Covent Garden Kway Chap Review: $3.50 Kway Chap With Over 60 Years Of History

Covent Garden Kway Chap has cheap kway chap in Tiong Bahru

Few options rank higher on my list than kway chap when it comes to comfort food, as there’s something deeply soothing about tucking into a hearty bowl of broth topped with flat rice noodles sheets. It’s great to know that there are many affordable options in Singapore, with one of them being Covent Garden Kway Chap, which has been around for over 60 years.

Founder Mdm Chua, a 90-odd-year-old hawker, started selling her Teochew kway chap in the early 1960s. Till today, she’s said to run Covent Garden alongside her two sons, though she wasn’t at the stall during our shoot. The family-run business specialises in kway chap with all the fixings: intestines, pig skin, braised egg, tau pok and more.

Food at Covent Garden Kway Chap

In a day and age where inflation has impacted many hawkers, affordability is the real highlight here. Prices start from just $3.50 for a one-person portion. You’ll get a standard platter of pig intestines, pig skin, tau pok, and half an egg, along with a decent serving of kway.

While you shouldn’t expect a mountain-load of ingredients at such an attractive price point, the beauty of kway chap lies in its customisable portion sizes. If you want more of a particular item, simply request extra liao and pay a small top-up.

I’m not one to gravitate toward innards due to their unpleasant funkiness, but I was surprised to find that the small intestine and stomach pieces were fresh and clean-tasting, with none of the usual gaminess.

We also ordered a platter for two, priced at $9 with two bowls of kway, which came with a much larger portion of innards, topped with a full egg, tau pok, tau kwa, and fishcake.

The pig’s skin was also pleasantly soft and melt-in-the-mouth, adding a gentle richness to the dish. I was also impressed with the tau kwa, as it was perfectly tender and not overly soft. Both items soaked up the braise well, with each bite delivering a burst of umami. I could tell that the broth and ingredients had been simmering for hours.

Then there’s the star of the show: the kway. These rice noodle sheets were silky and slippery, with just the right amount of thickness to them. Once again, they carried the broth’s rich flavours beautifully with every bite.

As for the broth, it leaned toward the lighter side, with subtle herbal notes. I appreciated how well-balanced it was—neither too light nor jelak. The fried shallots scattered on top before serving added another layer of flavour, along with a gentle sweetness that rounded out the dish nicely. It’s easy to see why this appeals so much to older folks.

Unfortunately, I found the chilli dip rather diluted. It was slightly tangy, which helped cut through the richness of the liao, but could be spicier. Nonetheless, that was the only letdown in an otherwise delicious meal.

Ambience at Covent Garden Kway Chap

Covent Garden Kway Chap sits in Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre, which is an eight-minute walk from Tiong Bahru or Havelock MRT Station.

The hawker centre is long and narrow, with one row of stalls facing two rows of tables. It’s not the most spacious, but there are plenty of seats to choose from. Should you sit at the end that’s next to the carpark, make sure you keep a lookout for pesky birds in the area.

Covent Garden Kway Chap—Eatbook review

A good bowl of kway chap can be rather subjective—some like theirs light and herbal, while others might prefer a broth that’s rich and heavy. Whichever camp you’re on, Covent Garden Kway Chap’s old-school flavour and well-priced servings stand out, and it’s definitely worth adding to your list of affordable eats in Singapore. 

For more great budget options, check out our guide to the best cheap restaurants in Singapore, or our best kway chap guide if Covent Garden isn’t your thing. 

Address: 22B Havelock Road, #01-05, Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre, Singapore 162022
Opening hours: Tue-Wed 7:30am to 1:30pm, Thur-Sat 7am to 1:30pm
Covent Garden Kway Chap is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Paula Formantes
This was an independent visit by Eatbook.sg