Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice (Jalan Besar)

Beach Road Scissor-Cut Curry Rice is a family-run Hainanese curry rice shop at 229 Jalan Besar, on the corner with Kitchener Road. It fills two old shophouses and is the brand's best-known outlet. Staff snip your chosen dishes into bite-sized pieces with scissors, lay them over rice and pour on thick sauces.

The family traces the business back to a pushcart at Clyde Terrace Market on Beach Road in the 1930s, and the Jalan Besar shop followed in 1984. It has been handed down through four generations, and the family has turned down an offer to buy the brand.

How the scissor-cut plate works

Hainanese curry rice grew out of the work of Hainanese cooks who came to Singapore and cooked for wealthy British and Peranakan families. The plate mixes their influences: a fried pork chop from British cooking, and braised vegetables and curry chicken from Peranakan kitchens.

Ordering is simple. Choose your dishes from the display at the front. Staff cut each one with scissors and arrange it on a plate of rice. Then they ladle on curry and a dark braising gravy. The sauce is thick and starchy, so the whole plate ends up soft and rich.

Why scissors? According to the fourth-generation owner, his great-grandfather swapped the cleaver for scissors at the stall. A cleaver was too easy to grab when fights broke out, and scissors felt safer.

What to order

The classic plate is built on four dishes: curry chicken, braised pork, pork chop and chap chye. Pick the ones you like, then add extras.

• Pork chop: breaded, fried and cut into strips, so it soaks up the sauce
• Braised pork belly: soft, tender pork in a dark gravy
• Curry chicken: one of the four classics, in a thick gravy
• Chap chye: soft braised cabbage
• Extras: fried egg, tau pok (tofu puffs) and bean sprouts

Many of the dishes contain pork, so ask the staff if you need to avoid it.

Good to know before you go

• Late nights: the shop stays open into the early hours and is a popular supper stop. Expect queues at busy times.
• Seating: one of the two shophouses is set aside for tables. The space is open-air, so it can feel warm on a hot night.
• Ordering tip: the counter works much like an economy rice stall. Our guide on how to order economy rice explains the basics.

Nearby

Jalan Besar is an easy area to explore on foot. For dim sum, try Sum Dim Sum on Jalan Besar. Durian fans can head to Ms Durian on Kelantan Road. The streets of Little India are also close by. To stay in the area, look at The Vagabond Club or Hotel Yan.

Find more hawker favourites in Singapore, our late-night food guides, or all restaurants in Little India and Jalan Besar.