What is the Best Kway Chap in Singapore?

Kway chap is a Teochew dish consisting of two parts: flat, broad rice sheets in a dark soy sauce (and sometimes herbal) broth, served with a selection of sides such as pig offal, braised pork belly, braised pork rind, pig tongue, braised duck meat, tau kwa, tau pok, fishcakes, preserved salted vegetables, and braised hard-boiled eggs. The braising often includes spices like star anise, cloves, cinnamon, 5-spice powder, getting rid of the pork’s gamy stench, making the dish robust.

Our criteria for a good bowl of kway chap:

1. The broth should be light but flavorful. Traditional kway chap broth uses water from cooking the kway, and braised sauce. Sometimes, a hawker may give herbal broth.

2. The rice sheets (kway) shouldn’t stick together.

3. Any offal should be cleaned thoroughly. Some intestines have a mushiness, which we don’t like.

4. Braised meats and offals with strong spices are better than non-descript ones.

5. More varied ingredients, the better. For instance, Shop A sells fishcake, tau kwa, egg, and intestines; whereas Shop B sells braised duck, braised pork belly, egg, and intestines. Although both have 4 items, Shop B would score better because it takes more effort to cook, than to use items that can be bought off the supermarket shelves.

6. A tangy, thick, gel-like chilli sauce.

Presenting the Best Kway Chap in Singapore in ascending order:

#33. Quan Lai Guo Zhi / Chuan Lai 泉来粿汁
560 Macpherson Road, Sin Fong Restaurant, 新峰餐食 Singapore 368233
8am-12.30pm

This bowl is almost 60% more expensive than the usual pricing. The broth is a strong herbal taste, but not salty enough and too thick to drink. The rice sheets stick together, the chilli is too sour that overpowers all taste. Tough pork belly. Intestines could be cleaner.

Cost: $5.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: they deliver to the table
Cons: very dirty coffeeshop. Out of the way.

#32. Jin Ji Teochew Braised Duck & Kway Chap 金记潮州卤鸭粿汁
Blk 335 Smith Street, #02-156 Chinatown Complex, Singapore 05335
10am-7pm, closed F
T: +65 9018 9052
facebook

The keyword for Jin Ji is “not enough”: broth not herbal enough, pork belly not braised long enough, intestines not clean enough, and the sambal chilli just isn’t the same as kway chap tangy-sweet gel-like chilli. One good thing: they give about 6 items, which is more than other stores (usually 4 items).

Price: $3.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Central location.
Cons: they could be friendly.

#31. Famous Bedok Kway Chap 勿落粿汁
Blk 654 Yishun Avenue 4 Singapore 760654
5.30am-3pm, closed Th

Too sweet broth, tough pork belly, gamy intestines not clean enough—but I like the touch of fried garlic in broth, and the spicy chilli.

Cost: $3.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Plenty of tables
Cons: Ulu

#30. Lee Heng Cooked Food 利興美食
Blk 527 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, Cheng San Market & Cooked Food Centre #01-107, Singapore 560527
Opens early mornings

The soup has a strong herbal taste, and the intestines are very well spiced. Unfortunately, the rice sheets stick together. As a whole, it comes across lightly flavored and I prefer heavy for kway chap. (Also see Ying Yi #21 in the same hawker centre.)

Waiting Time: 0
Price: $3.50
Pros: Friendly uncles.
Cons: nil.

#29. Guang Liang Cooked Food 光亮熟食
Blk 630 Bedok Reservoir Road, Bedok Reservoir Road Market & Food Centre #01-35, Singapore 470630

Went on Thur noon, closed. Returned on a Saturday, 11am. The items are salty, too salty for me, and the broth is too gooey but they have many ingredients, and a good chilli, spicy and with a tinge of ketchup?

Price: $4
Waiting Time: 20 min
Pros: they deliver to your table. Very friend hawkers.
Cons: NA.

#28. Tong Lok Kway Chap 同楽粿汁
114 Pasir Panjang Road,  Eng Lock Koo Coffeeshop, Singapore 118539
M-F 7am-3pm, closed weekends

What can be improved is the broth, bland as water. The best thing is the small intestines, very heavy with cloves, star anise, and cinnamon. It’s a spectrum of layered flavors, from weak to strong: the broth, to fish cake, to pork belly, to tau kwa, to intestines. Unfortunately, I don’t think this layering is by design. Points have to be given for their presentation on small lovely plates to make the food look abundant.

Price: $3.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: They deliver to the table. Polite uncle and aunty.
Cons: ulu. Hard to find parking.

#27. Chai Chee Kway Chap 菜市粿汁
216 Bedok North St 1 Market and Food Centre, #01-67 S460216
9am-3pm

The broth is sweet and sour, and they give tau pok, intestines, rind, half an egg, and some meat. The best thing here is the chilli, potent and tangy. But I didn’t like the anyhow-anyhow dump on the plate. And there isn’t a lot of ingredients. (see Chris Kway Chap #9 in the same hawker centre.)

Price: $3.40
Waiting Time: 2 customers in front of me, 5 minutes.
Pros: NA.
Cons: NA.

#26. Hai Fa Kway Chap 海发粿汁
207 New Upper Changi Road, Bedok Interchange Food Centre #01-31, Singapore 460207
7am-3pm, Closed Tue

Dunno why but everything tastes like a floral perfume. The broth is bland, but has a floral perfume scent. The small intestines are loaded with 5-spice and anise, but still taste like perfume. There are also egg, pork belly, tau pok, and tau kwa. A nice sour chilli.

Price: $4.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Big new hawker centre.
Cons: NA.

#25. Quan Xiang Kway Chap 泉香粿汁
58 New Upper Changi Road,  Bedok South Food Centre #01-173, Singapore 461058
7am-12.30pm

Rind. Big intestines. Half an egg. Tau pok. Not bad.

Price: $3 onwards
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Plenty of parking.
Cons: Went on a weekday morning and the tables were full! Bedok people don’t need to work?

#24. A1 Kway Chap
209 Hougang Street 21, Kovan Hougang Market and Food Centre #01-15, Singapore 530209
8.30am-9.30pm

An adequate kway chap. They justify their 50 cents more than the usual price by giving 5 items: rind, clean small intestines, pork belly, egg, tau pok.

Price: $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Near MRT.
Cons: N.A.

#23. San Ba Wang Guo Zhi Shu Shi 三巴旺粿汁熟食
590 Upper Thomson Road, Sembawang Hill Food Centre #01-06, Singapore 574419
7am-12pm

Waited 30 minutes for this bowl. I got the more expensive one ($3/$4). The small intestines are very clean, but the flavors are mild. The broth is strangely milky. Not bad, but I won’t wait 30 min again.

Price: $3 onwards
Waiting Time: 30 min
Pros: they deliver. Plenty of tables.
Cons: Far

#22. Garden Street Kway Chap 呀侖街粿汁
49A Serangoon Garden Way, Serangoon Garden Market and Food Centre #01-21, Singapore 555944
8am-3pm, Closed M

Half an egg, pork, tau pok, small intestines, with an appetizing sour broth. The overall flavors here are lighter than usual. Not too bad.

Price: $4
Waiting Time: 4 people in front of me, 10 min. A slow queue.
Pros: Very friendly hawkers. Probably the most friendly. Lots of seats.
Cons: Parking is nightmare.

#21. Ying Yi Kway Chap Braised Duck 穎毅粿汁鹵鴨飯麺
Blk 527 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, Cheng San Market & Cooked Food Centre #01-145, Singapore 560527
9am-6.30pm

They use the traditional broth, that is, they use mostly water from cooking the kway, and added a bit of soy sauce. There are tau pok, fish cake, egg, pork belly, and very clean small intestines with a heavy 5 spice scent. All of which goes well with the potent, sour chilli. (See Lee Heng #30  in the same hawker centre.)

Price: $3.30
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Carpark nearby
Cons: Tables are mostly occupied even though I went at 10am.

#20. Yu Kee Duck Rice Kway Chap 友记
Multiple Outlets

I’ve a Yu Kee below my block and eat it often. I like it quite a bit. On normal days, it can be very delicious. Unfortunately, that day, the stall only had one helper and she did a slipshod work. The rice sheets stuck together and she gave all fats for pork belly. The soup tasted diluted. That said, there are 6 types of ingredients, fish cake, tau pok, egg, rind, large intestines, and belly. A good variety. On normal days they can be quite good. Yu Kee should have been higher on this list, but it would not be fair to other stalls if I visited Yu Kee twice and the rest, once.

Price: $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: many outlets. Variety of ingredients. 3 types of very good chilli to choose.
Cons: many outlets, may not have quality control.

#19. Huat Kee Kway Chap 发记粿汁
123 Yishun Street 11, 123 Eating House, Singapore 760123
6.30am-2pm, closed Wed

This is a good bowl of kway chap. They justify their $1 or 30% higher price than usual kway chap by giving more ingredients and a bigger bowl of kway. They have big intestines, rind, pork meat, tau kwa, tau pok, and egg; all done well. The broth is only slightly herbal at first, but as I ate, it thickened and tastes better, stronger.

Price: $4.50
Waiting Time: 20 min (they let regulars jump queue.)
Pros: they deliver. Friendly uncle.
Cons: they let regulars jump queue.

#18. Blanco Court Kueh Chap 白兰阁粿汁
44 Holland Drive, Holland Drive Market & Food Centre #02-02, Singapore 270044

Cheng Heng #16 and Blanco Court are side-by-side. Cheng Heng has a long queue, but not Blanco Court. To be honest, I find little difference between them. Cheng Heng has a good pork belly, but the kway stick together in the sourish broth. Blanco’s kway is too soft and the rind too chewy, but I like the lightness of the herbal broth. Their chilli is also potent. Give and take, Cheng Heng may be slightly better, but we’d go for the shorter queue.

Price: $4.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Plenty of seats.
Cons: More expensive than a usual bowl.

#17. Old Bugis Kway Chap
10 Sengkang Square, Stall #01-38 Kopitiam Square, Singapore 544829

Quite good!  The broth is sweet and herbal, thickens when left long. The set comes with tau pok, tau kwa, half an egg, big intestines, and pork belly. The secret weapon is the chilli, very shiok, spicy and lime-sour.

Price: $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Plenty of seats.
Cons: Hygiene problems. Hawker centre is dirty. And the hawker tied her shoelaces before cooking my food without washing her hands.

#16. Cheng Heng Kway Chap & Braised Duck Rice 進興粿汁鹵鴨飯
44 Holland Drive, Holland Drive Market & Food Centre #02-05, Singapore 270044
6am-3pm

Cheng Heng and Blanco Court #18 are side-by-side. Cheng Heng has a long queue, but not Blanco Court. To be honest, I find little difference between them. Cheng Heng has a good pork belly, but the kway stick together in the sourish broth. Blanco’s kway is too soft and the rind too chewy, but I like the lightness of the herbal broth. Their chilli is also potent. Give and take, Cheng Heng may be slightly better, but we’d go for the shorter queue.

Price: $3.50
Waiting Time: 15 min
Pros: Long queue but it moves quickly. Plenty of seats.
Cons: NA.

#15. Siglap Kway Chap
727 East Coast Road, New Leaf Park Food Paradise 新叶园美食天地, Singapore 459073
8am-2pm

Came here twice. First time, it was sold out by 1pm. This kway chap is expensive. The broth is salty with an aftertaste of pungent bitterness. It comes with salted veg, small intestines, tau pok, rind, tau kwa, and pork belly. The pork belly is the star, thick and flavorful.

Price: $5
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: N.A.
Cons: Hard to find parking.

#14. A&C Braised Duck & Kway Chap
Blk 605, Yishun street 61, Eng Kopitiam 永咖啡店 #01-319, Singapore 760605
Outlet: Chong Pang Market
7am-3pm
T: +65 9627 3973
facebook

The broth takes a middle stance: half herbal, half savory. The intestines are heavy with 5-spice, rather unique. I wish they had included duck meat in the set. Felt oddly unsatisfied with only tou kwa, egg, intestines, and pork belly.

Price: $3.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: they deliver.
Cons:  Coffeeshop smells of incense. No duck.

#13. Guan Kee Kway Chap 源记粿汁
210 Lorong 8 Toa Payoh, Toa Payoh Lorong 8 Market & Food Centre #01-24, Singapore 310211
Weekdays 11am-8pm, Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 9am-8pm, Closed Th

Quite worth it to get a bite of almost everything, pig skin, intestines, belly, etc, in the set. Intestines are cleaned thoroughly, so no smell at all. A comforting bowl.

Cost: $3.50
Waiting Time: 5 min (2 persons in front of me)
Pros: plenty of seats.
Cons: busy carpark. Dirty hawker centre.

#12. Double Spring Teochew Lor Duck Kway Chap 双春潮州卤鸭粿汁
41A Cambridge Road, Pek Kio Market and Food Centre #01-48, Singapore 211041
Closed Mon

Everything is sweet here: the broth, the sauce, and even the chilli (which is also tangy). It appeals to the Singaporean tastebuds, I suppose. Singaporeans like sweet food. The intestines have a really nice clean bite. The pork belly isn’t greasy. And the duck has a great texture.

Price: $3.50
Waiting Time: 0 (I was there at 7.30am)
Pros: Plenty of seats.
Cons: Limited parking.

#11. Ah Di Duck Rice Kway Chap 阿弟鸭饭粿汁
883 Woodlands St 82, Woodlands North Plaza, Kerk’s Kopitiam #02-427, 730883
8.30am-1.30pm, 4.30pm-7.30pm
Facebook

I thought Ah Di was in a shopping mall, but “Woodlands North Plaza” is like a 2-storey HDB, and Ah Di is on the 2nd floor in the non-air-con kopitiam. (There are 2 kopitiams here, the other one has air-con.)

If you want to be super strict, the kway chap here is more braised duck than kway chap. The sauce for the ingredients is very thick like duck rice sauce. But I like the food here very much. They give a lot of ingredients at $3.50: big intestines, egg, duck meat, rind, tau pok, all soaked in the gooey, tangy, appetizing sauce. Smart of them not to have small intestines, since it’s so much work to clean it and not many can do it satisfactorily.  The broth itself is herbal, and very light, with aroma of dang gui. You’ll probably get the same soup if you order the duck rice.

Price: $3.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Besides a multi-storey carpark.
Cons: NA

#10. Boon Tong Kee Kway Chap Braised Duck 文通记粿汁卤鸭
70 Zion Road #01-24 Zion Riverside Food Centre Singapore 247792
11am-10pm, closed Wed
Facebook

This is very good and affordable kway chap at city area. The broth is herbal, and they give a variety of ingredients, such as egg, tau pok, tau kwa, intestines, and duck meat, one of the few stalls to give duck meat without additional cost. The intestines are gamy, but overall, this is very satisfying.

Price: $3.50
Waiting Time: 0 (I was the first customer, but usually there is a long queue during peak hours.)
Pros: Affordable at CBD area. Very friendly uncle.
Cons: Limited parking.

#9. Chris Kway Chap 瑞庆粿汁
Blk 216 Bedok North Street 1, #01-80 Bedok Market and Food Centre, Singapore 460216
7am-2pm, closed M-Tu

Went on Wed, closed. Went again the next day. Never give up, right? The sauce is the shiok thing: tangy, thick, and savory. The pork belly is so fat and delicious. (see Chai Chee #27 in the same hawker centre.)

Price: $4.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: NA.
Cons: Packed on a weekday morning. Can’t find a seat!

#8. Xing Yun Kway Chap 幸运粿汁
Blk 137 Tampines Street 11, #01-14, Tampines Round Market & Food Centre,  Singapore 521137
F-Sun 9.30am-2pm, closed Mon-Th

I queued for 40 minutes. And it is delicious. They are 30% more expensive than the usual price, but they justify it by giving a huge plate of ingredients. The food has a tinge of sweetness that adds complexity but does not overwhelm the taste. Broth is lightly herbal, chilli is sweet, tangy, spicy. Very good.

Price: $4.50
Waiting Time: 14 people in front of me, 40 min queue. When I reached the front of the queue and turned back to count, the queue had to swollen to 20.
Pros:NA .
Cons: limited parking. Not enough tables. Short working hours. Only 12 hours a week!

#7. Kway Chap 粿汁
Blk 93, Toa Payoh Lorong 4 #01-40 Singapore 310093
5.30pm – 11pm, closed on M & Th

Very delicious.  Very clean small intestines that absorb the sauce completely. With tau pok, rind, and egg. Excellent chilli, sour and spicy. The broth is a little thin and bland.

Price: $2.80
Waiting Time: I was first in line when they opened at 5.30pm, but a queue quickly formed behind me.
Pros: They work fast. Opens till late.
Cons: Dirty hawker centre.

#6. Bishan 284 Kway Chap
Blk 284 Bishan Street 22, KPT, Singapore 570284
8.30pm-4am, closed ad hoc

Small intestines are thoroughly marinated, very flavorful. The set comes with tau pok, tau kwa, egg, fish cake, pork belly, sprinkle of salted vegetable, and rind, which is hard, the only thing I didn’t like in the set. The broth is very sweet—did they add sugar?—but the chilli is awesome, potent and tangy. One of the best chilli on this list.

Cost: $7.30 for 2 persons
Waiting Time: the queue was so long it snaked out of the coffeeshop. But they work very fast and took only 10 mins to reach me.
Pros: they work fast. Opens till late, one of the few supper options.
Cons: you must tell them you want big intestines or you won’t get it in your mix. Dirty kopitiam.

#5. Blanco Court Kway Chap/ To-Ricos Guo Shi
51 Old Airport Road, Old Airport Road Food Centre #01-135, Singapore 390051
11am-3pm, Closed Mon & Tue
Branch at Ci Yuan Hawker Centre
Facebook

I’d use “soft” to describe the ingredients. Soft, not in the sense that they are tender, which they are, but soft in the sense of a roundedness and feminineness. The chilli, on the other hand, is thick and spicy. Kway cooked exceptionally well, one of the best textures among the stalls.

Price: $4.40
Waiting Time: 0 (I went at 11.30am on a weekday)
Pros: Very friendly hawkers.
Cons: NA

#4. Lai Xing Cooked Food 来兴熟食
Blk 105, Hougang Ave 1, Hougang 105 Hainanese Village  #02-09 Singapore 530105
6am-2pm

Very different from the rest. The broth isn’t herbal or savory; it’s sourish, appetizing. Best small intestines ever: it’s very complex with evolving tastes from 5-spice, to cinnamon, to anise, to a sour twang. But unfortunately, for the basic set, there are only 4 ingredients including tau pok, fish cake, and egg. Wish I added the pork tongue ($1), which is seldom found elsewhere.

Price: $2.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: they list the items with prices at their stall front clearly, very good for noobs ordering. They deliver to your table. Good value.
Cons: parking is atrocious.

#3. Ah Keat Pig’s Organ Soup & Kway Chap 阿吉猪杂汤粿汁
Blk 211 Marsiling Crescent, Lucky Star Eating House 福星大餐厅, Singapore 730211
9am-9pm

There is nothing special here, no heavy cinnamony, 5-spice aroma. But sometimes ordinary is extraordinary. Everything is done well. There are so many ingredients: big intestines and small, tou pok, egg, fish cake, rind, and belly. The small intestines aren’t extremely clean but they are smart enough to give less small intestines, and give more large intestines. Some ingredients are accentuated with garlic. The broth is salty enough. Very satisfying.

Price: $3.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pro: Many ingredients. Plenty of seats and parking lots.
Cons: so far.

#2. Covent Garden Kway Chap 哥文园粿汁
Block 22A Havelock Road, #01-05 Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre, Singapore 161022
6am-1pm, closed Sun-Mon

This is fantastic! The broth is herbal and mildly sweet, so it doesn’t overpower the taste of the ingredients. The sauce for the ingredients is orgasmic and umami. There is a slight bitter aftertaste, which I like, adding to the complexity of the dish. Very old school, this feels like home.

Price: $2.50
Waiting Time: 3 persons in front of me, about 5 minutes
Pros: Friendly hawkers. Prices are listed clearly on the stall front.
Cons: Limited parking.

#1. Cai Shu Kway Chap 財叔粿汁
Blk 145 Teck Whye Avenue, Yummy Court #01-153 s680145
7.15am-2pm, 6pm-9pm

Cai Shu Kway Chap is slightly more expensive than other stalls’ but they give so many ingredients: clean small intestines; a slightly tough pork belly with glutinous skin; tau kwa; tau pok; egg; rind; and fish cake. They give off a strong star-anise aroma, which I love. The broth for the chap is complex: a tinge of sweetness to undercut the mostly savory and herbal broth.

Price: $4.30
Waiting Time: 15 min
Pros: You order and they deliver to your table.
Cons: Kopitiam is dirty and smelly.

Not all kway chap on this list are nice, but these are the kway chap that are worth travelling for…

Best Kway Chap in Singapore (in order)
#1. Cai Shu Kway Chap (Choa Chu Kang/Bukit Panjang)
#2. Covent Garden Kway Chap (Tiong Bahru)
#3. Ah Keat Kway Chap (Marsiling)
#4. Lai Xing Cooked Food (Hougang)
#5. Blanco Court Kway Chap/ To-Ricos Guo Shi (Old Airport Road Market)
#6. Bishan 284 Kway Chap (Bishan)
#7. Toa Payoh Lor 4 Kway Chap (Toa Payoh)
#8. Xing Yun Kway Chap (Tampines)
#9. Chris Kway Chap (Bedok)
#10. Boon Tong Kee Kway Chap (Zion Road Market)

For your convenience, I’ve created a map: Best Kway Chap in Singapore. The color codes:
Red: Breakfast and Lunch
Light Green: Lunch only
Brown: Lunch and dinner
Blue: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Purple: Dinner and supper
Black: Supper
Yellow: Unknown hours

You may be interested in…
Best Carrot Cake in Singapore
Best Bak Chor Mee in Singapore
Best Wanton Mee in Singapore
Best Prata in Singapore
Best Chicken Rice in Singapore
Best Nasi Lemak in Singapore

NOTE: We tried each and every bowl, and those that we didn’t try, we don’t put them on the list. Lao San Kway Chap 老三棵汁猪什汤 (Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3, 6am-3pm, closed M) is not on the list because it was closed three times we went: Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.