32 New Market Road
#01-1018 People's Park Complex Food Centre)
Singapore 050032

(open in Google Maps)

Thursday:
09:00am - 05:00pm

Friday:
09:00am - 05:00pm

Saturday:
09:00am - 05:00pm

Sunday:
09:00am - 05:00pm

Monday:
Closed

Tuesday:
09:00am - 05:00pm

Wednesday:
09:00am - 05:00pm

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Reviews

From the Burpple community

Had always been walking past Toh Kee / Chop Hean Kuan when making that occasional trip to People’s Park Food Centre (just the food centre that doesn’t quite appeal to us in terms of the variety of food it offers) for lunch when we are back to the office on a week day, but hadn’t quite paid much attention to what they have to offer. Toh Kee / Chop Hean Kuan had recently made their appearance on an episode of their the latest season of Old Taste Detective 古早味侦探 currently airing on MediaCorp Channel 8 — said to be one of the heritage stalls serving up Cantonese-style dim sum which is now run by their third-generation owner. Toh Kee / Chop Hean Kuan actually occupies two unconnected stalls within People’s Park Food Centre — one dedicated to the retail of its food items, while the other being the food preparation area where one could easily their workers make the various food items that they have to offer. On the episode which they were being featured in on Old Taste Detective, the food items being talked about would be their Siew Mai, Big Pau and Char Siew — the Glutinous Rice Chicken was also dished up though was not an item being mentioned on camera. Apart from the afore-mentioned items, Toh Kee / Chop Hean Kuan also serves up other items like the Sponge Cake, Char Siew Pastry, Chinese Chive Dumplings and Egg Tarts; just to name a few. As with other old-school dim sum stalls found in neighbourhoods these days, all items are sold on a per-item basis (as opposed to the two / three pieces per basket that one would expect in a Hong Kong-style dim sum establishment).

Having watched the episode of Old Taste Detective that was aired on MediaCorp Channel 8, we found ourselves going for the following:

- Glutinous Rice Chicken;
- Char Siew Pau; and
- Siew Mai

There is something about the dim sum at Toh Kee / Chop Hean Kuan that looks undeniably old-school — the aesthetics of the dim sum is pretty fuss-free without the fancy elements that one may be more used to seeing at modern establishments. That being said, the fare is simple yet satisfying. We aren’t fans of the Glutinous Rice Chicken but this was absolutely our jam — unlike the uninspiring, commercially-made ones that feature sweet-tasting chicken chunks atop a sweaty, sticky mound of glutinous rice which we personally find rather odd, the Glutinous Rice Chicken from Toh Kee / Chop Hean Kuan comes with juicy and tender chunks of chicken that wasn’t crumbly nor starkly sweet. Beneath the meat lies a layer of glutinous rice that felt very old-school in execution; sufficiently sticky without being overly moist whilst savoury, though we do think that some may find it a little bit on the drier side. Being an item being featured on the episode of Old Taste Detective that aired on MediaCorp Channel 8, the folks behind the stall has mentioned that they have resorted to using supplied char siew rather than roasting their own — the char siew here comes pretty lean, while the filling came with sufficient sauce that seems more savoury than sweet; all that with that fragrance of the Pau which was also sufficiently firm that that made it pretty good. The show also notes that the physical appearance of the Char Siew Pau here is reminiscent to the Nanyang rendition than the Hong Kong-style Char Siew Bao — one that features a closed-up aesthetic than an open one that allows one to have a glimpse of the fillings within. The Siew Mai was probably the most old-school creation of the lot that we have had — on first look, their rendition of the Siew Mai is missing of the orange-hued Ebiko over the top. This version also does not carry any elements of seafood; just minced pork through and through — perhaps with some greens mixed in to balance things out. Would see how their rendition of the Siew Mai would work out well with some, while not so much for some others.

Based on what the stall owners said about their offerings on the episode of Old Taste Detectives which they were featured on, Toh Kee / Chop Hean Kuan isn’t that sort of place where they had stuck to the same old recipes that they had developed from the very beginning — in fact, they had been refining their recipes over the passage of time to cater to the ever-changing taste buds of each and every generation. That being said, the offerings do still carry that old school flavour — perhaps one that is also made especially relatable to people of all age groups considering how they have progressed over time as well. There were also dishes which they had stopped serving up altogether — the reasons cited being manpower-related concerns. With the people behind the name still focusing on serving up Dim Sum made almost entirely from scratch, Toh Kee / Chop Hean Kuan is probably that sort of place that still brings out the good old-time flavours without feeling that they had lost it like how some commercial establishments tend to feel. Definitely looking forward to giving their other items such as the Char Siew Pastry and Egg Tart a try since it doesn’t really take much effort for us to head down here from the office; probably one spot that folks whom are interested in the heritage of local food culture to check out if in the area.

Classic Egg Tart $1.20 each.
Not bad as these were handmade daily.
From Toh Kee Chop Hean Kuan.

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