Well the uniquely sweet gooey curry(or a few kinds of sauces in some cases) is the main attraction of most Hainanese Curry Rice. And how did a piece of pork chop get involved? I don’t really know but it’s not difficult to imagine our Hainanese ancestors dipping pork cutlets into curries in the ship’s galley in the past when they were hungry right?

Conveniently, curry and porkchops became fundamental features of a curry rice cooked by a Hainanese. And I’m sure some of you might had seen Hainanese style pork chops that’s stir fried with some french fries(or potatoes in some cases), green peas and other vegetables. If you’re wondering what’s up with those ingredients, that’s really the kind of things you can find in a ‘western’ chef’s kitchen, so you see, in the past Hainanese do know how to be creative in the kitchen!

Hainanese Mutton Curry

Another delicious specialty of the Hainanese cuisine is the mutton curry. Hainanese Mutton Curry is different from other mutton curry in the sense that the flavour of the curry is not that robust. Ginger slices are generously used and it also has strong hint of sweetness which is a very Hainanese thing. It is not something you can find easily off the street but luckily, the only stall that I know selling is still around.

Red Sea Curry Rice at Jln Leban Food Centre on Upper Thomson Road is one of those stalls that smacks full of the Hainanese authenticity. It is run by a Hainanese Ah Ma who does all the cooking by herself and only ropes in friends to help during lunch hour on certain days.

Sotong Curry

If you like curries and especially the Hainanese authentic ones, here will score very well for you. I personally like the mutton curry and squid curry a lot though the stingray curry is quite popular as well. But don’t expect it to be very spicy, infact if someone were to blindfold me and ask me to eat all these curries for the first time, I would had guessed it to be some kind of delicious sauce instead. That’s the best I can put it, you really have to come and try it yourself to know how authentic this really is.

Fried Meatballs

Another thing that is si bei tok kong here is the fried meatballs. It has seriously shioked me until I have never gotten enough of it. I’ve been patronising this stall for almost 10 years and every single time, I never failed to order the meatballs and I still haven’t gotten tired of it, so you can imagine how good it is? All I can say is it has a whiff of that KFC’s 11 herbs and spices, not only on the outside but inside as well. So you can imagine that fantastic aroma when you bite into the meatball.

Curry On Rice

The other dishes I recommend highly in this stall are the lor bak and the fried chicken. If you have 2 persons, just order all the good items at one go and enjoy this Hainanese meal to the maximum shiokadodoness possible. You will never look back.

Price: $7.00($3 for mutton already!)

Recommendation: All the curries, chicken wing, fried meatballs, lor bak and many others.

Conclusion: A very authentic Hainanese meal. Only open for 2-3 hours a day so you have to be on the dot! Mutton curry only serve on Monday and Wednesday. Queues are a regular fixture and that just tells you how good this really is. It can be quite an expensive meal depending on what items you choose. My meal there has never gone below $4 because I seriously like the meatballs a lot and have always asked for extra portion.

Likes: Curries and meatball.

Dislikes: Can be a little expensive.

Address		Overall Rating
Red Sea Curry Rice #01-08 590 Upper Thomson Road Jln Leban Food Centre or Sembawang Hill Food Centre 11:30am to 1pm Off: Weekend		Food: 9/10   Authenticity: 9/10   Value: 7.5/10   Service: 7/10   Ambience: 7/10   Cleanliness: 7/10   Overall: 7.75/10