Keng Eng Kee’s Zi Char-Style Burgers Stuffed With Chilli Crab & Coffee Pork Worth The Calories

For those unfamiliar with Keng Eng Kee, also known as KEK Seafood, it is a zi char joint that has been consistently awarded the Michelin Plate since 2016. Its moonlight hor fun, stir-fried in dark sauce and topped with a raw egg yolk, is well known for its robust wok hei and flavours, and other signature items include a “mingzhu” (bright pearl) roll — a bean curd puff stuffed with prawns, mushrooms and salted egg yolk. And now, it has opened a ‘mod Sin’ burger stall housed within the family’s zi char restaurant, using ingredients typically served in zi char dishes, like salted egg and chilli crab sauce.

Wok In stands out with a smart black plaque with its name carved out and painted in gold. And a display screen on the side plays a smooth video showing Wayne, with hair a la Nicholas Tse, demonstrating the “kung fu” that goes into his zi char burgers. There is some seriously pro branding action going on here. Otherwise, the setting is really that of your neighbourhood zi char joint, with plastic chairs and tables lining the breezy corner unit that seats about 200. Place your order at the counter and the food will be served to you at the table.

While 37-year-old Paul Liew (right in pic) manages the bustling floor of the eatery just behind Alexandra Village, his 34-year-old brother Wayne is the man helming the team in the kitchen — and coming up with crazy ideas, like zi char burgers. Wayne started learning the ropes from his father when he was 19. “I'd just completed national service and was contemplating signing on, and my father rallied our relatives to convince me otherwise, and join him in the family business,” recalls Wayne. “The first two years were tough, not just because of the hours, the heat and physical strain. I was also the rookie that everybody bullied — they don’t give face just because I'm the boss’ son lah,” he shares with a laugh. “Frankly, it was only eight years after I started working in the kitchen that I finally found my passion for it!”

Wok In Burger has its origins in a staff meal two years ago, when the guys applied zi char techniques to make hamburgers. This became a source of inspiration for Wayne and he started to develop a “Wok Hei Burger” menu for his modern zichar joint KEK Pandan Gardens. “The idea is to present zi char dishes in the form of burgers, rather than to make western-style burgers. We don’t want to do something that we don’t have the expertise in,” says Paul. Even though the outlet closed last August when the lease was up, and the brothers moved back to their old stomping grounds, Wayne wanted to keep his burger menu alive still. “It is my way of achieving a bit of breakthrough for this three-generation business.” Their rather conservative father was not so keen on the idea initially. The brothers decided that the only way to persuade him was to have him try the burgers. “He didn’t say anything afterwards, but then proceeded to bring his friends to try our burgers. So I guess that means pass liao lah,” recalls Wayne with a laugh.

Then Wayne realised that a chain by the name of Wok Hey had opened up in the malls. Given how similar it sounded to the name he had wanted to register for his burger joint, it was back to the drawing board for him. “Then I thought, hey, ‘walk-in’ sounds like ‘wok in’… so just quickly register first lah!” said Wayne.

The offerings are split into five sections: seven types of KungFu Burgers, Sides (comprising three different types of fries), Pasta (think a salted egg soft shell crab spaghetti), Rice (such as a Marmite fried chicken chop rice) and drinks. “We want to emphasise that this is not fast food. Everything is made from scratch, and each item is representative of the values that are important to zichar culture: deliciousness, and freshness.” It is also interesting to note that apart from using meatier cuts (rather than small chunks usually used in the zi char dishes) to form the patties, the recipes for the sauces and thee cooking technique applied are exactly the same as that for the zi char side.

All burger orders come with fries, a side of pineapple-topped coleslaw or achar salad, depending on the burger, and a water chestnut drink (you can also top up $1 for a fizzy lime cordial (pictured) or $2 for a Root Beer Float).

For Wok In Burger, Wayne got a supplier to tweak his recipe to achieve buns that are rather fluffy, yet still sturdy enough to stand up to the saucy fillings. The buns are also slathered with Planta margarine (sadly, not butter) and toasted on one side for a crisp edge.

Interestingly, the buns are kept refrigerated and then steamed before toasting. “This was what our maternal grandma did for us when we were young!” shares Wayne. “Her breads are always kept in the fridge and she would steam them before eating. We found that it makes the bread extra fluffy.” While the buns aren’t super pillowy a la Japanese buns, they are invitingly soft.

A sizeable crab of about 150g in weight is used. The whole crustacean is coated in a thin batter and deep-fried, then sandwiched between the buns with a mound of finely julienned cucumber, purple cabbage, and lettuce leaves. The vegetables help to cut through the richness of the crab, which is crisp without being greasy. The chilli crab sauce served on the side – which is a bit on the sweet side for us – while moreish, was a bit messy to pour over the burger. We preferred dipping the thick-cut fries into it! Incidentally, you can order a side of chilli crab sauce fries for $6.

While this dish also comes in a pork chop variation, we opted for the chicken burger and were not disappointed. A fillet of deboned drumlet meat is battered and deep-fried for a crispy coating. It is then tossed in the wok with a dry salted egg mixture, before being drenched in a salted egg sauce. Wayne makes his salted egg sauce from scratch and his is an addictive blend of sweet, salty and umami flavours accented by crisp fried curry leaves, coupled with a deliciously velvety texture. The combination of fluffy bun (thank god we couldn’t taste the margarine), smooth sauce, crisp batter and juicy meat layered with tomato and lettuce slices makes this a true winner chicken dinner.

According to Wayne, this was one of the hardest recipes to perfect. “The coffee sauce is made with apple jam, coffee, tomato sauce and a few other ingredients, and takes about one hour to cook (a batch to use for five days) to the right consistency. However, it is very temperamental and you need to follow the steps to a T or the sauce will come out bitter. It is also bitter when first cooked, and needs to be chilled before it can be used,” shares Wayne. The full-on bitter-and-sweet flavours, which work perfectly in a dish of coffee ribs to be eaten with copious amounts of rice, proved tricky when worked into a burger. So Wayne pairs this with a mild achar salad to cut through the richness. While we would have liked more acidity to better balance out the flavours, it was clearly a well thought-out dish. The 200g pork loin is first tenderised with a meat hammer, and then marinated overnight with a mixture of five-spice powder, egg, salt, pepper and sesame oil. This is then battered and deep-fried before tossed in coffee sauce in the wok. The overall taste was a little too sweet for us still, but the succulent texture of the pork loin was testament to the chef’s skills.

We came here expecting a bit of kitsch, and left pleasantly surprised. The Liew brothers are clearly passionate about their craft and Wok In Burger is their way of sharing the zi char culture with a younger crowd. The flavours are robust, the meats juicy, the cooking techniques carefully thought through. These are hearty, gourmet burgers with familiar local flavours that are worth their price tag.

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Wok In Burger is at 124 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-136. Open daily 11.30am – 2.30pm; 5pm – 10pm. Last orders at closing. Tel: 6272-1038. www.kek.com.sg

Photos: Ealbert Ho