To-Ricos Kway Chap - Clean Braised Offals & Silky Kway

Kway chap is a dish that tends to divide diners, and at the heart of that divide are the offals. To-Ricos has spent decades changing minds on exactly that point, building its name on intestines and pig stomach cleaned thoroughly enough to lose the gamey aroma that puts many people off. Paired with broad, silky rice sheets and a light herbal soy broth, the Teochew-style kway chap here has drawn a steady following at Old Airport Road Food Centre and earned the stall a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Here is what goes into the bowl.

To-Ricos traces its origins to the 1980s, when it operated at Blanco Court Food Centre, which is why it is still sometimes called “Blanco Court Food Centre 3rd Storey” kway chap, or To-Ricos Guo Shi. The stall is run by Uncle Phua, who has kept its name on consistent, carefully prepared Teochew-style kway chap across the decades. That consistency has since been recognised with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, placing it among only a handful of kway chap stalls to hold the distinction.

A bowl of kway chap at To-Ricos begins with the kway, broad sheets of rice flour that are thin and slippery yet sturdy enough to hold their shape in the soup rather than breaking down into mush. These sit in a soy-based broth carrying a gentle herbal note, kept on the lighter and less salty side so that it works as a base for the braised items rather than overwhelming them. Alongside the kway comes an assortment of braised pork: belly, skin, tau pok, tau kwa, braised egg and, depending on the order, preserved mustard greens. The components are served together and eaten in combination, the traditional Teochew way of approaching the dish, so that the broth, the rice sheets and the braised meats meet in each mouthful.

Braised Offals

The offals are where To-Ricos has built its reputation. The large intestines have a creamy texture, while the pig stomach offers a firmer, gentle chew, and both are braised long enough to take on the colour and savour of the soy and herbal liquid rather than tasting only of the offal itself. The detail that sets the stall apart is the cleaning: the intestines are prepared thoroughly enough to remove the gamey aroma that comes with less careful handling, which is the single most common reason diners avoid the dish elsewhere. The stall also serves pork bung, and notably keeps to the larger cuts, with no small intestines on offer.

Pork Trotters

For those who want more than the standard platter, pork trotters are available as an add-on. They are braised in the same liquid until the meat and skin turn tender and gelatinous, giving a softer, richer bite than the leaner cuts that come in the bowl.

The Platters

To-Ricos serves its braised items in set platters rather than piece by piece. An individual Platter A, at $6, includes braised pork belly, tau pok, tau kwa and egg. Platter B, at $8, adds the large intestines, pork bung and pig stomach for the full offal selection. Larger sets cater to groups, starting from $12 for two and going up to $32 for four. The kway is charged separately, so a complete meal is assembled from a platter, the rice sheets and broth, and any add-ons such as the trotters.

For anyone curious about kway chap, or hesitant because of the offals, To-Ricos offers a version where the cleaning and braising are done with enough care to make the dish approachable. Decades on from its Blanco Court beginnings, it remains one of the most recognised names for the dish in Singapore, and the lunchtime queue at Old Airport Road Food Centre reflects that standing.

Address: Old Airport Road Food Centre, #01-135, 51 Old Airport Road, Singapore 390051
Opening Hours: 10am – 3pm (Tues – Sat), Closed Sun & Mon
Tel: 8923 0892