Today’s lets check out Covent Garden Kway Chap at Havelock Road Food Centre. The store is run by a cheerful elder lady, in her late 80s year old by the name of Mdm Chua Meow Ching.
She came from Guangzhou in 1954, selling kway chap in the Kim Seng Road area. Thereafter, in the 1970s she moved to Covent Garden Food Centre, where the store got its name. She had been at her current store at Havelock Road Food Centre since 2007. It has anold-timer vibe like the store we dined previous is the Sungei Road Laska.
Also, the hawker center has an old vibe classic hawker center feel. It is complete with a single storey roofing encompassing an open air carpark. Also the tables and seats here are also arranged like the food centers of the 80s. They are notably smaller in size and more closely packed, which gives it tad a cozy feel.
A simple hawker offal favorite
An introduction to Kway Chap, the dish at its core is a “2 course” noodle meal. Furthermore, your noodles or “Kway” comes served in a black sauce broth bowl. Likewise, your 2nd course accompanying ingredients comprising a mix of pork parts served on a plate. Covent Garden Kway Chap touts to offer this classic hawker dish through tried and test means over the years.
Moreover, notably, just like pig organ soup, Kway chap isn’t for beginners. This is especially if you do not like offal or “animal organ parts”. Here, your dish comprises of small servings of pork belly, Tao pok (fried bean curd), pig intestines, hard boiled egg and bean curd. Also, these items are scooped and sliced up to your liking by the store auntie.
Also, a set meal plate comprising of an assortment of standard ingredients, excluding the kway starts at $3. However, I found the serving sizes tad bit too small for my liking. Their entry plate is somewhat humorously “kid sized”.
An affordable lunch
Hence, for a sizable lunch I would recommend the next size up at $4.00 per serving, which comes with greater portions of ingredients. But still, with a $3.00 starting price point, it is hard to fault Covert gardens kway chup for quantity. They are drenched in generous servings of kuay black sauce, which is soaked up by the Tao pok. However, while the kway was fine, I found the ingredients dry tad bit too salty to my liking.
Moreover, the store also sells the food items individually. Prices range from 50 cents to up to $2 per item for premium items. Running through the list includes Tau Pok at $0.50, Braised Egg ($0.60), Tau Fu $0.80, Fish cake $0.50, Pig skin $0.50, Pig stomach $2.00 and Pig intestines $0.50.
Additionally, Mdm’s Chua’s Tau pok are thinly sliced. Interesting, only a half egg is offered on the base dish, which is tad odd as the hard-boiled egg yolk is largely disintegrated will be swimming all over your black sauce by the time you get your food to your table.
The Kway noodle sheets are one of the better selling points of Covert gardens kway chup. These are thick, broad sheets of rice noodles. Also, they come served in a bowl with the offal. Additionally, the “chap” in Kway chap means soup or gravy. The kway chap is available in 2 serving sizes adults be fine the $0.70, while the $0.50 serving is humorously small.
Lastly, Covent Garden Kway Chap is a lunch and breakfast place. The store opens at 6am up to 1pm. So do come early!
All in all, I would recommend shortlisting Covert gardens kuay chup. It is great for a lunch dine-out with an old vibe setting reminiscent of Singapore’s old hawker centers worth trying.
Verdict:
Must Go! | Actually pretty Good | Worth Trying | Shortlist Optionally | Should Avoid
Covent Garden Kway Chap Locality Map
#01-05 Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre,
22A/B Havelock Road,
Singapore 162022
Opening hours: 6am–1pm
