When you’re in Singapore, don’t just try Hainanese Chicken Rice, but also give Hainanese Curry Rice a try. Hainanese Curry rice is perhaps one of the Singaporean local comfort foods. Sloppy with gravy and stewed cabbages but so satisfying with the must-have pork chops. When you’re looking for legendary Hainanese style curry rice in Singapore, there’s no better place to go than Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice.
Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice specializes in Hainanese curry rice, the combination of a choice of different dishes, all sliced up over rice, and submerged in a thick and sticky curry sauce. They are located at Jalan Besar, or precisely at the intersection of Jalan Besar and Kitchener Rd. The restaurant is a humble shophouse, and remains open air and laid back with outdoor seating on the terrace.
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The food is all placed into a cabinet at the front of the restaurant with all sorts of random fried and braised Chinese meats and vegetables all prepared and waiting to be ordered. It’s set up similar to Warteg or Nasi Padang in Indonesia, where you get a plate of rice and point and choose what to go on top.
When hearing the name for the first time, you may be wondering why it named “scissor-cut curry rice”. But, in fact, the name is literally exactly what happens here. The person behind the glass expertly cuts up almost everything you order with a pair of scissors with a one-track mind.
The traditional Hainanese curry rice consists of braised/fried pork, braised cabbage, and of course, loads of curry. These style of curries are not the usual types with strong coconut creaminess and curry powder flavor. Instead, they are usually light, sweeter, and only a tiny bit spicy despite its very similar appearance to other strong curries.
As soon as everything was scissor chopped up, and messily spread over the top of our plates of rice, a big ladle of Hainanese curry sauce was sloppily poured over all the ingredients, mixing with the various braised sauce of the dishes, and completely submerging the rice in golden sticky sauce.
During my #FoodInLoveSINGAPORE trip earlier this year, I’ve visited Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice 2 times, and my most favorite dish was the Braised Pork, sliced into thin rectangular shapes of tender meat braised in a dark greasy sauce. The braised pork was a little sweet and pretty fatty, and the black sauce had a nutty hoisin-like flavor to it. Their fatty pork is well cooked and it doesn’t have this fatty feeling after eating it.
Besides the braised pork, my other favorite was pork roll, pork chop, chicken chop, fish cake, and sunnyside egg. The pork chop and chicken chop has enough bite to it with a crisp batter while pork roll and fish cake were yummy and tastefully soft. As for sunnyside egg, it is nothing special actually, but somehow for me, it is a perfect match with the curry sauce so I will always order this item. Here I am with my plate of curry rice included quite a lot of the black braised sauce, all mingled with the different curry sauces and the scissor sliced ingredients.
While the entire plate being flooded by goopy curry sauce might not appear appetizing, it is still undeniably delicious. Almost every inch of your food is covered by sauces yet the curry does not overwhelm or clash. The curry smells richly spiced and flavored but contrary to its smell and appearance, it is pretty light. And pairs fantastic with the braised pork sauce.
The curry sauce itself was quite mild in flavor, not a really strong curry powder taste, but more just very comforting, and similar to a very sticky brown gravy with a hint of a curry taste. I don’t think Hainanese curry rice will win any awards for food presentation, but I’m pretty sure you’ll love this dish since it tastes really good!
Overall, Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice is a cheap eatery with great heritage. They serve authentic Hainan style curry rice where the curry gravy is sticky and they will just overflow your plate of rice with it, and the best thing is it tastes good. Another good point is they are open until 3.30 am every day so it will be a perfect choice if you’re starving in the midnight. You may hear a lot about Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore, but maybe not so often about Hainanese Curry Rice, just give it a try and I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do!
How to getting there:
By MRT: Take exit A or H of Farrer Park station. Take 5 minutes to walk down Kitchener Road. You will walk past City Square Mall and City Square Residences before reaching the restaurant.
Singapore Travel Series:
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- [SINGAPORE] TIAN TIAN HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE – Maxwell Food Center, Chinatown
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- [SINGAPORE] SUNGEI ROAD LAKSA 結霜橋叻沙 – Jalan Berseh
- [SINGAPORE] BEACH ROAD SCISSOR-CUT CURRY RICE – Jalan Besar
- [SINGAPORE] HEAP SENG LEONG 協勝隆 – North Bridge Road
- [SINGAPORE] AH SENG BAK KUT TEH – Bugis
- [SINGAPORE] BISMILLAH BIRYANI RESTAURANT – Dunlop Street, Little India
- [SINGAPORE] SAKUNTHALA RESTAURANT – Syed Alwi Road, Little India
- [SINGAPORE] LADY M CONFECTIONS – Orchard Central
- [SINGAPORE] GUDETAMA CAFE – Suntec City
- [SINGAPORE] MAKANSUTRA GLUTTONS BAY – Esplanade
- [SINGAPORE] KISEKI JAPANESE BUFFET RESTAURANT – Orchard Central
- [SINGAPORE] W SINGAPORE – Sentosa Cove
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Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice
229 Jalan Besar
Singapore 208905
Opening Hours:
Everyday (11 AM – 3.30 AM)
Telp: +65 9826 1464
How to getting there:
By MRT: Take exit A or H of Farrer Park station. Take 5 minutes to walk down Kitchener Road. You will walk past City Square Mall and City Square Residences before reaching the restaurant.
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