Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice: Famous supper spot with crowds till 2.30am

What a glorious mess. 

Firmly situated along Jalan Besar, which famous store is said to be the hotspot for late-night feasts? Ding ding, there’s only one answer to this question. Handed down through 4 generations since 1930, the famous Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice is renowned for moreish plates of curry rice with tantalising sides. 

The family-run business has by no means slowed down. Aside from their original outlet, they have also branched out to Thomson and Bishan, as well as their first mall outlet in VivoCity.

Why Scissors Cut? Perhaps some history will help. 

Scissors Cut Curry Rice originated among Hainanese immigrants, including the store’s founder (Mr Lee Ah Hock), who worked as a chef in wealthy British and Peranakan households. While utilising the technique of “scissoring” ingredients with cleavers to achieve bite-sized pieces, these chefs incorporated diverse elements of their employers’ food into dishes. For example, British pork chop and Peranakan chap chye.

Before I end my journey with SethLui, I thought that it would be a fun challenge to step out of my comfort zone! Striving to overcome my spice-intolerance, I decided that trying this would be the first step. Lesson #0: Dare to try something new.

What I tried at Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice

I’m not exaggerating when I say that I almost passed out from the heat. Sweltering, burning, humid… words cannot describe how atrocious the weather was that day. Nevertheless, with my unruffled colleague Dean in tow (I needed to rely on someone sturdy to help me stomach the spice, just in case), we persevered. 

As we neared the iconic shophouse, I instantly knew that the back of my shirt would soon turn soaking wet. Rabz lah. 

Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice proudly occupies two units that are complete with tiled floors that have been walked on for many decades. If not for the carelessly-strewn brown plastic chairs and round foldable tables, the location can easily be used for period films based around the early ’90s. Imagine the amount of history this store holds.

The only source of wind? Air-conditioning is a no-no, so look up to see metal wall-mount fans that are reminiscent of your primary school days. Sit still enough and you may feel a slight breeze from their gentle rotation. Lesson #1: Come in the mornings or evenings. 

Enough complaining, let’s get to work. 

Wait, funny story first. Upon catching sight of a bright pink paper that stated “Cash Only”, we were panicking as I had around S$6, ALL IN COINS. This resulted in an embarrassing amount of time used to calculate the ingredients that we hoped to order. And it wasn’t until I got to the counter that I noticed a Paylah QR code. Oh. Lesson #2: Bring enough cash, always. 

After that whole hoo-ha, we settled on servings of Pork Chop (S$2), Chicken Wing (S$1.80), Cabbage (S$1) and Beancurd Puff (S$0.50) to accompany the White Rice (S$0.80) drenched in the signature curry gravy. I really wanted to get a taste of their handmade Prawn Fritter (S$1.10) but it was sold out. Till next time. 

As we were waiting for our order, I was delighted to see (and hear) the “snip snips” of metal scissors used to portion the ingredients into smaller pieces. These scissors looked the same as the ones on the signboards! Staying sharp to their roots huh?

Taking one glance at that ominous plate that is 90% blanketed with curry, I gulped in fear before shoving a spoonful into my mouth. “Eh, actually you can eat what,” Dean laughed. Yes, I surprisingly could. It was not as spicy as I initially thought it would be. Given the mild-spice, I would never compare this reddish-brown gravy to the likes of viscous Japanese curry. 

It had its own unique charm. As I could still discern flavours of the ingredients that lay beneath that silky coat, Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice’s curry did not taste overpowering to me. In fact, I enjoyed trawling through the depths of the dish to soak up this palatable goodness. 

Moving on to the sides, the Pork Chop unfortunately had lost its crispy exterior. We believe that this can be attributed to the extra-quick absorption of gravy as well as the chop not being fried-to-order. Hey chill, it was still real tasty. I could enjoy the savouriness of the meat shining through the omnipresent curry. 

As for the Chicken Wing that also features a drumstick, it was simply decent at best. Marking my checkbox of “tender” and “ample” flesh, I just wished that there was more depth to this chicken lor. But ‘cause the store adopts the cai png system, I do understand it’s because of the amount of dishes they have to prepare. 

I would say it differently for the Cabbage and Beancurd Puff though. While the staple vegetable had sweet undertones that paired well with the gravy (that also had a tinge of sweetness, the porous tau pok was oozing with braised sauce that exploded with every bite. The dark-coloured stock fondly reminded me of the claypot tau yu bak that my popo used to make! Lesson #3: Looks can be deceiving.

Overall, this was an extremely hearty meal and I can see why folks still swing by Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice regardless of the timing. Messy with an unreplaceable no-frills simplicity, that curry rice left Dean and I with no words to describe how satisfied we felt. 

Also, my shirt did not turn translucent after the meal. 

Final Thoughts

Guess what, I was lucky to meet a fourth-generation relative of this family business, Ms Lin. According to the towkay, the store sees crowds at different times of the day.

So it’s true ah.

Additionally, from my brief conversation with her, I could sense a tethered responsibility to keep the shophouse alive. Similar to many other businesses that are passed from generation to generation, I wonder if these current owners and operators think of giving up on a past that they are practically obliged to be involved in. 

Stepping aside from theoretical what-ifs, contrary to popular belief, the store does not open till 3.30am anymore. Seen with the usual queues, it is currently open till 2.30am. 

Taking all that I have presented to you in mind, will Beach Road Scissors Cut Curry Rice be your next supper spot? Now, for those who have visited this monument before, is this curry rice still as good? 

Well, that’s for you to find out.

Expected damage: S$2 to S$6 per pax

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