and Maxwell hold several frying specialists, the clatter of the wok and the smoke marking them out. Sweetness and whether cockles go in vary by stall, so finding your one is part of the fun. This stands for the neighbourhood's stalls rather than a single named shop. Hours are a guide; confirm on the spot.
- Nearest
- Chinatown Complex, 2nd floor
- Hours
- 11:00-21:00 頃
- Price
- S$4–6