Tanjong Beach Club Chef Opens Curry Bowl Hawker Stall, Hopes “To Be Awarded Michelin Star” Someday
“Am I too naive?” asks the assistant head chef turned hawker about her dreams for Curry Yi Wan.
Curry Yi Wan is the first solo venture of chef Jacq Lim, 42, former chef de cuisine (second in command to the executive chef) of Tanjong Beach Club, a trendy beach bar and restaurant at Sentosa. The two-month-old stall, whose name means “one bowl of curry” in mandarin, is located in a comfy, air-conditioned kopitiam at Roxy Square 1 in Katong, home to famous joints like Janggut Laksa.
The menu is pretty straightforward – chicken or pork curry, which can be paired with jasmine rice or toasted baguette, and a Singaporean spin on Taiwanese lu rou fan (braised pork rice).
Years of cooking experience in mod European restaurants
Jacq’s culinary career started some 17 years ago as a cook at now-defunct The Academy Bistro, a restaurant located in the Supreme Court of Singapore that served modern fusion cuisine. “I didn’t go to culinary school. I learned the basics from my mentor Jimmy Chok [who was the executive chef then] during my three years there”.
In 2008, Jacq joined the opening team of The White Rabbit (a mod European restaurant by The Lo & Behold Group at Dempsey that closed last year), rising from a part-timer role to chef de partie (line chef) in two years.
After stints at now-defunct modern European restaurants The Disgruntled Chef and The Black Swan, Jacq moved on to Tanjong Beach Club, where she worked as the chef de cuisine, overseeing the western food menu for four years. She left the job in February to launch Curry Yi Wan.
Decided to sell curry as “it’s something I always want to eat”
We were curious why the first-time hawker picked a local dish over Western cuisine as the stall’s signature. The answer was surprisingly simple – “I love curry, it’s something I always want to eat on my off days. I noticed there aren’t a lot of places that sell good curry on food delivery platforms so I thought it’s a good idea [to open a curry stall].” Jacq explains that she is usually too tired to cook on her rest days and prefers ordering in instead.
She developed the curry recipe on her own, based on her experience of making the dish for staff meals in the past. “I’ve always made the curry paste from scratch based on what’s available in the kitchen. It was very casual. I only started to write down the proportions of each ingredient after I thought of opening the stall.”
Described as “a Chinese-style curry with hints of Indian [influence]”, the coconut-based curry here boasts a stronger, warmer spice kick compared to regular Singaporean Chinese versions. It’s also more fiery than most curries. “It used to be even more spicy. I dropped [the spice level] by 20 percent after some customers complained that it was too spicy. This is the maximum that I can compromise. If it’s not spicy, it’s not a curry,” she reasons.
No regrets leaving fancy restaurant job
Curry Yi Wan is a dream come true for Jacq, who has been “thinking of starting my own thing for about seven years”. “I never went for it [in the past] as I think [in order] to start a food biz, you need enough funds to last for at least two years.”
Jacq took the plunge when her current stall became available – she cites the kopitiam’s comfy environment and coveted Katong location as the biggest draw for jumping on the lease. Rent is about $4k per month.
“Now I have to give up on my ‘luxury life’ like going for drinks after work,” she quips. “Life was easier [as an assistant head chef overseeing a kitchen team], now it’s all hands-on. I was joking about how I cut more meat in my first week [of running the stall] than the past two years combined. I haven’t had to cook so much in a long time, but I don’t regret it. I started this stall as I missed cooking.” Jacq cooks daily at the stall, with a part-time assistant to take orders.
Adapting to kopitiam setting
According to Jacq, certain concessions had to be made to adapt to the kopitiam setting, such as using cheaper ingredients. “During R&D, I used kurobuta pork belly to make my lu rou fan. Due to cost, I chose German pork belly instead. Flavour-wise, it’s not as good as kurobuta, but the fat ratio is good.”
Another practical concern is the limited space – the kopitiam stall is split between Curry Yi Wan and a rice bowl joint called The Sous Vide Bowl run by Jacq’s brother-in-law (both of them share the lease), so she has to make do with a tiny kitchen. “The lu rou fan is served with Thai jasmine rice [instead of Taiwanese short-grain rice] as I don’t have space for two rice cookers.” Both stalls have their own signboards and ordering counters to prevent any confusion.
Hopes stall will win a Michelin star
Jacq tells us it’s been hard to gauge how much food to prepare daily. On a good day, the stall serves about 30 orders of curry and lu rou fan, respectively.
Even though business has been erratic, the down-to-earth chef isn’t afraid to dream big. “I hope to be awarded a Michelin star. Am I too naive?” she rattles off her goals with dry humour. “Or perhaps I can sell the concept to Lo & Behold [Group],” she quips, referring to her ex-employer, the hospitality group that owns Tanjong Beach Club and hip nasi lemak joint, The Coconut Club.
The menu
A la carte curry bowls come with chicken (either thigh or breast meat) or pork with soft bone (a slightly fatty, lower rib cut with cartilage), with prices ranging from $6 to $7. Add $1.50 to get four slices of toasted baguette, or a plate of rice with a fried or soft-boiled egg.
Jacq also serves her own version of the Taiwanese classic, lu rou fan. “I just love this dish after trying it in Taiwan. Since we couldn’t travel for the past two years, I started watching some [recipe] videos to learn how to make it myself and decided to add it to the menu too.”
The braised pork rice is available for $5 (note that the cheaper $2.80 is a kids’ portion), and comes with a poached egg and pickled mustard greens.
Chicken Thigh Curry, $6.50; add $1.50 for rice and egg (8 DAYS Pick!)
Wonderfully bold and aromatic, the gravy carries the warmth of a rich spice blend with a good kick of heat. There’s a lovely velvety texture thickened by “using a lot of potatoes” – which reminds us of northern Indian dishes like an extra creamy butter chicken. Jacq blends all her ingredients before cooking the curry – coupled with the high starch content from the potatoes, the curry has an appetising, silky mouthfeel. Coconut milk is added to the curry right before serving to further boost its creaminess.
The chicken thigh, pan-seared before it’s cooked in the curry, is succulent. Crackly sheets of beancurd skin are a nice touch too, turning soft and tender as they soak up the gravy.
We recommend topping up with carbs to temper the heat of the curry – the rice and egg combo makes for a filling meal, while the crusty baguette becomes delightfully moreish when dunked into the super shiok gravy.
Pork Curry, $7 (8 DAYS Pick!)
Before slow-cooking in the same curry base, the pork is blanched with shaoxing wine (Chinese wine) and ginger to remove any odour. The result is pleasantly tender chunks of pork soft bone, bursting with flavour. We find this dish to be just as excellent as the bestselling chicken thigh curry.
Braised Pork Rice, $5
Jacq hand-cuts small chunks of pork belly before stewing the meat in the requisite braising liquid featuring soy sauce and five-spice powder. We found the pork a tad dry, though the flavour is adequately punchy and pairs well with the sharp funk of the pickled mustard greens. This version is served with jasmine rice, which we found less satisfying than the plumper, stickier grains of Taiwanese pearl rice.
Instead of the usual hard-yolked braised egg, you get a fancy poached egg, which lends a luscious touch to the rice when the yolk is mixed in. Another tweak is the large dollop of house-made chilli sauce, which gives the dish a bright, spicy lift. While hearty and rather comforting, we found this dish to be less impressive than the curries.
Bottom line
One of the more satisfying and refined curries we’ve had from a hawker stall – there’s a good kick that adds a flush to your cheeks, but it’s well-balanced enough that you can still taste the robust spices. Its silky texture is like a hybrid of a northern Indian restaurant-style curry and a home-cooked Singaporean Chinese version. Unique, yet comfortingly delicious. Prices are on the steep side for a kopitiam, but the former chef’s pedigree shows in this seemingly simple dish. Both the chicken and pork options are excellent — definitely top up for carbs to make it a meal.
