Melaka-Born Hawker Sells Herbal “Hakka-Style” Kway Chap & Shiok Pork Lard Rice With Egg - 8days Skip to main content

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Melaka-Born Hawker Sells Herbal “Hakka-Style” Kway Chap & Shiok Pork Lard Rice With Egg

Hakka Lau Wei also offers a dry version of kway chap. Sort of.
Melaka-Born Hawker Sells Herbal “Hakka-Style” Kway Chap & Shiok Pork Lard Rice With Egg

Kway chap, with its slippery broad rice noodles and pig’s offal in a dark soy braise, is a common dish in Singapore. Its origins are typically attributed to Teochew migrants who brought it from the Chaoshan region of China. But Melaka-born John Lau of Hakka Lau Wei (a pun on his surname and lou wei, which refers to braised dishes in Mandarin) claims to have a kway chap recipe unique to his family’s Hakka heritage. “Unlike a typical Teochew braise which is salty-savoury, ours has a stronger [herbal fragrance] and sweetness,” the 39-year-old tells 8days.sg.

Clad in a sleeveless tee showing of his jacked arms, the brawny hawker runs his two-month-old stall in a quiet coffeeshop along Guillemard Road, Geylang, where he serves an array of pork cuts like offal, trotters and ears, alongside kway teow kia (thin rice noodles) instead of the usual broad sheets in a herby broth. Other sinful pairings include an unusual dry version of kway, as well as a rice bowl topped with a soft-boiled egg and lots of lard crisps.

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