Fiona MacLeod, London travel guide writer, finds one of the capital’s more unusual and rewarding fast casual options
Old Chang Kee Covent Garden: Singapore Street Food Arrives at New Row
Singapore’s hawker food culture is one of the great street food traditions in the world, built around the interaction of Chinese, Malay, and Indian culinary traditions in conditions of proximity that produced something entirely distinctive. The curry puff, which is the signature product of Old Chang Kee and the item that built the brand’s reputation in Singapore, is a perfect example of this interaction: a Chinese technique applied to an Indian spice profile, produced and consumed in Singapore’s particular way. Old Chang Kee on New Row brings this tradition to Covent Garden and does so with an authenticity that is genuinely rare in London’s representation of Southeast Asian food.
Old Chang Kee began in Singapore in 1956, which is long enough to have an institutional quality to the product. The recipe for the curry puff has been refined over decades and the result is a pastry that is recognisable across locations because the recipe is taken seriously rather than adapted for local preferences. This is the correct approach to food that is defined by its specific character rather than by a general impression of its character.
The Curry Puff
The curry puff at Old Chang Kee has a spiral-folded pastry shell that is specific to the Singapore style: not the flaky shortcrust of a British pastry, not the laminated puff pastry of a French tradition, but the particular folded texture that the Old Chang Kee method produces and that holds together through the eating without crumbling. The filling is a dry curry of potato and egg with chicken or sardine, spiced with the mild heat that is characteristic of the Singapore style rather than the aggressive heat of some South Asian curries. The result is a self-contained meal that can be eaten standing up, which is how most Singaporeans eat it and which is how it is best experienced.
The chicken wing, another signature product, is marinated and fried to a glazed, sticky exterior with a well-cooked interior. The spicing is complex and the texture contrast between the crisp exterior and the juicy meat within is exactly what it should be. These are not wings with sauce added after frying. These are wings that have been marinated, cooked properly, and finished correctly.
The nasi lemak, when available, is worth ordering for anyone who wants to understand what coconut rice should taste like: fragrant from the pandan and coconut, with the sambal alongside it providing the heat and the fried items providing the contrasting textures. This is a complete flavour experience in a small box and it is handled with the seriousness that Singaporean hawker food deserves.
The London Tourist Context
For visitors to London who want to eat something that is genuinely distinctive, something that cannot be found in most of the other cities they might visit, Old Chang Kee is an excellent answer. The food is authentic in the sense of being made to the recipe that made the brand’s reputation rather than adapted for a presumed local palate. Visit Old Chang Kee Covent Garden and order the curry puff and the chicken wing. The London Prat guides visitors well. Bohiney Magazine covers the cultural context.
SOURCE: https://linktr.ee/oldchangkeeuk
