Liao Fan Hawker Chan – New Outlet for Michelin-Starred Hawker in Chinatown

Even before receiving the acclaimed Michelin star, Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Chicken Rice & Noodles was already a well-known stall at Chinatown Food Complex. Helming the kitchen is owner/chef Chan Hon Meng, who has a strong passion in culinary since young. He often helped out in his family kitchen at an early age, and this sparked his keen interest in cooking.

In October 2016, after the stall got awarded a Michelin star, Chef Chan entered into a partnership with Hersing Culinary, which started a 80-seater flagship restaurant named “Liao Fan Hawker Chan” in Smith Street. As these two establishments are just across the street from each other, Chef Chan will continue to do the pre-cooking and preparations, running in between the two locations.

We visited Liao Fan Hawker Chan a few days ago. The weekday lunch time queue wasn’t as crazy as we expected it to be with a menu featuring roast meats, seasonal vegetables, soya beansprouts, Thai-style tofu and wonton soup.

The Wonton soup ($5) featured a couple of generously-filled wontons and vegetables. Each of them had a good texture and we could really chew on the fillings. The soup was packed with an immense chicken herbal taste and some might find it a little too overwhelming.

For a heartier meal, have some rice, noodle or hor fun dishes. The star – Soya Sauce Chicken Rice ($3.80) – arrived looking so enticing with its glistening skin. One mouthful of the succulent chicken, with rice, hits us with a myriad of tastes and textures. The gravy that was drenched over the rice had a herbal aroma while the chicken had a layer of skin that’s slightly thicker than usual. Its silky smooth texture allowed us to easily tear it apart.

Although the menu states, “Any 3 combination Platter” ($10), the soya sauce chicken is not included as one of the choices so that leaves everyone with the combination of Char Siew, Roasted Pork and Pork Ribs.

Unfortunately, these meats failed to impress. The char siew had a tender texture but it would’ve been better if it’s slightly more caramelised. Roasted pork’s skin was a little too hard with a strong charred taste. Some parts of the pork ribs were too dry and tough.

For your safest bet, just go for the soya chicken. You can add either the plain noodle or hor fun at $1.50 per portion to go with your soya sauce chicken or meat platters. We preferred the former as it boasts a QQ texture. Even after we left it untouched for a little, the noodles did not become lumpy. The accompanying chilli sauce paired well with the noodles which had some black bean sauce in it. The hor fun, on the other hand, was smooth but dried up too quickly. We probably won’t queue for it but we don’t mind coming back for some soya chicken noodles!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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