Fried Kway Teow • Fried Oyster (Tiong Bahru Market)

This being on the ‘Cheerless Chow’ list might be harsh, but it wasn’t good enough to earn a spot on the ‘Hawker Hits’ list, sadly enough.

Fried Kway Teow • Fried Oyster orh luak isn’t a completely lost cause, as the flavor was acceptable, and there were a few crispy bits that make a plate of fried oyster great. However, the oysters were awfully anemic, and the chili was painfully average.

Stick to the char kway teow, kids.

It’s been a couple of years since the Tastemakers’ Guide to Tiong Bahru was published, so someone (read: your boi) had to revisit some of the hawkers featured in the guide to make sure that they were still up to snuff.

Fried Kway Teow • Fried Oyster was the stall that served up char kway teow with wok hei so obscene it etched itself deep into my food flashbacks. Needless to say, it was the first stall to receive a thorough spot check.

The slight sweetness from the dark soya sauce was still there, along with the eggy oodles of smooth rice noodles. The ever delicious and universally pleasing lup cheong was also in attendance, and the cockles were buried underneath that mound of carbs.

However, there was one thing distinctly missing from the mix, and that was the obscene wok hei that forcefully grabbed my attention and burned its place into my memory the first time. There was wok hei in the dish, but it was muted this time around. Someone different was behind the wok this time if memory serves me right, and that dazzling wok hei simply wok-ed away from the plate on this occasion.

It’s still an acceptable plate of char kway teow, but it’s changed, and is no longer the same one I fell in love with. Sorry darlin’, it’s not me, it’s you.

Read about this stall in Burpple and decided to try it because I’m all about unhealthy food. The uncle prepares each dish individually, which means a slightly longer waiting time but it means that your food is freshly prepared.

I was pleasantly surprised at how many while oysters there were, considering I got the cheapest option. The portion is on the small side, but was just right for me (if I were sharing, however, I’d probably want to get the $6 portion).

The queue for the other char kuey tiao was longer, but I decided to follow Burpple guide and chose this one. The wok hei was there, and good amt of egg. Well-seasoned too. It was not too bad, but it failed to topple Zion rd food centre number 18, which has held the CKT top spot in my heart for the last 12 years.

A hidden gem in Tiong Bahru, this stall is your best bet if you like your char kway teow dry and packed with lots and lots of wok hei. Tastemakers Justin Teo and Russell Leong aptly put things into perspective: "The wok hei is obscene". The Char Kway Teow ($3) is redolent with the coveted smoky aroma that sets this stall apart from its competition (our Tastemakers all preferred this to the sweeter version at popular Tiong Bahru Fried Kway Teow), but there's plenty more to set it up for the win. This includes noodles slicked in a sweet, savoury and mildly spicy sauce, along with generous portions of lup cheong, fish cake, cockles and vegetables that Tastemaker Justin said gave crunch and helped to cut through the greasiness.
Avg Price: $5 per person
Photo by Burpple Tastemaker Justin Teo

There are two stalls selling char kway teow in Tiong Bahru Food Centre, and they're just a couple of stalls away from each other. In the red corner, we have Tiong Bahru Fried Kway Teow on the orange plate, and in the blue corner, we have the simply and unimaginatively named Fried Kway Teow•Fried Oyster on the white plate.

It was pretty much a no contest, the white plate won easily with its obscene amounts of wok hei and flavors. It was more egg-laden than its challenger, and every mouthful was a sapid mess of sweet, salty and absolutely bloody delicious.

Tiong Bahru's char kway teow wasn't as massive on the wok hei and was rather sweet. It may satisfy some, but it just couldn't stand up to the flavor juggernaut that is Fried Kway Teow•Fried Oyster's rendition of this classic hawker treasure.

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