People staying in the West of Singapore will probably be familiar with Tien Lai Rice Stall 天來飯店, a hawker stall famous for its delicious char siew. They so popular that people start queueing even before they open! Note: I ordered takeaway and transferred the food to my own plates.
Tien Lai Rice Stall 天來飯店
Tien Lai Rice Stall 天來飯店 is a roast meat stall located on the second floor of Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre.
They are famous for their awesome char siew, which is really tasty and affordable. Their roast duck is quite popular with customers too.
The stall has received numerous food accolades over the years, which are proudly displayed at their storefront.
The opening hours are from 9.30am to 1pm, but try to go early to avoid the long queue. Also, note that the char siew will usually be sold out by around 12pm!
Menu
The stall sells roast duck, roast pork (sio bak), char siew, soya sauce chicken and pig ears. The price is really affordable – a plate of char siew rice costs just $3! The duck rice goes for just $3 too.
Char Siew Roast Pork Rice
I tried the Char Siew Roast Pork Rice ($3.50), which was super delicious!
The char siew was beautifully caramelised, with a perfect balance of sweet and smoky flavours. I loved how flavourful it was in my mouth.
Interestingly, according to online reviews, it seems that the fattiness of the char siew can vary significantly between customers. For my case, the char siew meat was lean with very little fat, but some people have commented that their char siew was quite fatty.
The roast pork was delicious too. The rind was the crispy crackling type, and the meat was juicy with a rich meaty flavour.
To my pleasant surprise, the meats were not served with plain rice, but with tasty flavoured rice instead. It had a lightly-savoury “chicken rice flavour” that was really addictive!
Duck Rice
The Duck Rice ($3) was good too.
The duck meat was very flavourful with no gamey odour at all. The roasted skin was smooth and fatty, with the savoury juices seeping into my mouth as I bit into it.
The meat was slightly tough, but on the whole this was definitely still a very satisfying plate of duck rice.
Conclusion
If you’re staying in the West, Tien Lai Rice Stall at Taman Jurong is a must-try. The stall serves high quality roast meat at very affordable prices. And I was impressed to see that despite being all the accolades and online raves, the humble stall owners are still very polite and friendly towards their customers.
Tien Lai Rice Stall
Address: Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre #02-66, 3 Yung Sheng Road, Singapore 618499
Opening Hours: Daily 9.30am to 1pm, Closed on Saturdays