Victory Canton Wok (Jalan Batu Market & Food Centre)

Just nice that we had decided to kickstart on this journey to go around trying out different stalls serving up Sweet & Sour Pork Rice from zichar establishments from all around the island randomly and then we chanced upon a video on a social media page mentioning how sweet and sour pork is a dish that was popularised by Cantonese / Hong Kong and made its way all around the world before returning to where it had originated from in its modern form. As we found out, it seems like Singaporeans are probably most exposed to the westernised form of sweet & sour pork and that one can seem to be the “modernised” variant. Victory Canton Wok is one of those zichar stalls which we had been wanting to try for quite a while; located at Jalan Batu Food Centre, they are also one of the very few stalls there that operates in the evening; there is always seemingly a sizeable number of people enjoying their fare, and Google reviews do suggest that it is certainly more than just average at least based on ratings. The stall is an easy find in the food centre; they are the immediate first stall that one would come across if one enters the food centre from behind the Esso petrol station. Seemingly an old-school stall; an evidently so from how it looks as well, there is a menu board that is located at the counter — the more extensive menu would however be the hard copy menu that comprises of laminated A4 paper that lists down an extended list of items that they have to offer. Whilst communal dishes meant to be shared across the table would be the focus here, there is still a healthy selection of individually-sized rice and noodle dishes that one can find at Victory Canton Wok.

The folks whom are running Victory Canton Wok might be old but they do create an impression with us for being rather nice folks even when they are busy entertaining regulars while churning out dishes in their kitchen at the same time. Customers place their orders at the stall, and the folks will bring them to the table when the food is ready — payment is only made upon the order being served at the table. There is usually a bit of wait time involved whenever we order the Sweet & Sour Pork Rice at most other establishments but Victory Canton Wok does quite a quick job — our order came to the table in an estimated timeframe of under 10 minutes after we had made our order. On first look, Victory Canton Wok’s Sweet & Sour Pork Rice differs quite a bit from most neighbourhood establishments’ version; the sweet and sour sauce comes with darker hue than the usual bright red that we are more used to seeing these days from chain establishments — then chunks of pork also being of pretty large in comparison with the same being noted for the capsicums, onions and tomatoes included.

Digging into the sweet and sour pork first, it is noted that the sauce itself has a good consistency; nothing too gloopy or starchy — the flavours of the ketchup base prominent to give a good tang without being overly sour not coming with an ending note that is too sweet. The chunks of pork feels a little firmer with a bit of chew when compared to that of other more commercialised chains; this does make their rendition feel a little more old-school somewhat. Given the duration of time they had used to prepare the dish, one thing that didn’t gel particularly well with our preferences as how the sauce dinner feel absorbed by the capsicums, tomatoes and onions — the crunchy texture of the capsicums being particularly stark to us especially. The sunny side-up here is considered an add-on; we were glad that the lady did ask us if we would like for the fried egg since that was precisely the reason why we had missed it out in our previous location — the fried egg here coming with a runny egg yolk and crisp, brown edges around the egg whites without any undesirable stench from overused oil. The accompanying sambal from Victory Canton Wok was also a little different from what we tend to get from commercialised zichar establishments — there is a more evident zing that comes with it instead of just being a really flat note of saltishness that is accompanied with a spicy kick to tickle the tastebuds. At $6.50 with the sunny side-up, prices for the Sweet & Sour Pork at Victory Canton Wok do seem to be reasonable; considering the popularity they have with the residents around the area, they do seem to be the local trusty zichar establishment that most would not mind dining at.

This place always easily get missed up as it located hidden from the main road, behind the petrol stations.

I enjoy eating at this place as it is much quieter compared to Old Airport Road, but of course there’s also lesser choices here.

Victory Canton Wok is one of the popular tze char stall here that served some pretty good individual meal like this.

The pork rib texture was tender and juicy, but the sweet sauce was a bit too sweet for me.

Here's proof that "specials of the day" aren't limited to just fancy restaurants and cafes. Victory Canto Wok, a "zichar" stall in Jalan Batu hawker centre, had this dish listed as that when I was there some time ago. Ordered a plate immediately and found it to be simple yet satisfyingly tasty. The house-made filling used to stuff the vegetables and "taupok" was a little soft and mushy but I didn't mind it at all. Those of you who prefer a firm and springy texture might not fancy it much though.

Among the more popular dishes at this "zhi char" stall which is located at the corner of the hawker centre is their excellent "pai gu wang" (king of pork ribs). The pieces of really tender pork fillet are cooked in a lip-smackingly good sweet and citrusy-sour sauce. Another must-have of mine when I'm here is their "har jeong gai" (prawn paste chicken wings). Crunchy and savoury, I find it impossible to stop once I start.