No.18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow in Chinatown

One of the reasons to visit Zion Riverside Food Centre is the char kway teow of No.18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow. The Zion Road food centre is closed for renovations but fans of No.18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow can still get their fix at Chinatown Complex Food Centre.

I would see a long queue at No.18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow stall whenever I visited Zion Riverside Food Centre. When I was in Chinatown Complex Food Centre recently I stumbled upon the char kway teow stall from Zion Road. It has the same signboard and, yes, there was a queue at the stall. According to Today, the char kway teow stall is operating temporarily in Chinatown while Zion Riverside Food Centre is undergoing renovations from 1 November to 28 February 2021.

Chinatown Complex Food Centre in Smith Street is a popular food centre but is perhaps most well known as the home of Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle 香港油雞飯麵 which won a Michelin Star. In case you are wondering, there is still the crazy long queue at the chicken rice store.

No.18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow has no Michelin Star but it can boast of a very famous member of its fan club in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

There was only 6 or 7 persons in the queue at the char kway teow stall when I was in Chinatown Complex Food Centre on a recent weekday lunchtime. “Not too bad” was what I thought and so I joined the queue. Once again, a few customers in front of me were buying multiple packets for takeaway. When I reached the front of the queue, a fresh batch had to be prepared – so more waiting. All in all, I had to wait for about 30 minutes for my plate of fried kway teow.

As you can see from the photos, the fried kway teow dish was not photogenic. The lop-sided plating was consistent though – just as when the stall was in Zion road, the noodles were placed asymmetrically on the plate.

The taste was also consistent. With plenty of black sauce and ingredients such as fish cake, Chinese sausages, bean sprouts, cockles, eggs and lar pok (fried pork lard), the dish was full of flavours. The char kway teow was moist and had a nice smokiness. The portion was quite substantial. At just $4, it was really cheap and good food – worth joining the slow moving queue for – especially if you subscribe to the mantra that life is better when you move at a slower, more relaxed pace.

No.18 Zion Road Fried Kway Teow
#02-25 Chinatown Complex Food Centre
335 Smith Street, Singapore 050335

Opening Hours: 12:30pm – 9pm.

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an independent Singapore food blog