Eggslut Alum Open Scrambled Egg Rice Stall With House-Made Char Siew & Chicken Katsu Toppings
It is the star offering of Danlou (or “egg boss” in Cantonese), a five-day-old stall at Maxwell Food Centre. Opened by four young hawkers, the stall’s menu offers scrambled egg rice with five topping variations.
Chef from Eggslut’s opening team
The quartet comprises pals Ong Zhen Ning, 24, and Jermaine Choo, 23, who got to know each other when they were chefs at egg-centric restaurant chain Eggslut. “We were part of the opening team at Scotts Square,” says Zhen Ning, who graduated from culinary academy At-Sunrice. He roped in two more of his friends, Howard Ng, 27, and Joan Lim, 42, to set up shop.
At Eggslut, Zhen Ning was in charge of cooking scrambled eggs, which earned him the nickname of “Dan Lou” that he eventually adapted for his own stall. Together with Jermaine, a graduate of Temasek Polytechnic’s Culinary & Catering Management course and Howard, who used to cook at a thunder tea rice joint in Fusionopolis, the trio churn out bowls of scrambled egg rice in a process that resembles an assembly line.
Response has been good
Despite having opened just this week, business for Danlou is thriving. Even during non-peak hours, we spy a short queue at the stall. “We are working 14 hours a day,” laughs Zhen Ning. Prior to joining Eggslut, he says that he was already working on the idea of opening a scrambled egg rice hawker stall for about a year. “We are egg lovers,” he quips. “I like cha chaan teng-style eggs over rice — affordable comfort food that’s done well.”
‘Cha chaan teng’ eggs
The young hawkers serve what they call “Chinese-style” cha chaan teng scrambled eggs, which are famously silky and creamy. Their stall is also done up with subtle details of a classic Hong Kong cha chaan teng kitchen, like a glass window emblazoned with a decal of their signature dish, and a signboard with a traditional tile print.
Zhen Ning was also inspired to serve cha chaan teng fare as he had once worked part-time for a well-known Chinese restaurant chain, which he declines to name. “I learnt how to cook fried rice there,” he says. As there are plenty of egg fried rice stalls in Singapore, Zhen Ning and his friends decided to serve the more uncommon scrambled eggs over rice instead.
The menu
Prices at Dan Lou start from $4.50 for the vegetarian-friendly Tomato Scrambled Egg Rice. You can also get meat options like Luncheon Meat ($5), Chicken Cutlet ($6), Char Siew ($6) and Prawn ($7).
The char siew is house-made using a sous vide technique. “We sous vide it because the traditional equipment for making char siew is too bulky for our stall,” says Jermaine. The fried chicken cutlet is also made in-house, coated in flour and basted before frying “to make it crispier”.
Chicken Cutlet Scrambled Egg Rice, $6 (8 Days Pick!)
The chicken cutlet here is indeed very shiok. The meaty slab is juicy and boasts crusty deep-red skin that appears to be marinated with red fermented beancurd. It’s a nice crispy contrast to the soft scrambled eggs it nestles on.
While the runny eggs are fluffy, well-seasoned and slightly curd-y like Eggslut’s (it’s deceptively tricky to avoid overcooking scrambled eggs), we prefer the smooth, buttery sheets of stir-fried eggs known by the Chinese as Whampoa eggs and popularised by famous Hong Kong cha chaan tengs like Australian Dairy Company. The firmer texture of Whampoa eggs goes better with rice, as we find Danlou’s eggs too runny for our liking.
Char Siew, $6 (8 Days Pick!)
It appears that these young hawkers are also good at making a Chinese-style roast. The house-made char siew here is succulent and moreish, draped in a sweet-savoury glaze that perks up the scrambled eggs and rice.
Tomato, $4.50
Contrary to our expectation, this menu pick doesn’t come with the popular Chinese-style fan qie chao dan (or “tomato scrambled eggs”). The scrambled eggs are cooked separately and laid over rice, before a ladleful of purée-like cherry tomatoes is poured over it. The whole tomatoes are cooked long enough for their skin to fall off but not totally turned to mush. We find this concoction much too watery and sweet, though.
Luncheon Meat, $5
Large cubes of fried luncheon meat are stacked over eggs for this dish. The enterprising chefs have deduced (correctly) that chunky cubes offer a better bite that would enhance their dish. We like the homey appeal of luncheon meat over rice, but for folks who have enough culinary chops to whip this up at home, we suggest going for the tastier, unique Char Siew and Chicken Cutlet bowls instead.
Danlou is at #01-73 Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur St, S069184. Open daily except Sun. Mon-Sat 11am-8pm, Sat 11am-3pm (may close earlier if sold out). www.instagram.com/danlao_sg.
Photos: Kelvin Chia
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