Kway Chap, Holland Drive Market & Food Centre
When legendary Blanco Court hawker centre was demolished, it spawned a few iterations of its popular kway chap stall. There's the one at Old Airport Road Hawker Centre, there's also the one at Serangoon Gardens, and then there's the one at Holland Drive Food Centre.
Primarily open for breakfast, the small-ish hawker centre houses not one, but two, kway chap stalls. That's relatively unusual, as kway chap is already a local dish not always found at every hawker centre. Just 3 shop spaces apart, the one laying claim to the Blanco Court fame is suspiciously queue-free, whereas the relative-unknown usually sports a snaking line.
So which one's better? We thought we'd check both out to determine ourselves.
Blanco Court Kueh Chap
Notwithstanding the lack of a queue and somewhat depressingly dull frontage, I much prefer this over the other more vibrant-looking stall. The flavours were a lot more authentic and traditional, with a braising sauce that was more nuanced and less Orientally herbaceous. The chilli was significantly better too, with a bright piquancy that cut well through the gravy. That said, the ingredients were a hit and miss; the intestines were awful, I took a bite and spit it out, it hadn't been scrubbed thoroughly; while the eggs, beancurd and pork belly passed muster. Still, I thought the other Blanco Court iterations trumped this Holland Drive rendition.
#02-02
Cheng Heng Kway Chap & Braised Duck Rice
The only lead this stall had over the Blanco Court one was that they offer braised duck, which is done reasonably well. The fact that they serve braised duck may be why the braising sauce possesses rich herbal overtones, and was thicker and more gooey. The other ingredients were also a hit and miss, mostly leaning towards the misses; the pork belly was less melty, the beancurd puff was chewy and dense while I much prefer it fluffy and light, and the chilli sauce, while spicy, was lacking in that bright sour tang needed for contrast against the heavy herbal accent.
#02-05
Holland Drive Market & Food Centre
44 Holland Drive
Primarily open for breakfast, the small-ish hawker centre houses not one, but two, kway chap stalls. That's relatively unusual, as kway chap is already a local dish not always found at every hawker centre. Just 3 shop spaces apart, the one laying claim to the Blanco Court fame is suspiciously queue-free, whereas the relative-unknown usually sports a snaking line.
So which one's better? We thought we'd check both out to determine ourselves.
Blanco Court Kueh Chap
Notwithstanding the lack of a queue and somewhat depressingly dull frontage, I much prefer this over the other more vibrant-looking stall. The flavours were a lot more authentic and traditional, with a braising sauce that was more nuanced and less Orientally herbaceous. The chilli was significantly better too, with a bright piquancy that cut well through the gravy. That said, the ingredients were a hit and miss; the intestines were awful, I took a bite and spit it out, it hadn't been scrubbed thoroughly; while the eggs, beancurd and pork belly passed muster. Still, I thought the other Blanco Court iterations trumped this Holland Drive rendition.
#02-02
Cheng Heng Kway Chap & Braised Duck Rice
The only lead this stall had over the Blanco Court one was that they offer braised duck, which is done reasonably well. The fact that they serve braised duck may be why the braising sauce possesses rich herbal overtones, and was thicker and more gooey. The other ingredients were also a hit and miss, mostly leaning towards the misses; the pork belly was less melty, the beancurd puff was chewy and dense while I much prefer it fluffy and light, and the chilli sauce, while spicy, was lacking in that bright sour tang needed for contrast against the heavy herbal accent.
#02-05
Holland Drive Market & Food Centre
44 Holland Drive
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