We tried Singapore’s best-rated kway chap

Do you love indulging in pork innards? In my circle, more people avoid them rather than eat them. But I love to feast on them once in a blue moon. Besides a piping-hot bowl of pig’s organ soup, another dish which I enjoy is kway chap. To add to my best-rated series, I swung by Toa Payoh Palm Spring Market in search of a stall called Kuey Chap.

This establishment has garnered a total of 158 reviews and received 4.5 stars out of 5 on Google Reviews (at time of writing). No fluff and fancy names— Kuey Chap is currently run by the 2nd generation and has been established since 1967.

Don’t make a wasted trip heading here between breakfast and high tea, as they only open their shutters from 5.30pm onwards for dinner and supper.

There was already a queue when I arrived at 5.45pm. Fortunately, it cleared before I could name a dish each from every letter of the alphabet.

Before making my way to this stall, I went through the various online comments. There were mixed reviews but as always, I believe in trying it for myself since taste is so subjective. However,  I agreed with some netizens who had good things to say about the stall lady— she was patient, friendly and has an excellent memory.

What I tried at Kuey Chap

I commenced my early dinner with 2 bowls of Kway Chap (S$0.70 each), Big Intestine (S$1.50), Pork Stomach (S$1.50), Pork Skin (S$0.60), Tau Pok (S$0.60 for 2 pieces) and Fried Fish Cake (S$0.80).

If you blinked, you’d easily miss the 粉肠 (S$3) (fen chang or pig powder intestine) written on a piece of paper beside the main menu. So, the total amounted to S$9.40 for two innard enthusiasts.

The broad rice sheets (kway) were bathed in the quintessential soy-based gravy and were topped with fried shallots. They were as silky as satin and danced around my chopsticks like silk-clad divas, teasingly evading capture.

The flavour of the kway chap was a tad less savoury than what I would have preferred. But it got me thinking: was it intentional? Perhaps the ingredients would shine brighter against a blank canvas.

Although the fen chang was the second priciest item on the menu, it was worth every penny. The word ‘gamey’ wasn’t in the intestine’s dictionary; it was not only impeccably clean and delicious, but was also gently sweet and delicately fatty, surpassing my expectations.

I was pleasantly surprised by how perfectly braised the Stomach was. It was devoid of the usual rubbery texture in the middle. The Skin was also smooth and tender, similar to a baby’s bottom.

The chilli was slightly acidic with a decent spice that lets you know its existence without overwhelming the flavour of each ingredient.

Like the fen chang earlier, the Large Intestine didn’t disappoint either. It had a satisfying texture and clean flavour.

Perhaps the only item that let me down was the Tau Pok. Due to its absorbent nature, it was slightly salty when eaten without the kway. My dining partner ended up squeezing out the excess liquid to tone down its savouriness.

I also asked another dining partner, who doesn’t eat innards, to order what she would typically get at a kway chap stall.

She ordered a bowl of Kway Chap ($0.70) with Pork Meat (S$1.50), White Fish Cake (S$0.80), Tau Gua (S$0.60), Salted Veg. (S$1) and Egg (S$0.60) which amounted to S$5.20.

I was slightly underwhelmed by the muted taste of the Salted Veg which had garlic cloves. A punchier flavour with more acidity would’ve been more well received.

The Pork Meat turned out to be delectable pieces of pork belly which were tasty but could have been braised slightly longer for a softer texture.

The Tau Gua was decently soft and the delicate flavour of the soy marinade gave it some depth. While the White Fish Cake may have looked drab and nothing special, it actually possessed more flavour as compared to the Fried Fish Cake.

Final thoughts

Believe it or not, our Grab driver who picked us up after our kway chap dinner turned out to be a regular customer who dines there at least once a month.

“The intestines are clean and the price is reasonable,” he said.

Even though I enjoyed the innards and they are the main characters of kway chap, some of the ingredients  fell short of my expectations: the Salted Veg, Kway Chap and Pork Meat.

With that in mind, I regret to conclude that Kuey Chap falls slightly below its 4.5 star rating.

Expected damage: S$3.50 – S$8 per pax

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