Kway Guan Huat (Joo Chiat Poh Piah Skin & Kueh Pie Tee)

Kway Guan Huat is a very old name, famous for handmade popiah skins, and of course, popiah itself and kueh pie tee. It's been around since 1938. The lady boss Zita is wonderfully good-humoured and easy to talk to.

Their basic roll (S$2) is filled with turnip, carrots, crispy fish bits (love these!), fresh lettuce and blanched beansprouts. You can really taste the umami seafood stock used for braising the turnips. Zita says they use Sri Lankan crabs to get that flavour. The sweet sauce is excellent too, sweet without being cloying. But what is most amazing is the popiah skin - so chewy and strong!

You can order a claypot of popiah ingredients with popiah skin (refillable) and try to DIY your own popiah. Vegans or those allergic to seafood can opt for the vegetarian version.

Premium roll (S$3.50) with prawn and egg. I did the takeaway test for this, to see how the popiah skin would hold up. Three hours later, it was soaked but incredibly still resilient and holding its contents securely. Was it tasty? Oh yes.

Zita says they used to roll many other things using the popiah skin. Peking duck, peanut brittle/candy, ice cream, etc. But it all proved to be too labour-intensive, so they don't do those anymore. Popiah alone is a lot of work!

Well, I enjoyed meeting Zita and shall certainly be back. This understated little shop deserves to continue its good work. See photos and full review at Camemberu.com

Thanks!

I AM FIRST AGAINN!!!! HAHAHAHA why am I so happy?? I have no idea! HA! ANYWAY...Down to business.

It is surprising that Singapore, being such a small country, has so many food places from many different ethnics and nationality all hidden in different corners of this small island.

Our family ventured into Joo Chiat early this morning, in search for a Popiah Restaurant where you can "DO IT YOURSELF". They have claimed that their popiahs are good enough for presidents!

KWAY GUAN HUAT is situated along the small drive way on No. 95 Joo Chiat Road therefore, brought back memories of those times when I used to dine at the roadside at Chinatown and Katong! How I missed all these dinning experiences! Dining roadside once in a while is definitely a refreshing experience compared to more-common classy restaurants and cafes.

We reached really early at around 930 A.M. but we realized that they only start operations at 11 A.M.!! However, seeing that we were already there, the staffs at KWAY GUAN HUAT sat us in and this auntie (I THINK she's the boss or in-charge) offered us some Pandan Tapioca Cake she made while they hurried around cooking the filling and the skin to serve us.
Well, I felt that it is really a very nice of her since its out fault to not check the operation hours before coming!

Anyways! We ordered the 7 pax set, costing in total SGD 56, which includes the popiah ingredients and sauces.

Ingredients and Sauces include:

1) Popiah filling - Turnips, Carrots and Prawns. (WHERES THE DRIED SHRIMPS???)

2) Egg

3) Fried Crisps

4) Lettuce, Parsley and Bean sprouts

5) Dark Sweet Sauce

6) Garlic Chili Sauce

7) Mashed Garlic

The Popiah Skin and the fried crisps are refillable and I swear, after my second popiah, I felt like my stomach is about to explode. ITS SOOOOO FILLING!

Well, in all, the experience had been a real fun because you get to make the popiah yourself and laugh at others when they screw their popiahs up! However, the price is pretty steep - I THOUGHT THE POPIAH AT ANN CHIN WAS EXPENSIVE ENOUGH (SGD 2) but if you count the number of popiahs we wrapped and ate at KWAY GUAN HUAT, it costs around 4 bucks (if you only ate 2) PER popiah!!

And where is the chinese sausages, crab stick cubes and crushed peanuts??? (HELLO! WHERE ARE YOU???)

BUT I must say again, it was really a good experience there - prices aside! =))

Please visit my blog at APPRÉCIER for more pictures and reviews on other places! =))

Food, good food, is a dying tradition if no one is willing to learn the skills and carry it forward to the next generation. And when it comes to popiah, Kway Guan Huat arguably is an establishment that will slowly fade away from the memories of all when the shop takes its final breath.

I called for the popiah with additional ingredients of egg and prawn ($3.50) twice, much to my own personal delight. There was a fine balance of sweet and savoury, and the skin was not overladen with juices. Yet the mix of ingredients and generous stuffing proved each slice to be so tempting. To my surprise, I found pieces of crunchy keropok drizzled inside, it gave firm and crisp bites that was sparkling with pleasure.

The popiah didn’t fall out when picked up, and with a delightful aftertaste to boot, excellent!


Read the full review and more photos at http://j2k3blogs.com/?p=3352