Hong Kee Chicken Rice - 4A Jln Batu

Authentic home cook food. Wouldn't find another $2.50 good food around.

For a hawker stall, the Tom Yum Soup is damn legit. Located in Jalan Batu Food Centre, the couple-run “Hong Kee Chicken Rice” is popular for their double-whammy of “chap chye png” and meats that include roast chicken, “sio bak”, “char siew” and “lu rou”. There is never no queue when we visit. Not long ago, they started offering a couple of soups as well but only after the lunch peak period as they cook each bowl to order. The wife is originally from Myanmar and when she first arrived in Singapore, had worked at a Thai restaurant. Being of the Dai tribe, her palate leans towards stronger flavours, so her #TomYum is very fragrant and unapologetically sour and spicy - which suits me to a T. For sure, the highlight is the soup but the serving size and amount of fish, prawns and crab sticks are also good for the economically-priced portion. Do remember you’ll need to visit the stall after 2pm if you are keen to try this.