Lily’s Kitchen Thai Beef Kway Teow

Address 50, East Coast Rd Roxy Square 2, Basement food Court.

Opening Hours 10am –2.30pm Closed on Fridays and Public Holidays

Here’s a lady who once (take a deep breath now), quit her banker’s job, became a makan columnist, was among the first to set up a very popular Thai restaurant in town, sold it for seven figures, went on to set up a food court in Hong Kong, came back to continue her consultancy job, contemplated retirement, and then, went back to basics.

She is now a contented Thai style beef kway teow hawker.

Back in the eighties when it was cool to have makan correspondents in the local papers, with the likes of Ms Margaret Chan, Ms Violet Oon and Mr Terry Tan fronting the food columns of the local English dailies, Ms Lily Mok, an innocent food lover, was persuaded by the editors of the then Nanyang Siang Pau Chinese newspaper to start a column. She was no writer but she knew her “fuyue” from her “namyue”. For the following three years, she was the popular culinary agony aunt, telling readers to bake instead of grill and also why their bread just won’t rise, among other advice she dished out each week.

Then she hopped off the hot wok and into the fire. She bought over a Thai restaurant in Serangoon Road with no idea how one is run at all. She struggled and swatted flies for a while but “I know the food was good but the locale was bad.” She was even free to witness the disastrous collapse of the Hotel New World tragedy. “ It sounded like a big “whoosh” followed by a big cloud of dust, instead of the explosions and pandemonium the media reported.” When the dust settled, it was clear to her that she had to move when the offer of a spot in the then new Forum Galleria at Tanglin came up.

With losses mounting, she jumped at it.

From the day she opened Her Restaurant on the first floor of Forum Galleria “ I could not take a break, it was non stop and we had to turn many customers away.” She told her jaded staff, “ switch roles with your customers, be fussy, and you’ll know what they want.” They did and the customers kept Lily and her Thai crew on their toes for the next three years. They could not serve enough of their signatures like the Thai grilled fish, chilli crabs, fish maw soups and the Thai soy and honey fried chicken, a recipe she and her chef obtained from his “sifu” in Bangkok.

Fatigued, she sold it to an Australian conglomerate whom were out on a restaurant buying spree for a tidy seven figure sum.

Fast forward, past a task to set up a Singapore-Malaysia style food court in Hong Kong and a short semi retirement stint as a makan consultant, Lily went back to do what she simply does best…cook.

Her first food court stall in Parkway Parade in the early nineties was a riot. Serving her favorite Thai beef kway teow recipe, the response was overwhelming and the tired Lily went into recluse again four years later. Today she resurfaced in a quiet food court in the east and reminds me to “tell your readers that I only sell till 2.30pm and then I go back to rest, and on Sundays ah, I only come in after church at about 11.30am huh!”

Her simple bowl of Thai beef kway teow comes with a very light coloured broth that oozes oomph. It tastes not much different from the better robust local Teochew versions. But there is one simple twist she does, just before she serves, that lifts the dish. She squeezes in a twist of fresh lime juice.

Straightaway, the heavy beefiness is contained and it is so pleasantly light on the way in. She tops it with towgeh, coriander, beef balls, slices of cartilage-y shin beef and fresh thin and lean loin. And oh, if you are looking for the gooey dark brown Hainanese version, stay away, Lily abhors it. Her dry style comes simply doused with a spoon of beef sauce and her piquant chilli concoction. She does not offer spare parts like stomach and tendons as the demand does not justify it.

“Actually there is not much difference between the Thai and the Teochew version. In Thailand, it is also the Teochews who introduced the dish there. Some of them just use more herbs and the Thais love adding sugar, fish sauce and chilli in it.”

In that hour I was with Lily, I saw hints of her maverick streak creeping in. There was a constant request for her lopez coated with fresh grated coconut and her peanut and red bean ang ku kueh, stuff she “just love to cook” She had to turn away many customers asking for the fried beehoon telling them “ got interview today lah, no time to fry, sorry”

So, what’s next Ms Lily Mok?