Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice
Address (Google Map): 71 Seng Poh Road #01-49
Opening hours: 7.45am to 2.30pm or till sold out and closed on alternate Tuesday
Introduction
Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice needs no introduction for all Hainanese Curry Rice lovers. Loo’s, one of the most well-known and popular Hainanese Curry Rice vendor started its operation since 1946. It was situated opposite Tiong Bahru Market and it just moved to a new location not long ago at Seng Poh Road.
I reached there on Saturday 12pm and the queue is already crazily long. You don’t see such queue even at the cafes along Keong Saik road. It seems like our local dishes still have their charm over the recently booming cafe culture.
Hainanese Pork Chop
Unlike Beo Crescent Curry Rice, Loo’s Hainanese pork chop is crispy, but not as crispy, but it manage to retain it’s crisp even when it’s cool. The pork chop is rather thick and you get a good crunch with every mouthful. Like a traditional Hainanese pork chop, it’s drizzled with a light tomato gravy. The pork chop is well flavoured and marinated. Most importantly, It is not greasy, and it’s not hard to understand why every table has a portion of their pork chop.
Braised Tofu
This is apparently another favourite. The tofu is lightly fried to brown and is accompanied by a good serving of meat sauce. Unlike some tofu that has a strong and unpleasant bean taste, Loo’s tofu is very sweet and smooth and is especially good when it goes with the meat sauce. A good amount of sesame oil is added to enhance the fragrance and the rich and salty nature of the sauce added a good flavour to the tofu.
Braised Cabbage (Chap Chye)
Braised cabbage, the spirit of Hainanese Curry Rice, is really simple without any fancy sauce. This cabbage is cooked till the appropriate softness and Tang Hoon (glass vermicelli) is added while it absorbs the braised sauce. It’s not overly soft nor tough and it’s a dish whereby one get to enjoy the natural sweetness of the cabbage without the sauce overpowering the main lead. This dish is not fantastic by itself though.
Luncheon Meat and Potato in Tomato Sauce
This dish is not special in any way but it tasted really homely. It tasted like a dish from my primary school canteen which is mostly made up of bottled tomato sauce. It’s definitely not something a ketchup/tomato hater will like.
Yong Tau Foo
The braised pork belly was sold out and while I was pondering what to order, the auntie recommended this Yong Tau Foo and said it’s “Ho Jiak” (taste good). So I went along with it and I love it. The green chilli, bitter gourd, wrapped fish meat is coated with thick salty black bean sauce and it gains my favour instantly.
Curry Rice
And finally, my review for the curry rice. At first mouthful, i thought their curry is more salty than any others and is more sweet than spicy. I was anticipating the curry flavour but the fragrance of their curry only comes a little while later. I thought the curry fragrance is not strong enough but still ok as it gets a little better with every mouthful. Comparing to Beo Crescent Hainanese Curry Rice, i prefer Beo Crescent’s curry a little more.
Conclusion
Guess the price of two rice, pork chop, Yong Tau Foo, luncheon meat and potato in tomato sauce, braised tofu and braised cabbage? $9.00. Isn’t that quite reasonable?
Although i prefer Beo Crescent’s curry and pork chop, i like the rest of the dishes better and thought they taste better in general. It is a tough choice between the two but i think i will choose Beo Crescent Hainanese Curry Rice.
For friends who wish to find a nice air con place to chill after a sumptuous lunch at Loo’s you may want to consider visiting Drips Bakery Cafe that is only around the corner at Tiong Poh Road.
Chin Chai Jiak 