When the worm in my tummy asks for kway chap, the first thing I ask myself is, " What day is it?". Because my go-to stall, for this dish of braised pig parts and rice noodle sheets in soya-based braising liquid, doesn't open on Tuesdays. On all other days, it opens from 6.00 a.m. till 1.30 p.m. Famous Bedok Kway Chap at the food centre in Blk 92 Whampoa Drive (next to the wet market) does not have any TV celebrity pictures or food certificates to draw attention to itself, its loyal customers are local residents and market-goers . It is self-service only, the stallholder will prepare each order as he gets it. He is a bit slow but the wait never gets as aggravating as the To-Ricos place in Old Airport Road. The B hygiene rating may also deter some, but the stall looks clean enough to me.
I usually get the default $3.50 set, and ask the obliging stallholder to skip the pigskin and fishcake to substitute more pieces of small intestines. I regularly dream of the small intestines, there never seem enough on my plate. The curly ribbons of pig gut are scrupulously cleaned with not a hint of funky smell. The texture is toothsome yet tender, and fully absorbed of the wonderful braising liquid. The other items, like sliced pork, tau-pok and boiled egg, are fine, so too are the broad silky sheets of kway. The chilli sauce is assertively hot with the right touch of tartness. I usually pour one little dish into my bowl of kway, then pour a bit of the sauce from the meat/intestine plate into the other little dish of chilli sauce to make a "new" dipping sauce. It all makes a splendid meal, and will hold one over well until dinner time.
I also don't find myself more thirsty than usual after eating this, suggesting that the cook did not use too much MSG.Once husband bought some home as takeaway. I was aghast at the thought of the rice noodle sheets soaking for so long in the braising soup, but though the kway looked a bit bloated, they were more slippery soft and had actually become more flavourful.
