Even though I went before opening time, I still had to wait for slightly more than an hour for my Moonlight Horfun. Some people had it ‘worse’.
Well, the famous Ipoh Tuck Kee Son 怡保德记仔炒粉 has opened in Singapore.
Restoran Tuck Kee 怡保德记 is considered one of the must-visits when you are in Ipoh, famous for its Cantonese style stir-fry noodles with power wok-hei.
This stall at Noa Nam Building near Jalan Besar is opened by the 3rd gen, thus the “son” in the name.
I actually attempted to queue for a number of times, but put away with the perpetually long-line and decided to turn up before opening hour of 5:30pm – a ‘strategy’ which worked this time.
Even if you see just 8 to 10 pax in front (good news: we all maintain our social distancing on the markers), you may have to wait say about 35 to 45 minutes TO ORDER.
There was a bit of deja vu of the queueing experience as this was where Kok Kee Wanton Mee used to be. (Question: Will Jumbo buy Ipoh Tuck Kee over?)
Get the buzzer and exercise more patience for the food (say another 20 – 30 minutes) to arrive. Helpful with you get a tiny squad to take turns to queue. (Wait, all these is before many other food bloggers *I know I know, don’t hate me* and Mothership even written about it.)
Signature items at Ipoh Tuck Kee Son include the Moonlight Horfun aka Yu Kong Hor ($5.50, $8.50), Baby Octopus in Soy Sauce ($8), Braised Yee Mee ($5, $8), Hokkien Fried Dai Loke Mee ($5, $8), and Fried Low Shu Fun ($5, $8).
The other famous item of War Tan Hor Fun ($5.50, $8.50) is perpetually always “sold out” aka not available.
Yu Kong Hor is called “Moonlight Hor Fun” due to the raw egg yolk that resembles a full moon against the night sky, and in this case on top of the dark wok-fried rice noodles (The other famous zi char place selling this dish is Keng Eng Kee Seafood.)
The Hor Fun is stir fried in savoury-sweet dark soy sauce to add smokiness and distinctive wok-hei to the otherwise bland rice noodles, before adding in lard, pork slices and vegetables.
Each plate of the flat rice noodles is prepared and stir-fried individually, so be prepared to wait a little longer to appreciate the effort.
I thought this was a very good plate of Hor Fun – smooth rice noodles (different from the usual which are thicker), flavours permeated through, with wok-hei though not as much as I would have expected.
The accompany chill sauce with strong belacan flavours was a huge draw for me as well. Perhaps more crunchy pork lard would have sealed the deal.
While I am not typically the biggest fan of octopus, the Baby Octopus in Soy Sauce ($8) is another must-order.
They were first steamed before drizzling shallot oil, fried garlic and spring onion.
The texture of the baby octopus was extremely soft and crunchy, and was totally delicious when dipped in the alluring tangy chilli sauce with peanuts.
Will I queue an hour again for this? Perhaps no, this is easily one of the best Moonlight Hor Fun you can find in Singapore.
Ipoh Tuck Kee Son 怡保德记仔炒粉
No 27 Foch Road Hoa Nam Building #01-02 Coffeeshop Stall No.1, Singapore 209264
Opening Hours: 5:30pm – 9pm (Mon, Thurs), 11:30am – 2pm, 5:30pm – 9pm (Tues, Wed, Fri – Sun)
(Timing changes – do check their Facebook for updates)
Other Related Entries
Restoran Tuck Kee 怡保德记 (Ipoh)
Quan Ji (Amoy Street Food Centre)
Chef Foong Restaurant (Lower Delta)
Kam Jia Zhuang (Ang Mo Kio)
Two Chefs Eating Place (Commonwealth Crescent)
* Written by Daniel Ang @DanielFoodDiary and Nicholas Tan @stormscape. DFD paid for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.