Keng Eng Kee has its beginnings from rented stall along Old Havelock Road, they made its name when it moved to Alexandra Village. Wayne, Paul & Geraldine inherited and expanded their parent’s zi char business to open KEK Seafood at Pandan Gardens, a modern day zi char. While most of the dishes at Pandan Green are new, Wayne has decided to keep some of the signatures like Moonlight Hor Fun ($6), Chilli Crab (seasonal price) and Black Pepper Crab (seasonal price).
New in Pandan Gardens is KEK Crunch Greenery ($8) – a green combination of baby pak choy, cashew nuts, button mushrooms, fried lotus roots and black fungus. Served with crunchy crackers and boiled prawns, this is their interpretation of Yu Sheng. The baby pak choy was very crunchy and fresh, plum sauce and sesame oil were tossed to uplift the flavours. Kids will love Mustaard Orange Prawns ($15). The deep fried prawns has the sweetness of orange and mild spiciness of mustard. It was a refreshing start to our lunch.
Sandwiched in thin slices of toast, the Prawn Toasts ($8) has a thick and solid layer of prawn and sotong paste, with water chestnuts and Taiwan sausage bits to give it a little contrast. Served with the sweet chilli sauce, it’s crisp on the outside and not too oily. A great starter before our mains!
Har Cheong Kai (Prawn Paste Chicken) Spaghetti ($10) is my favourite, probably because I had too much salted egg creations lately. Instead of just pasta and sauce, the spaghetti is wok fried with a slight spicy and tangy sauce before serving for additional texture bite and wok hei. Although they deep fry the chicken, they are still able to maintain the moisture of the chicken. It is so addictive and not too oily as well.
Salted eggs alert! Keeping up to the trend, KEK’s Salted Egg Yolk Crab Spaghetti ($15) is a hit among foodies. The pasta are given a light toss and coated with grainy but not too cloying salted egg sauce, curry leaves and topped with salted egg soft shell crab. I prefer to enjoy the salted egg soft shell crab on its own, without the pasta. There is also Salted Egg Squid ($12) and Salted Egg Prawns ($14).
Great to see our young zi char chef like Wayne coming out with innovative dishes! I am looking forward to try their marmite chicken and and popcorn crabs next time. Read about Keng Eng Kee here.
KEK Seafood
Address: 200 Pandan Gardens #01-12, Singapore 609336
Opening hours: 11.30am – 2.30pm; 5-10pm daily
Tel: 6694 3044
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