Ipoh Tuck Kee (Kelantan Lane)

Steamed baby octopus in soy sauce was the dish that caught my eye at once because you don't usually find octopus dishes in local eateries and definitely not a hawker tzichar stall!

I liked that the octopus was tender and yet chewy with a nice bite. On its own, there was a little fishy taste which some might dislike but it goes away when you have it with the soy sauce. I do wish that they used a lighter version of soy sauce or added some sugar. You don't notice it at first but it's quite salty and heavy on the palate especially towards the end of the meal. Some of the garlic bits were really fragrant and tasty but there were bits which were rock hard or have gone a little soft and stale.

I have tried Ipoh Tuck Kee at their Kelantan Lane and Toa Payoh Lorong 8 branches and my main qualm is that their food can be maddeningly inconsistent. There are highs and lows and seemingly no middle ground.

The Wat Tan Hor was apparently Ipoh Tuck Kee founder's signature dish and it's not hard to understand why.

Like the moonlight horfun, their wat tan hor hits you immediately with the intense wokhei flavour, and is topped with crunchy and umami filled pork lard. The star of the show however is the gravy. Whereas most hor fun is starchy and either salty or peppery, the gravy at Ipoh Tuck Kee is silky smooth, lusciously savoury and reminds me of the traditional Cantonese 羹 (think sharks fin or fish maw soup).

This was an immediate hit. It's slightly more expensive than your usual tzichar stall but definitely worth it as it also comes packed full of sliced pork, vegetables and prawns.

I must add though that we had a rather lackluster experience at their Toa Payoh Lorong 8 branch in comparison. The wokhei treatment was remarkedly less pronounced and the gravy was watery and bland. Not to sure if it's a one-off or outlet specific but do note that it may be a little hit and miss!

You might just be as confused as I was, finding numerous stalls with iterations of the name "Ipoh Tuck Kee" around the island with similar sign boards and serving similar dishes.

I am not too sure if there is a back story invovled but the Ipoh Tuck Kee at Kelantan Lane is apparently one of those affiliated with the OG Malaysian Tzichar eatery from Ipoh and are led by the founder's descendants themselves.

Their signature dish is the Yut Kwong Hor or moonlight hor fun. The name apparently comes from the raw egg yolk which is placed on top of the dried fried hor fun just before it is served.

I love that there is a strong distinctive smokey wokhei taste in Tuck Kee's rendition and their pork lard is simply to die for. The sauce though was a little sweet and one-dimensional on its own own but do mix in the rich and creamy raw egg yolk to balance the flavours.

My one big complaint was that it took nearly 40 minutes for our food to be served and this was during a low peak period during the mid-afternoon. That said, it took nearly the same amount of time at their Toa Payoh Lorong 8 outlet during dinner!

The noodles is hard and the small portion is too little

Too blend not to my liking

Much have been said about the Moonlight Horfun (still as good) and this time round I decided to try the Wan Tan Hor instead. Similar to the moonlight Horfun except lacking in the sweet-savoury smokiness of the dark sauce. Think I'll stick to just the Moonlight next time.