Kway Guan Huat Joo Chiat Original Popiah

It is a known fact that Singaporeans are food lovers. Where will you be able to find the best popiah in Singapore? Look no further – take a trip down to Joo Chiat and give yourself a little treat on this famous local dish.

We arrived at this pre-war shophouse restaurant in the conservation area of Joo Chiat. Oh yes, we had heard that for over 70 years, they have been making popiah skins the traditional way – painstakingly by hand, using a secret family recipe handed down from their forefathers in Fujian province, China.

How can Katong Kids not explore it?

We got up close and personal with the ambassador of this iconic shop. He came forward to join us for a photo take.

This is how the shop looks like from the front. It looks dated but it never fails to draw curious onlookers and long time customers.

Parking is limited at Joo Chiat. You just have to find a way. Coming during off-peak hours certainly helps.

We watched how popiah skins were being made.  The popiah skins are homemade. They are clear, soft and chewy.

Perhaps it was in the afternoon when the temperature wasn’t welcoming. Making popiah skins during the warm weather, coupled with the hot pans, certainly isn’t an easy job. You can imagine how much work is being done.

At the front of the shop, the owners prepared a small setup for customers to order popiah. Each popiah costs $2. You can order a set as well which costs about $60+. We didn’t ask how many servings it could offer. I guess one can figure out it could be between 20 to 30 servings.

We were drawn by the media attraction of this famous popiah store. When making an order for popiahs, we were surprised that they seem quite disoriented and not organized. We had to wait while they prepared the plastic plates, utensils etc.

The shop uses ingredients such as lettuce leaves, carrots, bean sprout and eggs . Peanuts were not used which we don’t know why. Instead, crispy fish bits that tasted like crackers were used.

We waited for quite a while……and we were hungry! Here they are…our popiahs!

Looks yummy. Here’s our review – the popiahs were served warm and freshly made. We noticed the owners used a cover to shelter the setup to prevent flies and insects from touching the ingredients (which was good). The popiah skins were chewy and elastic. It didn’t break after stuffing all the ingredients. Not sure what kind of chilli sauce they used. It tasted really hot if you requested for chilli.

There are limited seats. In fact, we had to dine at the Malay food store next door. You can order takeaway though.

Address:

Kway Guan Huat Joo Chiat Popiah
(Since 1938)

95 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427389

Telephone: (65) 9620 2000

Email: qgh1st@yahoo.com.sg

Opening Hours:

9 am to 2 pm daily

Popiah skin making demonstrations:
8.30 am to 11 am