New Market Teochew Braised Duck Rice – Braise Yourself For Delicious Duck rice in Alexandra

Our good friend, Paul, has been raving about this popular braised duck stall in Alexandra Village Hawker Centre. I didn’t pay much attention until one day, Paul’s father said to me in all seriousness, “You must eat this duck rice and watch how the uncle slices the meat with precision. It looks exactly like how restaurants would serve. If he wants to accept disciple, I would want to learn from him.”

Mind you, Paul’s father has been cooking for half a century and opens one of the most famous zi-char eateries in Singapore. For such an experienced chef to rave about this braised duck stall, it must be really something.

That intrigued me, and the following week, we arranged for lunch at New Market Teochew Braised Duck Rice (新巴刹潮州卤鸭饭) and met the 60-year-old owner, Mr Chan. I heard the queue starts forming way before the stall opens, so we decided to go for a late lunch. Thankfully, we managed to get the last few plates of braised duck rice (just not a lot of gizzard left).

Most people probably don’t know that this famous duck rice stall was once operating at Ellenborough Market by the Singapore River (near Clarke Quay). It was also called the Teochew Market, because the area was a Teochew enclave. It was also introduced as New Market, which gave the name to New Market Road. After the building was demolished, Mr Chan moved to Alexandra Village Hawker Centre and named the stall “New Market Teochew Braised Duck Rice”.

Mr Chan learnt the art of braising from his relative who started a pushcart stall selling braised duck rice in the 1950s. He has been doing this for 33 years. “The old school braised duck is a lot more savoury, oily and sweet. But now customers prefer something healthier, so we have to fine-tune the recipe to suit everyone’s palate.”

Their braised duck has indeed captivated many foodies’ hearts. The sauce was very fragrant and flavourful, and not starchy. We were still feeling full from our late breakfast when we visited the stall. But to our surprise, we managed to finish a bowl of plain rice, with nothing but the braised sauce, each.

The duck was incredibly tender and would have been awesome on its own, but the braising sauce just made it even more delicious. Mr Chan is a talented hawker with incredible knife skills. Each slice of duck meat is uniformly cut and even when there is a queue, he doesn’t rush through it. He takes a lot of pride in cutting the duck. Watching him prepare your dish is part of the experience.

Be sure to dip each slice of the duck meat into their homemade chilli sauce. It was moderately spicy with a hint of tanginess. We also shared a plate of Mixed Braised Duck platter which comes with intestines, braised tofu, braised egg and pigskin. Mr Chan used to sell kway chap but it was too much work for the couple, so they focus on duck rice. The intestines were clean and tasted great with the braising sauce which had a mild herbal flavour.

I am probably still too young to talk about nostalgia but our meal at New Market Teochew Braised Duck Rice was so satisfying!