Hong Seng Curry Rice Express at SMU now has a monthly special — for the month of April, the Special is a Creamy Tom Yum Katsu Bowl that carries elements such as Crispy Chicken Katsu that is drenched in Creamy Tom Yum Sauce, Hae Bee Hiam, Onsen Egg, and Hainanese Curry Sauce.

Being the first time here, it is interesting to see them offer a brown rice option for health conscious folks which I also opted for. I was initially skeptical about the Hainanese Curry and Tom Yum combination which seemingly sounded conflicting, but both flavours were distinct — the Chicken Katsu was crisp with tender meat which surprisingly wasn’t dry (pretty good considering I had this past 7pm); the creamy Tom Yum carried that promised sour and spicy flavour combination whilst being made creamy with coconut milk. It does not interfere with the thick, gloopy curry sauce that is drenched the brown rice. The onsen egg was a tad disappointing for how it lacked a flowy yolk, while the Hae Bee Hiam whilst adding a crisp texture to the brown rice if eaten together, verges towards saltiness for me. Still, a pretty good takeaway meal that would satisfy the tummies of students at SMU — school food that is actually delicious; not just something to rid the hunger with.