Full disclaimer: as a Teochew, I have a fair idea of what I demand from Teochew food, and for me, Swa Garden (see my earlier review) remains the best Teochew restaurant around. That said, a good friend of mine recommended Huat Kee, so I checked it out with my extended family, including my picky Teochew parents.

Huat Kee is located in a converted shophouse in Amoy St, and parking on weekends is easy, with abundant streetside parking. The decor is the usual Chinese restaurant gold and wood, nothing too garish, and is definitely less 'retro' than Swa Gdn.

We had:
1. hae chor aka Prawn rolls. This consisted of minced pork mixed with prawn meat and spices, rolled into a tube with thin skin, sliced, and deep fried. It came with a sour plum dipping sauce. Think of it as a prawny version of ngoh hiang. This was absolutely brilliant. The outside was crispy, the inside was moist and flavourful, without any taste of offal (unlike ngoh hiang). Big hit with the parents and me.
2. Gor bak aka braised goose. Again, faultlessly done. The goose was lightly herbal, without too much of the gamey odour that goose tends to have. The meat was soft, and portions were generous. Big hit again with the elders, and my 7y old son (true Teochew genes, yes?)
3. Stir-fried white chives. Not bad, but a bit too crunchy. Not that outstanding.
4. Steamed pomfret Teochew-style. The ultimate test of a Teochew restaurant. The fish must be fresh, the gravy must be tasty but 'cheng' with the right mix of tangyness and natural sweetness of the fish. I'm glad to say Huat Kee passed. The fish was very good and fresh, and the gravy suitably 'cheng', with contributions from tomatoes, sour plum, and the right amount of ginger. Mmm!
5. Teochew chye-poh fried kway teow. Huge disappointment. Teochew style means this is not brown, but white, and must be redolent with the aroma of chye poh and lots of wok hei. Huat Kee's version failed the test. It was brown (travesty!) and contained green veges (double travesty!), and lacked wok hei. Definitely inferior to what I consider the 'Gold Standard' Chye-poh kway teow from Swa Garden, where the wok hei sends shivers of pleasure down your gut.
6. Fried rice. OK only. The kids liked it, but my mum and I felt the rice grains were too soft - fried rice shd have harder, al-dente, rice. Generous amount of egg and ingredients though.
7. Tea Huat Kee scored here with a good range of teas. My main comparison, Swa Gdn, has a very limited range. We had a lovely pu-erh, which helped wash down the oilier disher. At the end of the meal, they served us little cups of a beautiful amber tea called Dan Chong, that had a wonderful floral undertone.
8. Dessert. Hits and misses. I felt the Orh Nee was not bad, though a bit dry, but my sister thought the Tang Yuan was middling. And only 2 tang yuans!

The captain was quite helpful, and recommended some dishes to us. The other waitstaff (from China) were a bit more blur though, and service lapsed occasionally. When the steamed pomfret was served, the waitress accidentally dipped the serving cloth into the gravy! To her credit, she immediately brought it back, and reappeared 2 min later. It was probably the same fish (can't have re-steamed it in 2 min) but at least they changed the gravy (which was quite tasty anyway).

So overall, in the great face-off between my favourite Swa Gdn and Huat Kee, who triumphs? I'd have to say Swa Gdn remains my favourite still, by a small margin. The prawn rolls & goose are slightly better at Huat Kee, the steamed fish equally good, but the Chye Poh Kway Teow and Orh Nee were better at Swa Gdn. The tea (especially the Dan Chong) was outstanding; I found out later that the boss imports his tea directly from China. The service at HK is good but a bit impersonal, whereas Swa Gdn feels warmer and more homely.

Ultimately, HK still remains an excellent Teochew restaurant, and the better ambience means that if I were entertaining, it would be a good choice for a business lunch or dinner.