This Popular Kway Chap Stall Uses A 70-Year-Old Recipe—Worth The Queue?

Lao San Kway Chap is a famous stall in Ang Mo Kio

Having tried many of the famous kway chap stalls in Singapore, Lao San Kway Chap remains one of my favourites. The Ang Mo Kio stall uses a traditional recipe that is more than 70 years old—the fact that it’s still going strong today speaks to its enduring appeal.

Ang Mo Kio residents and kway chap fans should be well acquainted with the stall, but if you’ve yet to try it, let this review be your sign to check it out.

Food at Lao San Kway Chap

As far as I can tell, there are two ways to order your kway chap set at Lao San. You can either fill out a form selecting your preferred pork cuts, ingredients, and the number of kway bowls, or simply go for the portioned sets of up to four people. For the sake of the review, my colleague and I went for the portioned set for two people, which set us back $13.90.

This set got us two bowls of kway and a platter consisting of pork belly, pig skin, big and small intestines, tau kwa and tau pok, fishcake, and hard-boiled eggs.

Lao San’s braised pork cuts were sensational for two reasons. The first is that all the innards were incredibly well-cleaned, with practically no foul taste or smell—those who shy away from innards because of these reasons have absolutely nothing to worry about here.

The second is that the braising liquid, characterised by notes of herbs and spices, was just so aromatic and savoury. There was also a hint of sweetness that helped all the flavours achieve a delicate balance.

As for the other ingredients, the soft tau pok and tau kwa were standouts as they managed to soak up all that delicious zhup that oozed out gloriously when bitten into. You might think that dipping them into the chilli could make them more flavourful, but I found the chilli to be lacking in flavour and spicy kick—the one blemish on Lao San’s kway chap experience.

The kway itself was also great. Each broad rice sheet was amazingly silky, and like the tau pok, managed to absorb all the goodness of the complex, flavoursome broth.

Aside from the kway chap set, Lao San also offers a decent plate of Pig Trotter ($6.50). While I liked the thick, gelatinous layer of skin and how the braising liquid made everything so tasty, I thought the meat itself wasn’t as succulent as it could be. So if you don’t mind just focusing on the kway chap, I think you could give this dish a miss.

If you’re dining with someone who resists the idea of eating pork offals, they can opt for the Pork Belly Rice with Egg ($5.80). I found it to be a relatively tasty bowl of lu rou fan, especially since the pork belly used here was as juicy and tasty as the ones in the kway chap platter. The main issue here was that the rice was a bit too clumpy for my liking, and I wished there were more pieces of pork belly in the bowl.

Ambience at Lao San Kway Chap

Lao San is set within a humble Ang Mo Kio coffeeshop that isn’t the most well-furnished, but if you’re just here to enjoy some kway chap, the dull appearance of the place shouldn’t be an issue. It is, at the very least, quite spacious and well-ventilated.

Lao San Kway Chap is a seven-minute walk from Mayflower MRT Station.

The verdict

Lao San Kway Chap is surely one of the best kway chap stalls in the country. For those who have yet to try it, I highly recommend you check it out whenever you can, especially if you are already partial towards kway chap as a dish.

For another iconic kway chap place to try, read our To-Ricos Guo Shi review. For Song Fa’s take on the dish, read our Song Fa Kway Chap review.

Address: 232 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, #01-1196, Singapore 560232
Opening hours: Daily 8am to 8pm
Website
Lao San Kway Chap is not halal-certified.

Photos taken by Maisie Chong.
This was an independent review by Eatbook.sg.