Keong Siak Road is every foodie and photographer's dream, after sun down the street comes alive, literally. It always bewilders me how the present and past can coexist in a single street and still have mass appeal.
By day Kok Sen is the budget lunch corner for office workers who'd brave the merciless heat for a pocket friendly yet filling lunch. By night, this morphs into a completely different animal - louder, brasher and characteristic of a chinatown hawker. I mean I cannot imagine in my wildest dreams having a flawless service encounter in an old restaurant, it's almost...unbelievable.
We get allocated a table all the way next to the kitchen, even with the dust cluttered fan blades whirling, the heat still got to us. This is a result of advance bookings and on a popular celebratory date known as Mother's Day.
I love how there is no fuss at these eating houses - none of the appetizer nonsense that gets ignored anyway. It's just plastic chopsticks and a stack of wet tissues.
Poached Chinese Spinach with Assorted Eggs ($14)
A watery poached version that was missing out on some wok hei yet still a table favourite. It could just be the broth that makes eating with rice very wholesome.
Moonlight Hor Fun
Off the menu, this version is available if you ask nicely.
Stir fried rice noodles with pork, prawns, generous dashes of dark sauce and a single raw egg cracked on top for tossing. Nothing fancy or gimmicky but the tossing in of raw egg does make this a slurp-pery treat. Chilli padi is the key then for a fiery oral experience.
Stir Fried Beef and Bitter Gourd
Heavy handed with oil, bitter bitter gourd slices meet sinewy beef slices. Not my favouritest zichar dish to order somehow.
HK Style Steam Fish Tail ($45)
Steamed fish with greens, a dish that adorns most dinner tables and mine too. The fish lovers relished every drop of this HK Style steamed fish, I just felt I have had better elsewhere.
Prawn Paste Chicken ($12)
Seen at every table, this fried chicken dish is one hot favourite. Coated with a prawn paste batter, chicken pieces are deep fried and served piping hot. Reckon this is a hit and miss, the last visit saw this reeking of stale chicken.
Pork and Crab Meat Rolls ($8)
Last dish to order yet it was the first to arrive. How strange their ordering system is.
More like bouncy squid balls than pork and crabmeat rolls.
Another meh-diocre visit in my opinion. Expect lots of crowds and a heat to beat in our weather these days.
Kok Sen Restaurant
30 Keong Siak Road
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