Hong Kiat Seafood Restaurant – Feast on Affordable Zi Char Under the Stars

I was having coffee at Kopi More one afternoon when the owner, Lawrence, told us about this old school zi char place in Choa Chu Kang that he frequents. He said,”This is where I makan during my army days. It feels like a meal in Malaysia.”

The following night, we arranged for a meal together at this zi char place – Hong Kiat Seafood Restaurant. Indeed, it doesn’t feel like any other zi char meal. Occupying the corner unit along a row of shophouses, Hong Jiat Seafood Restaurant transported me back to the 90s (okay lah, maybe even earlier) where we would enjoy a meal under the stars.

The menu is not particularly special . You have your usual suspects such as steamed fish and hot plate tofu. The steamed items seem to be popular, with many choices for you to pick from. The ingredients are cooked in a superior soy sauce and sprinkled with fried garlic and sesame oil.

The Gan Xiang Fish Head is crafted with aromatics such as chilli padi, curry leaves, and curry powder. The sauce was mildly spicy, savoury and robust. The Curry Fish Head is a great choice too.

The deep fried garlic pork was crispy on the outside and moist inside. Don’t forget to get a plate of greens. The sambal kang kong we had that night was well executed — crunchy and stir-fried with a generous amount of sambal sauce.

I thought the crab bee hoon would be the highlight for the night but unfortunately, it wasn’t. The milky broth didn’t carry those smoky notes and the thick vermicelli didn’t soak up any rich flavours. Perhaps it wasn’t a good day for the kitchen.

Nevertheless, it was a pretty good dinner. The company and the location made the experience memorable. The menu is pretty extensive, so I will be back to try other dishes!

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.