To-Ricos Guo Shi at Old Airport Road Food Centre is a name that appears on many best-of lists, and for good reason. Not only is it one of two kway chap stalls currently on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list, but it also effortlessly draws long queues whenever it is open. Even when we arrived at 10 in the morning, we were already met with a line snaking around the stall.
Having tried my fair share of kway chap over the years, To-Ricos remains near the top of my personal ranking. But having not dropped by in a couple of years, we were curious to see if it still holds up.
To-Ricos’ has two braised platter sets: Platter A (from $6) and Platter B (from $8), with prices going up to $24-$34 should you order a four-person set. Since I was dining solo, I ordered Platter B’s $8 option, said to be suitable for one person. Of course, I had to add a bowl of Kway Chap ($1) to complete the experience.
The plate was filled with various cuts of pork, including pig’s stomach, intestine, and belly. The usual suspects, such as tau pok, tau kwa, and braised hard-boiled egg, were present too.
You really don’t have to worry about the innards here, as they were all so well cleaned. There was little foul smell or taste present in these, and any funk served to enhance the overall flavour, rather than detract from it. The intestines, in particular, had this very tender, melt-in-your-mouth quality, and any hint of funkiness blended well with the savoury braising sauce.
The slices of pork belly were less impressive. Thinly cut and somewhat dry, they paled in comparison to the innards, which were excellent in terms of flavour and texture. But I did like that the pork belly’s firmer texture nicely contrasted the soft offals and tau pok.
Speaking of tau pok, To-Ricos’ beancurd puffs were a delight to eat. Each slice of tau pok had a wonderfully spongy texture, which allowed it to absorb as much braising sauce as it could. Biting into it thus yielded all the herbal and meaty notes that were present in the platter.
Moving on to the kway, the silky-smooth texture of the flat rice noodles was certainly commendable. I enjoyed slurping each strand, then following it up with a spoonful of the robust, savoury broth, which had irresistible herbal notes. Some kway chap stalls have broths that are on the lighter end in terms of flavour, but this bowl was very much packed with it.
We recommend you add the Pork Trotters (from $8) to your meal, too. Like with the kway chap platter, even the smallest plate of pork trotters comes with plenty of succulent meat. Every piece here was fantastic: fall-off-the-bone tender, with a fatty and gelatinous skin to boot.
Special mention goes to the chilli, which had a particularly tangy flavour. It doesn’t have the spiciest kick, but in terms of taste alone, it checked all the boxes for me.
To-Ricos Guo Shi is located in Old Airport Road Food Centre, one of the oldest and largest hawker centres in Singapore. Be sure to arrive before peak hours if you don’t want to queue for your kway chap, as To-Ricos draws plenty of patrons every day they are open.
Old Airport Road Food Centre is a five-minute walk from Dakota MRT Station.
In my opinion. To-Ricos Guo Shi absolutely deserves its legendary status. From its silky kway to its well-cleaned offals, the stall deserves to be tried by everyone—yes, even those who are sceptical towards innards.
For good Western fare at a hawker stall, check out our Ye Lai Xiang Tasty Barbecue review. Fans of curry puff should have a look at our J2 Famous Crispy Curry Puff review.
Address: 51 Old Airport Road, #01-135, Old Airport Road Food Centre, Singapore 390051
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 10am to 2:30pm
Tel: 9388 1098
Website
To-Ricos Guo Shi is not a halal-certified eatery.
Photos taken by Nathania Tay.
This was an independent review by Eatbook.sg.
Summary
Pros
– Pork innards were very well cleaned
– Kway was silky-smooth
– Pork trotters were fall-off-the-bone tender
Cons
– Pork belly was thinly cut and dry
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 10am to 2:30pm
Address: 51 Old Airport Road, #01-135, Old Airport Road Food Centre, Singapore 390051
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