The Dead Cockroach: Peter Fried Kway Teow Mee @ Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre

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Before moving to its current location at Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market & Food Centre, Peter Fried Kway Teow Mee was set up along East Coast Road and apparently quite well-known around the Katong area.

Instead of using normal boiled water to fry their kway teow (flat rice noodle), they used superior broth (brewed by old hen) which is more fragrant in taste.

The stall offers three different styles of fried kway teow namely Teochew, Penang, and Baba Nyonya.

The Teochew-style ($3/$4) that uses black sweet sauce is probably the one that Singaporeans are most familiar with.

The Penang-style ($4/$5), on the other hand, omits the use of black sweet sauce and leans more on the savory side.

As for the Baba Nyonya-style ($4/$5), only a little black sweet sauce is used, imparting the dish with both sweet and savory notes.

The stall caught my attention with its melodious clanging sound of the wok during one of my earlier visit and I made a mental note to check them out another day.

On the day of my visit, I arrived early and there was no queue yet. The stall owner immediately get to work preparing my $4 Teochew-styled fried kway teow mee which is ready in less than five minutes.

It came with the usual lup cheong (waxed sausages), see-hum (blood cockles), fish cake, bean sprouts and chye sim.

The portion looks decent for the price. I am just curious about the calamansi/lime served on the side. I suppose it is to counter-effect the greasiness of the dish but I feel that would alter the authentic taste of how fried kway teow is suppose to taste like so I did not add it in.

The flavor is quite balanced without being too salty or sweet. I especially like their home-made chili which has quite a sting. The all important wok hei is there although quite mild.

Their fried kway teow is on the drier side yet still moist enough to please. I also like how the bean sprouts provide a contrasting bite to the al dente noodles. The only letdown, I feel, is the puny see-hum.

In my opinion, I find their fried kway teow commendable and worth a try. I only wish the wok hei can be stronger, and more juicy see-hum please. Oh, and the chu yau char (crispy pork lard) too.

I may return to try the Penang and Baba Nyonya version to see how they measure up.