Popular Telok Blangah char kway teow hawker has the cleanest stall we have ever seen
Take for instance Hai Kee Teochew Cha Kway Teow, a very popular 56-year-old stall that moved from Margaret Drive to Telok Blangah Crescent Food Centre.
It is helmed by elderly hawker Loh Kwee Leng, who has been frying his char kway teow for over 50 years. After his relocation, Kwee Leng’s regulars have followed him there, and his stall still has a long queue regularly.
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Quirky work habits
A few reasons account for the long wait at Hai Kee, which averages around 45 minutes to an hour. The stall is only open from 4.30pm to 9pm, which means there is a very short window of opportunity where you can rush down for your char kway teow.
Netizen Jeffrey Ng described his experience in a post on Facebook group Hawkers United, when he happened to be in the neighbourhood and popped by the stall. “I was surprised that I was second in the queue [waiting] for the opening, [but] had to wait another 25 mins to get my lovely aroma CKT,” he wrote.
Regardless of the queue, one-man-show Kwee Leng is unperturbed by the crowd. He works like a Japanese master artisan, patiently frying each plate to order (most hawkers fry up a large wok of noodles at one go to speed up the process.) If you like your food served fast, consider yourself warned.
Char kway teow with lots of hum and pork lard
Hai Kee’s char kway teow is also famous for being loaded with generous portions of cockles and super-sized pieces of fried pork lard. There is only one eponymous dish offered here, at $5 a plate.
Jeffrey, who posted a photo of the lard he got in his plate of noodles, opined: “Indeed, the taste is still as good, the crispy lard and the cockles really melt in my mouth, wow… omg… It gives the ‘oomph’ feeling, the portion was big, no regret eating.” 
Uncle’s stall is spotless
The only place cleaner than Kwee Leng’s stall is possibly a hospital operating theatre. Despite his intense frying, the hawker keeps his sparse stall so clean that the stainless steel counters are spotless and gleaming. Pretty impressive, we say.
Hai Kee Teochew Cha Kuay Teow is at #01-102 Telok Blangah Crescent Food Centre, 11 Telok Blangah Cres, S090011. Open daily except Sun, 4.30pm-9pm.
Photos: Facebook/ Jeffrey Ng
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