Which Hong Kong Street Zi Char?

Mention “Hong Kong Street” and dishes like Fish Head Beehoon, San Lou Hor Fun, and Har Cheong Gai immediately come to mind. As far as I know, the original zichar that gave rise to this culinary association is Hong Kong Street Chun Kee, which I first wrote about back in 2006. They’re still going strong at their Bukit Merah location and remains their only outlet.

Over the years, however, the number of zi char with the name “Hong Kong Street” has proliferated across the island, especially after a 1997 article spotlighted their signature fish head beehoon soup. Many of these restaurants were started by chefs who once worked at the original Chun Kee and later branched out to open their own zichar stalls. One notable offshoot is Hong Kong Street Chun Tat Kee, which now has six outlets around Singapore. That said, the standard can vary between locations—as you might gather from checking the Google reviews.

A Chinese Chef Named “Ali”

The outlet we’re reviewing today is one of the good ones! Previously located at Changi Road for nine years, it just relocated to Ubi Avenue 1 in January this year. The man behind the wok is owner-chef “Ali”, whose brother runs the Hong Kong Street Chun Tat Kee chain of restaurants. However, this particular outlet is fully owned and operated by Ali himself who is still the one doing most of the cooking. Before Changi, he spent his first nine years at Telok Kurau. The fact that the owner is also the chef makes all the difference here.

Review of the dishes

Curry Fish Head

We began our review with the...