Song Fa Kway Chap Review: Peppery Kway Chap By SG’s Most Renowned BKT Chain In ION Orchard

Song Fa Kway Chap has peppery kway chap in ION Orchard

Song Fa is a brand synonymous with bak kut teh. After all, its bak kut teh franchise is one of the most popular in Singapore, with several outlets across the country and the Michelin Bib Gourmand under its name. And while it’s not as well known for its kway chap yet, I think Song Fa Kway Chap is just as worth dining at as its bak kut teh counterpart.

I say this after having tried the new Song Fa Kway Chap outlet at ION Orchard. As a kway chap fan myself, I was impressed with what the eatery had to offer.

Food at Song Fa Kway Chap

We started with the Peppery Kway Chap Deluxe Set for 2 ($26.90), which came with a platter of braised meat and other sides, another platter of braised duck, and two bowls of kway—one of which was with your usual dark broth, and the other was the unique peppery kway.

The platter consisted of pork belly and large intestine, tau pok, tau kwa, fish cake, peanuts, salted vegetables, and hard-boiled eggs.

I thoroughly enjoyed every ingredient in this platter, especially the thick pork belly and the well-cleaned intestines. The braising sauce was also excellent, imbuing the ingredients with savoury and herbal notes.

However, I did find myself wishing that there were—or at least the option to add—other pork offals such as small intestine, big intestine, and stomach. The variety of offals is one of my favourite things about kway chap, so it’s a shame that the options are more limited here.

We got to compare the usual dark broth kway chap with the eatery’s peppery take on it.

With its silky-smooth texture and chewy bite, the kway was a joy to slurp on. For the standard bowl, the chap imparted savoury and herbal notes to each piece of kway, just as it did for the meat platter.

The peppery version—possibly inspired by Song Fa’s bak kut teh—was a different beast. With its peppery kick and earthy aroma, the chap here was arguably more flavourful than in the previous bowl of kway. I’m sure opinions will be split over which chap is better, but if it’s your first time at Song Fa Kway Chap, you definitely have to give this peppery version a shot.

We moved on to the braised duck, which can also be purchased as the Braised Duck Rice ($8) that comes with yam rice. Now, the yam rice was pretty good, but it’s the braised duck itself that truly made an impression.

The duck was succulent and fall-off-the-bone tender, without any of the gamey flavour that sometimes plagues the meat. What’s more, the braising gravy here was even more flavourful than in the kway chap’s meat platter, leaving me unable to stop myself from chowing down piece after piece.

Aside from kway chap and duck rice, Song Fa Kway Chap has a few claypot dishes to order, including the Claypot Spicy Chicken ($9.90) and Claypot Spinach with Salted and Century Egg ($8.60). But my favourite of the bunch was the Claypot Pork Belly with Salted Fish ($12.90). In this dish, juicy pork belly slices were enhanced by the savouriness of salted fish and dark sauce, the sweetness of onions, and the spicy kick of chilli.

Ambience at Song Fa Kway Chap

The Song Fa Kway Chap at ION Orchard isn’t a stand-alone eatery—it’s actually a stall within the mall’s Food Opera, but one with its own designated seating area. That area has a good number of seats, and is spacious and comfy enough to not detract from the kway chap experience.

Being next to Orchard MRT, the stall is a three-minute walk away from it.

The verdict

Song Fa Kway Chap does a very good rendition of kway chap, and its duck rice and claypot dishes are worth a shot, too. When you’re there, be sure to order the interesting peppery kway.

For $3 kway chap with over 50 years of history, read our Covent Garden Kway Chap review. For other Orchard eateries to check out, have a look at our best Orchard food listicle.

Address: 2 Orchard Turn, B4-03/04, Food Opera stall #14, ION Orchard, Singapore 238801
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 9:30pm
Website
Song Fa Kway Chap is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Daryl Lim.
This was a media tasting at Song Fa Kway Chap.