The Place Mention best Zichar restaurants in Singapore and one of the names which will inevitably come to my mind is Keng Egg Kee Seafood (KEK Seafood). After opening for close to 50 years in Bukit Merah, I checked out its newly opened second outlet in the east at Safra Tampines recently. The restaurant is fully air-conditioned with a view of the pool, with private rooms and a main dining hall. 

As it is newly opened, there are some ongoing promotions with 50% off different dishes.  

• Week 1: 9 – 18 Sep 2022: Salted Egg Fish Skin $4.90 (UP $9.80) 
• Week 2: 19 – 25 Sep 2022: Spinach with Ikan Bilis $5.90 (UP $11.80) 
• Week 3: 26 Sep – 2 Oct: White Pepper Crab $44 (UP $88) 

The Food The Safra Tampines outlet has five new exclusive dishes which I managed to try this round, where my meal started off with the Claypot Premium Collagen Soup (S$24.80/small). This nourishing soup comes with pig’s stomach, fish maw and dried beancurd along with Chinese cabbage and wolfberries. The soup is slightly peppery and is a comforting dish to have for a start. 

The next exclusive dish here I had was the Claypot KEK-style Vermicelli Crab (S$88/kg) with mud crab. Other than the fresh crab, I can easily finish the vermicelli myself. It soaks up all the jus of the crab and along with its moist texture, a delight to have. 

Tofu lovers will love the Homemade Tofu Loofah with Sliced Fish (S$18.80/small). I am a tofu person so this dish ticks the box for me. The tofu is soft and flavourful with the egg white sauce on it. 

The best part about the Claypot Pig Liver with Rice (S$18.8/small) for me is the sauce. It is a rich, dark sauce which mix well into the white rice, which soaks up the essence of the sauce. 

Another good dish to share, the Claypot Braised Duck with Yam (S$29.80/small) comes with tender duck meat, thinly sliced yam where the chopped duck is braised with sea cucumber, mushrooms and celery. Very rich and delicious braised sauce here, which goes really well with some rice as well. 

Other than the above new exclusive dishes to Safra Tampines, I also tried a few of KEK’s signatures such as their Signature Moonlight Horfun (S$7.80). This is one of the most popular dishes at KEK where you are supposed to mix the raw egg with the hot fun. The hor fun texture is smooth and you get a good ‘wok hei’ with it. 

I also highly recommend the Coffee Pork Ribs (S$15.80/small), which is one of the best versions I have had in Singapore. Expect tender pork ribs meat along with an intense coffee flavour which coffee lovers will approve. 

The Golden Pearl Roll (S$14.80/small) is definitely a dish rarely seen in other Zichar restaurants since it is a creation unique to KEL. The crispy beancurd skin here is stuffed with salted egg yolk, prawns, ham, mushroom and parsley, and you can go with some mayonnaise by the side. 

Rants The main dining area is quite an open concept layout, so it can get noisy. 

Will I Return Again? It is about time KEK Seafood opens another outlet in addition to Bukit Merah and I am just glad it happened in the east. The dishes I tried are all consistently good, and this remains one of the best Zichar restaurants in Singapore for me. 

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3/5
Overall Experience: 4/5

KEK Seafood (Tampines) 
SAFRA Tampines 
1A Tampines Street 92 
#01-K2 
Singapore 528882 
Tel: +65 6979 3668 
 
Opening Hours 
Monday to Sunday: 11am to 2pm (last order: 1:50pm), 5pm to 10pm (last order: 9:50pm) 

KEK Seafood (Alexandra) 
124 Bukit Merah Lane 1 
#01-136 
Singapore 150124 
Tel:+65 6272 1038 
 
Opening Hours 
Monday to Sunday: 11am to 2pm (last order: 1:50pm), 5pm to 10pm (last order: 9:50pm) 

Ranted by The Ranter