Update 18 Mar 2024: ‘Served his last plate of kway teow on March 18’: Fu Ji Fried Kway Teow shutters after owner dies
Hawker stall Fu Ji Fried Kway Teow is known for its old-school style of char kway teow, as seen in photos by Facebook user Mike Ng in April 2023. PHOTO: COURTESY OF MIKE NG
Hawker stall Fu Ji Fried Kway Teow at Berseh Food Centre has shuttered following the death of its owner, Mr Song Yancheng (transliteration from Mandarin), on March 18. The stall is also known as Hock Kee Fried Kway Teow, which is the name on its stall signage.
Mr Song, who was born in 1955, died late that night after “serving his last plate of kway teow”, according to his children who made two posts on the stall’s Facebook page on March 19. There is a five-day wake until March 23 at 388A Bukit Batok West Avenue 5. The stall, located at unit 01-16 of Berseh Food Centre in Jalan Besar, moved to its current location in March 2018.
While lower in profile compared with more famous stalls selling the dish, such as Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee, Fu Ji Fried Kway Teow has its own following. It had shared a recent post by a customer, Mr Anthony Tan, who wrote about the stall on the Facebook page of Hawker United – Dabao 2020 on March 7. Mr Tan, who had ordered a $5 plate of char kway teow, praised the dish for its combination of sweet dark sauce, garlic, pork lard, chilli sauce and smoky aroma.
History of Char Kway Teow in Singapore
For the history of fried kway teow 炒粿條 in Singapore, we have to start from Chaoshan char kway teow 潮汕炒贵刁 far away in Guangzhou, China of today. Chaoshan is a region in the southeastern part of Guangzhou province of China where Teochew speaking people live.
Chaoshan fried kway teow is flat rice noodles, chive, bean sprout, pieces of pork with skin and fish sauce stir fried in sizzling pork lard in a hot wok. That's all, it's that simple. No egg, no lup cheong (Cantonese wax sausage), no fish cake, no blood cockles, no prawn, no chili sauce. No crab, no lobster nonsense. It is best enjoyed while the pork lard enveloping the rice noodles or kway teow is still piping, smoking hot. The kway teow's subtle sweetness is complemented by the savoury toasty taste of caramelised sauce forcefully seared onto the strands of rice noodles. So simple, simply so good that it connected people through generations.
Of course, even in Chaosan there are variations in char kway teow. This stall still uses wood to fire the wok. The chef uses goose lard instead of pork lard. The kway teow is fried with eggs, bean sprout, chive, chye poh (preserved turnip), optional chili sauce and small pieces of pork (optional). The host tried 3 plates with different options and he felt that the basic version with only egg, bean sprout, chive and chye poh is the best as there is little to interfere with the flavour of goose lard.
Famous CKT Since 1961 In Bedok South
Char kway teow isn’t one of my go-to hawker dishes, because there’s really only one stall that I eat it at—Hill Street Fried Kway Teow in Bedok South Market & Food Centre. Unfortunately, it’s pretty far out of my zone of convenience, and the queues for their fried kway teow are always super long, so I only eat it once in a very, very long while.
Hill Street Fried Kway Teow is listed on Singapore’s Michelin guide for the “intense flavours” in their CKT, which they have been known for since they started in 1961 as a pushcart stall. They’re named for the first hawker centre that they set up shop in, but have been here in Bedok ever since the turn of the millennium.
Sadly, the original founder passed away in 2018, but not before he had passed his skills on to his eldest son, who runs Hill Street Fried Kway Teow today. In fact, it’s said that it took his son a whole year of practice before his plate of CKT met his late father’s exacting standards.
Char kway teow
Char kway teow (Chinese: 炒粿條; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhá-kóe-tiâu) is a stir-fried rice noodle dish from Maritime Southeast Asia and is of southern Chinese origin. In Hokkien and Teochew, char means 'stir-fried' and kway teow refers to flat rice noodles. It is made from flat rice noodles (Chinese: 河粉; pinyin: hé fěn; Cantonese Yale: hó fán) or kway teow (Chinese: 粿條; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kóe-tiâu; pinyin: guǒ tiáo; Cantonese Yale: gwó tìuh) of approximately 1 cm or (in the north of Malaysia) about 0.5 cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with garlic, light and dark soy sauce, chilli paste, whole prawns, shelled blood cockles, chopped Chinese chives, slices of Chinese sausage, and bean sprouts. Other common ingredients include fishcake and belachan.
Originally developed and catered to overseas-born Chinese labourers in the Southeast Asia region, the dish has achieved widespread popularity within the region from the late 20th century onwards, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore. On the other hand, the dish has also acquired a reputation of being unhealthy within modern contexts due to its high saturated fat content, as it is traditionally stir-fried in pork fat with crisp croutons of pork lard. The dish was often sold by fishermen, farmers and cockle-gatherers who doubled as char kway teow hawkers in the evening to supplement their income. The high fat content and low cost of the dish made it attractive to these people as it was a cheap source of energy and nutrients.
The term "char kway teow" is a transliteration of the Chinese characters 炒粿條 (in simplified Chinese 炒粿条). The dish's name is Hokkien (chhá-kóe-tiâu?), but the dish may have its roots in Chaozhou in China's Guangdong province and is mostly associated with the Teochew. The word kóe-tiâu (literally meaning "ricecake strips") generally refers to flat rice noodles, which are the usual ingredient in Singapore and West Malaysia. There is no fixed way of spelling chhá-kóe-tiâu, and many variants can be found: examples include "char kueh teow", "char kuey teow", "char koay teow", "char kueh tiao", "char kuay tiaw", "char kueh tiaw" and so on. In Singapore, char kway teow is a popular, inexpensive dish usually eaten for breakfast and sold at food stalls in Singapore. Blood cockles and prawns are standard fare in typical hawker preparations, while more expensive or luxurious versions incorporate cuttlefish, squid, and lobster meat. Singaporean style char kway teow mixes yellow wheat noodles with flat rice noodles. Some cooks prepare more health-conscious versions with extra vegetables and less oil
Char kway teow
In the Hokkien vernacular, char means “stir-fried” and kway teow refers to flat rice noodles. To prepare the dish, rice sheets are cut into thin noodle strips. The flat noodles are then combined with thick yellow wheat noodles and stir-fried in dark, sweet soya sauce, garlic and lard. Other ingredients include cockles (popularly known as see hum or just hum in Hokkien), lup cheong (referring to “Chinese waxed sausages” in Cantonese), beansprouts and chicken eggs. A sprinkling of cut cai xin (an Asian leafy vegetable; alternatively referred to as chye sim or choi sum in Hokkien and Cantonese respectively) and chopped chives add a touch of green to the dish. The cockles and other meats are usually put in last in order to retain their juiciness and prevent overcooking.
A hot fire gives a wok hei (Cantonese for “smoky aroma”) essential to this dish, and a charcoal fire is believed to provide the best flavours. Skilled control of the fire lends the dish its trademark smoky fragrance, which is also the mark of a good plate of char kway teow. As late as the 1950s, some hawkers used firewood instead of gas fires to cook char kway teow, so as to infuse the dish with a smoky flavour. Sweet black soya sauce, sweet flour sauce, light soya sauce and fish sauce give colour and flavour to the dish. A savoury, sour chilli sauce is typically added at the end or placed at the side of the dish for those who want a spicier char kway teow. Hawkers usually cook each dish individually, ensuring that each portion is thoroughly flavoured with the ingredients before serving. Despite its Hokkien name, the stir-fried noodle dish is associated with the Teochew community and is believed to have originated from Chaozhou in China’s Guangdong province. Char kway teow began as a simple meal for the ordinary man, an uncomplicated dish of rice noodles fried with lard and dark soya sauce. Rice vermicelli was added to the original flat noodle dish, but this was later replaced by yellow wheat noodles
Singapore Style Char Kway Teow 新加坡式炒粿条
Although it’s old fashioned and I’ve probably say it countless times, still I wanna say it !! LOL. TIME FLIES !!! And we are into the second half of the year already. Gosh, I haven’t been keeping track of how far my resolutions have gone by, but something definite is that, I ought to push myself harder into achieving more goals. But you know la, sometimes lazy bug just gotten too much into me. Haha.
Nevertheless, I geared myself up to cook up this really Singapore styled Char Kway Teow. Why do I say singapore styled ? Because I grew up eating and enjoying the sg style which comprises of pork lard, cockles and perhaps some cai xin and fish cakes too in the local char kway teow scene. I always tell the char kway teow uncle to cook a little sweeter for me (because I liked it that way) and also to cook the hum (cockles) well (熟一点). Although I know cockles has to eaten half raw to taste good, but it often gives me the runs, similar to the problem of oysters from our fried oyster cake.
And a fiery hot flame is needed to cook up this local dish which though we couldn’t get the same such “wok hei” from home, but still I think it’s pretty good enough, considering we omit such things such as MSG. LOL. Although some people say that using pork lard for cooking is unhealthy, but I ever heard of another saying is that in actual fact, the bottled oils that we are using are even unhealthier because they have gone through some forms of chemical treatments and contain preservatives for the long shelf life. Hence said, the au natural pork lard is in another sense free of such preservatives and chemicals and thus better for health. Hmmm… I don’t have any take on this for once, because I feel that as long as all things are taken in moderation, that should be fine ? What say you ?
Finding the perfect plate of char kway teow
It’s hard to describe char kway teow, even as a Singaporean. The Singapore Tourism Board defines it as a “heady mixture of flat rice, noodles, eggs, prawns, and cockles” and a “near perfect balancing act of sweet, salty, crunchy and chewy”. While descriptions vary from person to person, there’s one thing we all agree on: few things more pleasing than a great plate of CKT.
Through extensive research on blogs, forums, reviews, magazines, newspapers, and asking for personal recommendations, I drew up a list of the 20 most interesting and raved about CKT in Singapore, before engaging on a week-long binge-cum-marathon to find out once and for all, who fries the best game on our small, little island.
You’ve seen the usual suspects on listicles around the web, but having visited the 15 best char kway teow stalls, I’ve made some pretty unexpected discoveries on my journey. Join me on the countdown to #1! Different people have different ideas on what constitutes a great plate of CKT. To ensure a fair result, I decided to rate each plate based on the following five criteria:
SINGAPORE'S CHAR KWAY TEOW
This photo was taken at the Rasapura Masters at the Marina Bay Sands
Let me give you a background on the famous Char Kway Teow. The phrase literally means “stir-fried ricecake strips” and it is a popular dish in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It has been said that it is one of the favorite national dishes in Singapore.
According to Wikipedia, Char Kway Teow is made from flat rice noodles, approximately 1cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chili, shrimp paste, whole prawns, cockles (saltwater clams), bean sprouts, and chopped chives. It is commonly stir-fried with egg, slices of Chinese sausage and fishcake. It is traditionally stir-fried in pork fat, with crisp croutons of pork lard, and commonly served on a piece of banana leaf on a plate. Just with the list of ingredients, you can already visualize how unhealthy it is. Though I must tell you that is truly has a rich and distinctive taste that would make you crave for more.
It’s a good thing though that in Singapore, the dish has evolved into a healthier version with more vegetables and less oil. And what I really liked about it is how the greens and bean sprouts give off a fresh and crunchy texture. Yum yum yum! Now, the first one I have tried tastes good and I am quite satisfied. I haven’t noticed much prawns but the other ingredients are all there. The small plate costs S$6.00 but when you visit the hawkers, you’ll get a plate for only S$3.00. Visit this blog to see the Top 5 places which serves the Best Char Kway Teow in Singapore. Have you ever tried this dish? What do you think of it?
THE 5 BEST CHAR KWAY TEOW IN SINGAPORE
Char Kway Teow also known as Fried Kway Teow is one of the most wanted dishes in Singapore that you cannot pass through. You may be melted with the mixture of flat rice noodles and egg noodles which will be commonly stir-fried with eggs, cockles, lap cheong (Chinese sausages), bean sprouts, and Chinese chives.
A traditional plate of char kway teow could not be done without lard, which delights the dish with special flavors. These days, in the healthier version of this delicious fried noodle dish, lard is replaced by oil, and more vegetables are added in.
Char Kway Teow can be found at any hawker centres in Singapore, but it’s not easy for you to find the best one. So, we are happy to share the 5 best Char Kway Teow destinations, recommended by many locals that you can add to your priority:
- NO. 18 FRIED KWAY TEOW
- HILL STREET CHAR KWAY TEOW
- OUTRAM PARK FRIED KWAY TEOW
- MENG KEE CHAR KWAY TEOW
- 91 FRIED KWAY TEOW MEE
10 Best CHAR KWAY TEOW In Singapore That Will Warm The Cockles Of Your Heart
Char Kway Teow 炒粿条, which is essentially stir-fried noodles with rice noodles, is one of those local hawker dishes that I appreciate more as I get older. There is this ‘fear’ that when the hawker retires, I am never going to get that taste again, especially when more stalls serve up the similar ‘food-court-taste’.
The dish of Char Kway Teow is a very personal thing though. Ask “Where is the best Fried Kway Teow in Singapore?” and you may get quite varied and occasionally defensive answers, because many of us grow up eating a particular stall. You never get the same type of Char Kway Teow between stalls. And as most owners (typically older uncles of a certain age) fry them plate by plate, you may not even get that same taste even as you go back to the same stall.
Sometimes, depends on uncle’s (or auntie’s) mood. That is what gives it character:
- Hai Kee Teochew Char Kuay Teow
- Hill Street Fried Kway Teow 禧街炒粿條
- Meng Kee Fried Kway Teow
- No. 18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow
- Guan Kee Fried Kway Teow
- 91 Fried Kway Teow Mee
- Lao Fu Zi Fried Kway Teow 老夫子炒粿条
- Dong Ji Fried Kway Teow
- Apollo Fresh Cockle Fried Kway Teow
- Tiong Bahru Fried Kway Teow
