Hainanese Curry Rice seems to be all the rage recently when it comes to local hawker cuisine — while Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice had recently opened its new premises at VivoCity, there are also new establishments such as that of Huat Bro Curry Rice (by the folks behind Ming Fa Fishball Noodles) at Hougang Green Shopping Mall serving up Hainanese Curry Rice that had also sprouted up of the late. Kim’s Hainan Curry is yet another one of such names that have been established fairly recently — their very first stall opened around mid-2022 within Wonderful Coffee Shop at Foodxchange; a light industrial building that is located at Admiralty Street. They had then subsequently opened a new outlet at the Ever Dragon Cafe coffeeshop at Blk 122 Bedok North Street 2, taking over the former premises of the now-defunct Wang Bao Bao which was best known for their burgers served with bak kwa. Their third and newest outlet is located at a more centralised location — situated at Blk 186 Toa Payoh Central within the J99 Eating House, the coffeeshop that Kim’s Curry Hainan is located at Toa Payoh also houses an outlet of Chao Yuan Gourmet as well. Serving up Hainanese Curry Rice in sets, patrons can get to choose the set according to their preferences of the meat options that come with the set — think sets like the Signature Kim’s Curry Combo Set, Crispy Chicken Chop Set etc.

We cannot consider ourselves having had Hainanese Curry Rice without having braised pork — and this is how we found ourselves going for the Braised Pork Set. The opening of their newest location at Toa Payoh also saw Kim’s Curry Hainan offering a new flavour for their Hainanese Curry Rice; the Mala Curry, which they dub to be the first Mala Curry to be served in the island. Each Hainanese Curry Rice set comes with the usual suspects; the rice being drenched in a myriad of sauces such as Hainanese Curry and braised sauce, while the inclusion of braised cabbage and sunny-side-up are also standard with the sets. Being very eager to try the curry first, we liked how the cocktail of sauces here really gives their Hainanese Mala Curry Rice a flavour that is unique to their own without being spicy for those who have moderate to lower tolerance to spiciness — the Hainanese Curry here is absolutely rich but not gloopy from being too starchy, but it’s that addition of the Mala that really helps to ante up the flavour profile of the dish; think that fragrance of Sichuan peppers that does not turn into an all-out tastebud-numbing experience. Instead, that fragrance would be the opening note of the flavours of the Mala Curry, before being rounded off by that savoury and rich curry that was especially delicious with that flavour contrast. One big highlight for us was also the Braised Pork itself; the braised pork at Kim’s Curry Hainan comes absolutely fatty, gelatinous and melt-in-the-mouth tender — well-braised so that it soaks up that rich and flavourful braising liquid that is all savoury, which further adds on the flavours of the dish. The braised cabbage is also soft to the bite, while the sunny-side-up comes with a molten egg yolk that flows as one breaks it apart — a crowd-pleaser on its own.

Despite being one of the newcomers to the scene, Kim’s Curry Hainan has managed to impress us with its food offerings which could easily rival that of the more established names serving up similar fare. Perhaps this could be due to their experience in the F&B business despite being a new concept — Kim’s Curry Hainan are by the same folks behind Kim Kitchenz, which offers tingkat delivery services, as well as the recipe of the Hainanese Curry Rice which was created by the owner’s grandfather who had co-founded The Oasis 海京楼 (at Toa Payoh Town Park); all these being mentioned in their corporate website. Regardless, we did find ourselves enjoying their Hainanese Curry Rice — right from the curry gravy all the way down to their braised pork and even the sunny-side-up and braised cabbage; they seemed to have nailed all the elements that came together in the dish. This is not to mention how they have also gave the Hainanese Curry Rice a modern twist — the fusion of Mala also did not ruin its authenticity in any way; only adding to the entire experience. A stall with an interesting backstory and some really promising offerings at hand, Kim’s Curry Hainan is one of the spots which we will see ourselves returning to if we are craving for some seriously good Hainanese Curry Rice!