Hock Shun Traditional Homemade Curry: Nostalgic claypot chicken curry from $3.50 at Redhill

I grew up dipping bread in chicken curry, and I have fond childhood memories of my bustling grandmother bent over a wok containing bubbling aromatic chicken curry. To my absolute delight, I found Hock Shun Traditional Homemade Curry hidden away in Redhill Food Centre, and they sell the real deal— old-school homemade chicken curry!

The stall is run by a couple in their 30s, and the menu is as straightforward as it can be— there are only 5 claypot curry items, and you can choose to pair your curry with white rice, turmeric rice or bread.

What I tried at Hock Shun Traditional Homemade Curry

The first item I tried was Hock Shun Traditional Homemade Curry’s signature dish: the Home-made Claypot Curry Chicken Drumstick (S$4.50). For this dish, I decided to pick Bread (S$0.80) as my choice of carbs.

To my delight, I noticed that both the curry chicken and bread came piping hot. The curry chicken, served in a claypot, was bubbling when it was served on my tray, and the bread had been toasted in a small toaster oven prior to being sliced and served.

The first thing I did was take a sip of the curry, and I was instantly transported back to when I was a child, standing in the bustling kitchen and stealing sips of curry straight from the wok.

This was the most delicious claypot curry chicken I’ve had in my life. Taste wise, it’s buttery, thick, aromatic and mildly sweet, with an underlying taste of a wide array of spices I cannot identify (I’m tempted to say rempah with a hint of turmeric, but I might be wrong). It had a thick, luscious texture, like thick cream, and I absolutely loved its appearance too— beautifully glossy.

The result is an irresistible bowl of comforting, homemade curry, and I really do mean it when I say it’s irresistible. Throughout the shoot, I’m sneaking in sips of curry.

For S$4.50, I was surprised to find both a piece of chicken drumstick and breast in my claypot. The chicken meat was nothing special— it had been cooked prior to being doused with curry— but it did tear apart easily, with little effort.

Together with the chicken drumstick and breast was a large chunk of potato, which unfortunately, did nothing much to the dish in terms of taste, as it was bland. However, it was good for texture, as it provided that starchy, crumbly contrast to the smooth curry.

Clearly, the winner of this bowl of Home-made Claypot Curry Chicken Drumstick was neither the chicken or potato— it was the curry. And I say that in a good way, because the curry was easily good enough to win me over and make me forget the chicken or potato. Not to mention, thanks to the use of the claypot, the curry was still piping hot towards the end of my meal— a real plus, I must say.

Oh, what a glorious, aromatic spiced curry with a luscious creamy texture. Mmmm!

What I loved about Hock Shun Traditional Homemade Curry’s Bread (S$0.80) was that it wasn’t your usual loaf of Gardenia, Sunshine or Bonjour. Instead, it reminded me of the French loaves from the local bakery. I was given half a loaf, which had been cut into 3 slices.

Dipping it into the curry was a no-brainer, and let me tell you, this was the highlight of my meal at Hock Shun Traditional Homemade Curry. By itself, the bread was fluffy and soft on the inside, while the outer crust was wonderfully thin and crispy. Dousing it in curry was a match made in heaven, and I found myself demolishing the 3 slices of bread in minutes.

My only gripe here would be that there wasn’t enough bread for the amount of curry given. Perhaps I should have ordered another plate of Bread!

If you’re not up for Home-made Claypot Curry Chicken Drumstick, Hock Shun Traditional Homemade Curry also sells 4 other types of curry. 

The most affordable is the Home-made Claypot Curry Veg (S$3.50), while other options include Home-made Claypot Curry Chicken Wing (S$4), Home-made Claypot Curry Yong Tau Foo (S$4) and Home-made Claypot Assam Curry Fish (S$5.50).

For variety, I decided to try the Home-made Claypot Curry Yong Tau Foo, and paired it with a plate of Turmeric Rice (S$0.80).

Although everything was glossed over by a thick sheen of curry, I could spot the usual yong tau foo ingredients— bitter gourd stuffed with fish meat, lady’s finger, tau pok, firm deep-fried tofu and 2 slices of bean curd-wrapped fish cakes.

The Home-made Claypot Curry Yong Tau Foo was incredibly enjoyable, but for a different reason than the Home-made Claypot Curry Chicken Drumstick. This dish was an all-rounder, with a variety of ingredients which all presented different flavours and textures. The bitter gourd was sour and sharp, while the fish cakes were sweet and soft. 

This is definitely what you’d want to go for if you foresee the thick curry getting too jelak.

The Turmeric Rice (S$0.80) instantly surprised me as to how much it reminded me of chicken rice. Light, fluffy and fragrant, with what seemed like aromatic pandan and ginger. The kicker was the curry, which added on to that already fragrant base. 

Final thoughts

I absolutely loved my time at Hock Shun Traditional Homemade Curry. Not only were all the dishes priced affordably, there was a wide enough variety such that you could pick between chicken drumsticks, chicken wings, vegetables, assam fish and yong tau foo. 

The real star of the entire show was the lovely curry, which was creamy and glossy. Lightly spiced yet incredibly fragrant, this made the trip down to Redhill Food Market absolutely worth it. It managed to retain that nostalgic and home-cooked vibe, and elevate it due to its luscious texture and aromatic curried undernotes. 

10/10 would recommend this. And please, get the bread— you won’t regret it.

Expected damage: S$3.50 – S$6 per pax

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