Lao Fu Zi Fried Kway Teow – Very Good Char Kway Teow At Old Airport Road Food Centre

So this was another place I ate at Old Airport Road Food Centre.  This stall is pretty well known for its char kway teow.  Char kway teow is one of the most famous hawker dishes in Singapore and Malaysia. It is made from flat rice noodles (he fen) stir-fried with soy sauce, chilli, shrimp, bean sprouts, chives, egg, Chinese sausage and sometimes cockles.  The traditional places use pork fat to fry it and put in crispy bits of pork lard.  However because of health concerns a decent amount of places in Singapore don’t use lard anymore or only use it on request (I generally prefer it with lard).  If you’ve never had it before it is similar to beef chow fun, but a bit sweeter.

This stall is one of two well-known char kway teow stalls at Old Airport Road (Dong Ji being the other).  It has a constant line, so be prepared to wait a bit.  They have several sizes, but we got the smallest version because we were eating at so many places.

Char Kway Teow:

I described what char kway teow is made out of earlier, but the real key to good char kway teow is someone who really knows how to stir fry it well.  In Chinese cooking wok hei is when you stir fry food at a very high temperature and effectively smoke the food.  The flavor is amazing and it is definitely one of my favorite aspects of Chinese food done properly.  Experience seems to be one of the key things to learning how to create good wok hei, so it’s really a matter of finding a talented and experienced chef to get wok hei correct.  Anyhow, the version here was very good; it had good wok hei and nice flavor.  It was a bit on the sweet side and I don’t think they used lard because there weren’t any crispy bits and it was on the lighter side for char kway teow.  They did use cockles which I liked as the cockles were good and fresh tasting, not fishy at all.  Overall, while it was probably not the best char kway teow I’ve ever had in Singapore, it was certainly a very good and certainly above average rendition.  8.75/10

If you’re at Old Airport Road Food Centre this is a place worth checking out.

Address:
Old Airport Road Food Centre, Stall #01-12
51 Old Airport Road
Tel: 83334828