Hill Street Fried Kway Teow

Legendary fried kway teow master Ng Chang Siang, 67, has come a long way since he opened his Wayang Street (present-day Eu Tong Sen Street) stall in 1961, after dropping out of school at the age of 16.

He has since moved twice, away from his original stall’s location in front of the old Thong Chai Medical Institution, to Hill Street Food Centre in 1985. He moved to his current location at Bedok New Town Food Centre in 2000.

It was his father’s friend who taught him how to fry kway teow (flat rice noodles), and he believes the taste has not changed much.

“My char kway teow (from $3) tastes the same as it was 50 years ago,” he says with pride. “Some fried kway teow hawkers leave out chives these days, but I still put chives in mine.”

Ng further reveals: “How you control the temperature and the timing is very important. I use fresh ingredients – the pork lard has to be fried fresh daily.”

Filled with the smoky breath of the wok, Ng’s fried kway teow is slick without being overly greasy, moist without being too wet, and flavourful without being too salty.

It’s the great balance of the dish that has us going back for more.

Hill Street Fried Kway Teow is one of Singapore’s 12 hawker heroes who could be pitted against celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay in SingTel’s Hawker Heroes challenge.