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When my friend Farrell told me about this awesome tai chow near his place, he made me promise never to reveal the exact location should I choose to blog about it. Only then, he showed me the way…to good Chinese food.

It isn’t easy to find this place – a small wooden shop in an alley, hidden by the rows of restaurants in front. I was told to order the house special tofu, chicken popcorn, marmite pork ribs, steamed fish and fried pak koh noodles. All which I did, and I even added in two dishes; choon piah and braised pork knuckles.

As expected, the dishes were simple and tasty. The chicken popcorn was incredibly addictive while the house special tofu was a clever combination of tofu and fish paste. Best eaten with chilli sauce, these two.

Also good were the pork ribs – crisply fried yet juicy on the inside, with a caramelised marmite coat. We asked for the spicy style steamed fish and this was yummy with white rice. The gravy was thick, garlicky and full of oomph from the chilli. I liked that it masked any muddy taste the fish had.

I also enjoyed the fried pak koh noodles here, cooked Hokkien style with plenty of pork slivers. The choon piah tasted more like loh bak – I was expecting something similar to the Penang choon piah. Braised pork knuckles tasted very homecooked, and best eaten with the steamed rice cakes provided.

Tables are limited, so regulars come just before 7.30pm to secure their seats. I do the same too. For those of you who know about this little gem, good for you! If you don’t, you’ll have to ask Farrell if he’s willing to part with this info. :)

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