Settled at the Food Garden food court at Asia Square for lunch not too long ago and was fairly intrigued by a curry rice that another diner was having — didn’t recall that the Food Garden food court had any tenants that serves up Hainanese-style curry rice; turns out that Hor Fun King 河粉星 had recently introduced a new line-up on its menu. For those whom are not aware, Hor Fun King is a concept that is run by the very same folks behind the Gochi-So Shokudo ごち惣食堂 brand; other brands that they also run includes Tun Xiang Nanyang Delights 豚香南洋館 — both brands can also be found alongside Hor Fun King within the Food Garden food court at Asia Square. In line with the introduction of their “Hainan Curry” series of offerings, Hor Fun King seemed to have installed a display case at its counter where one can also find various meats being stocked up — the different types of meats that are listed under the “Hainan Curry” line-up includes that of the Honey BBQ Pork Curry, Pork Chop Curry, Chicken Chop Curry and the Crispy Prawns Curry.

Speak about “Hainan Curry” and we most obviously would not be able to give their Braised Pork Curry a miss — the pairing of braised pork belly (or even the crispy pork chop in fact) with Hainanese-style curry bringing the most quintessential form of Hainanese curry rice. While Hor Fun King does describe on the elements that comes along with their dishes, it is noticed from the illustration on the menu that the Braised Pork Belly variant does come with braised pork belly, braised vegetables, sunny side-up and rice that is fully drenched in a braised sauce and curry gravy. With that being said, it does seem that the folks had missed out on the sunny side-up for our order if the illustrations is something representative of what is being actually served.

Digging into the rice first; we really liked how the rice comes completely drenched with curry gravy — there is definitely more than sufficient curry to go along with the portion of rice here, while the curry is also noted to be thick and rich; one that is definitely punchy without being overly “Lemak” with the coconut milk just like how one would expect out of Hainanese-style curry. The addition of the braised sauce actually helps to add a bit of depth to the notes of the curry gravy as well. We would probably liked it even more if the pork belly was to be drenched with some braised sauce for a deeper flavour; that being said, the pork belly does come a little more leaner here — comes with a fibrous bite and was sufficiently meaty, and also comes without any noticeable, undesirable porky stench that would have hindered the entire experience. The braised cabbage also does come with some pieces of black fungus for a bit of a chewy and springy texture; the braised vegetables coming with a soft bite with a subtly sweet note that went well with the curry-drenched rice. At $7.50, the Braised Pork Curry from Hor Fun King is likely something that we would have again — the lowest-priced item from the “Hainan Curry” series at Hor Fun King is the Honey BBQ Pork Curry at $6.50, and the highest-priced would be the Crispy Prawns Curry at $8,; also items which we are happy to give a go some other time as well!