Kim Lee Hokkien Zhang and Crispy Puff: Handmade bak zhang, otah youtiao & taro lava curry puffs by ex-chef & wife
It takes guts and gusto to jump from one job industry to another. Ken Lee, the owner of Kim Lee Hokkien Zhang and Crispy Puff had all that… and more! He went from a pastry chef to a gym instructor and did that for a solid 15 years.
That went well until the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, which forced him to make a U-turn back to the F&B world.
His wife, Kim, and he decided to venture into their very own home-based business selling handmade bak zhang and gradually expanded their offerings to curry puffs as well. As orders poured in, they struggled with the limited space, which drove them to open their very own kopitiam stall in 2022.
Each morning, a total of about 200 curry puffs are handmade in-house. Everything except for the otah filling is prepared by the couple themselves.
Every other day, like clockwork, the couple rolls up their sleeves in the late afternoon to craft an array of rice dumplings too— I can imagine their workload!
What I tried at Kim Lee Hokkien Zhang and Crispy Puff
We got our engine running with a few varieties of curry puffs: Sardines Puff (S$1.90), Signature Otah Laksa Puff (S$2.50), Chicken Curry Puff with Potatoes (S$1.90) and Taro Lava Puff (S$1.90).
The Sardines Puff, identifiable by its red dots, contained heftier pieces of sardines than any other version I’ve tried before. The chunks of fish were delicately spiced with chilli and adorned with juicy slivers of onion that gave it a lovely crunchy texture.
Ken orders otah specially from Muar, a Johor district well-known for their delicious otah (my favourite). He then enhances the taste by adding laksa seasoning to the filling of his Signature Otah Laksa Puff (marked by green dots).
Stuffed with a whole quail egg, the filling was lavish and dense. Yet, I couldn’t help but notice a tug-of-war battle between the laksa and otah flavours, each vying for its share of attention. I felt that it would be better if the intensity of the laksa notes were mellowed down just a little.
The Taro Lava Puff is made by mashing purple yams and adding a mini scoop of salted egg, which turns into lava upon frying. As soon as I split it in half, a golden stream of salted egg flowed out, causing a messy but lovely situation on my plate. The taste and texture reminded us of a delicious flakey Teochew mooncake.
When the Steamed Glutinous Rice with Pork Belly (S$3.70) arrived, the 5 pieces of pork belly atop completely concealed the glutinous rice underneath.
The succulent pork belly had a balanced ratio of meat to chewy fats, which paired really well with the earthy mushrooms and slightly sweet Chinese sausage. The glutinous rice was well-seasoned and had the perfect texture.
The Muah Otah Fried Fritters (S$1.90) had a crispy exterior with a custard-like otah filling. Each piece possessed much more character and flavour than a regular seafood youtiao, with luscious mayo drizzled on top for a smooth and creamy finish— this should be on menus everywhere!
After about 10 to 15 minutes, the freshly-made Amy’s Chicken Curry Puff (S$5.80) made its VIP entrance to our table, capturing the attention of the surrounding diners— one even asked to snap a photograph of it! It was at least 3 times larger than a regular-sized puff.
This colossal giant is inspired by the Amy Yip pau, an equally-huge creation inspired by the iconic voluptuous Hong Kong actress. The portion was enough to be shared amongst 2 people and is made fresh upon order.
Ken told us that he stuffs an entire lava egg within the curry filling. When we broke it in half, the yolk was unfortunately overdone, and nothing flowed out. Fortunately, the egg white portion was still rather soft and the curry chicken filling packed a robust punch of flavour, which was stronger than other popular brands.
Kim Lee Hokkien Zhang and Crispy Puff also sells Hokkien Rice Dumpling with Salted Duck Egg Yolk (S$4.70), Hokkien Rice Dumpling (S$4.10) and Mini Nyonya Rice Dumpling (S$2.20).
The Hokkien Rice Dumpling with Salted Duck Egg Yolk was stuffed with tender chunks of pork belly, an entire salted duck egg yolk, mushrooms, chestnut and dried shrimp. I loved the fatty portions of the pork belly and egg yolk, which injected double doses of creamy sinfulness to the bak zhang.
In case you’re wondering, the egg yolks are not frozen. They order whole salted duck eggs overseas, and the couple manually remove the yolks themselves— so much effort!
Final thoughts
If you’re a curry puff lover, Kim Lee Hokkien Zhang and Crispy Puff offers both traditional and uniquely-interesting options to cater to every palate. I can see the effort both Ken and Kim put into each offering, and the unparalleled quality is evident in every bite.
If you’re around the Jalan Berseh neighbourhood, why not stop over for a little snack or bring home their range of rice dumplings to share with your family and friends?
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