POH - Chye Poh Hor @ Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre

When I was at Empress Road Market & Food Centre three years ago, I had wanted to try the stall named POH, which serves the Teochew-style chye poh hor fun (preserved radish hor fun).

Alas, each of the four trips that I made to the food centre would only end in disappointment as the stall was perpetually closed. I later learned that the stall has ceased operations. 

Fast forward to a few days back, I was at Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre when I spotted a new stall along the same row as Chef Sham. 

Somehow, the uncanny resemblance of the stall - from the menu to its name, reminded me very much of the old "POH"from Empress Road Market & Food Centre.

As it turns out, it is really them! POH has returned! 

But because they are still new at their current location, you cannot find them on Google yet at this point of writing. I have already made a submission so by the time you read this, they should have gone live now.

I ordered the chye poh hor ($6) which is basically a Teochew-style dry hor fun stir-fry with prawns, eggs and of course, chye poh (preserved radish). At first glance, the dish was not that visually appealing to me and truth be told, I was a little disappointed with the quantity given.

However, the quality delivered in terms of taste more than makes up for it. As I had a mouthful of the kway teow, the unmistakable fragrance of wok hei caught me off guard.

What impressed me is that the dish is not greasy at all. Furthermore, it is not the least too salty. What I tasted are the eggy fragrance from the egg, some savoriness from the chye poh, the unexpected burst of flavors from the crispy pork lard and probably some fish sauce to bring out the flavors.

And that dollop of sambal served separately on a saucer is full of umami-ness which further accentuates the flavors of the dish.

My only gripe is with the temperature of the prawns which felt a little colder than the kway teow. Apart from that, the prawns taste fresh with a crunchy bite yet subtle with prawny sweetness as opposed to being heavily marinade with pepper.