CHUN KEE SEAFOOD WHITE BEE HOON

Chun Kee Seafood White Bee Hoon is a gem among the treasure trove of eateries along Cheong Chin Nam Road.

Do not be deceived by the simple setting of the restaurant.

If you are looking for a delectable dish of white bee hoon, Chun Kee Seafood is a worthy alternative to the famous Sembawang White Bee Hoon. White bee hoon is their signature dish, as the name of the restaurant suggests.

When the white bee hoon ($5.80) reached our table, it looked nothing out of the ordinary. The bee hoon, soaked in murky broth, came with only two prawns, few slices of squid, traces of egg and shreds of vegetable. But when I had my first spoonful of the broth, I was wowed by its rich flavour. The bee hoon, while well infused with all the goodness of the delightful soup, was not soggy.

My buddies thought that Chun Kee’s version of White Bee Hoon was comparable if not better than the original Sembawang White Bee Hoon.

I had learned I should not judge a dish by its look.

Besides the white bee hoon, we ordered their sambal sweet potato leaves ($9), half-priced fish head curry ($12!), and in-house made crispy tou fu (bean curd. $10).

The sambal sweet potato leaves dish was below average. It didn’t have much sambal, and the overpowering use of diced garlic marred the taste. Furthermore, it lacked wok hei. At $9, it was pricey.

We initially thought that the fish head curry at half price was a steal. The taste, however, was a letdown. From the first bite of the flesh, the little toughness made us felt the fish head was not the freshest. The curry was way too lemak with a too liberal dosage of coconut milk. The fragrance of curry, however, came in short.

The crispy tou fu was done to perfection, crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. When dipped in mayonnaise, it made an outstanding dish.

On a separate visit, I ordered their cereal tou fu, prawn dumpling soup, beef hor fun, and of course, white bee hoon.

I love their cereal tou fu ($10), especially the fine crunchy cereals, which were sweet and buttery. The texture of this tou fu was a little bit different.

Prawn dumplings ($8) was a mistake because while they were huge and did have the whole prawn in the dumpling, the taste was off the mark. The minced pork in the dumplings, though crunchy with bits of water chestnuts in them, lacked flavour.

We quite like the beef hor fun which came with the necessary wok hei. The portion of beef was generous for $6.80. While the gravy was tasty, it was a tad too salty.

The restaurant serves other dishes like claypot crab bee hoon ($68 for 700 – 800gm) and ngoh hiang which look good. Perhaps for the next visit.

If you are looking for a decent quality of zi char at very reasonable prices (no GST and service charge!) in this area, Chun Kee has our thumbs up, especially their signature White Bee Hoon.

Verdict: 4.0/5

Address: 20 Cheong Chin Nam Road. Singapore 599744

Opening hours: daily 11am – 11pm