For braised duck lovers, most of us are familiar with the savory and tender braised duck served at (Sia Kee) Sean Kee Duck Rice at Geylang Lorong 35. They are looking forward to the same standards of braised duck at the latest Ya Lor stall in town under the Sia kee Duck Rice branding.
The latest outlet of famous duck rice, Sean Kee Duck Rice at Geylang Lorong 35 is now opened at the basement of Guoco Tower, near CBD. This is a convenient choice for those who have craving for the main branch at Geylang but cannot afford the time to travel there. Think of it as the instant version of the main Sean Kee Duck Rice.
The menu of Ya Lor consists of duck with rice, noodle or porridge. Here is the menu with some other adds on such as add ons and sides to go with the braised duck.
Here our review of Ya Lor based on their signature premium dish braised duck rice ($7.90). A plate of the signature braised duck rice comes with half a braised egg, peanuts, braised duck, beancurd, fish cake and supposedly bok choy(replaced with bean sprouts as they run out of greens).
Was looking forward to dig into this Ya Lor premium dish braised duck rice after having tried the OG store at Geylang Lor 35 quite some time ago. The duck rice at the main branch left a deep impression on my taste buds with it savoury and tender duck drizzled with slurp worthy sauce.
The braised duck meat at Ya Lor is taste far less sinful and has a fibrous texture. These are deboned and cut into shreds of meats for a palatable texture.
The duck meats are also leaner compared to the main branch where the skin and the fats of the ducks give the meat a tender and melty flavour.
The sauce is gooey and thick but could do more with the depth of flavour. The amount of sauce has to be sufficient to give the meat a nice glaze for that silky texture.
Comes with a saucer of chilli paste in a vinegar to go with the duck rice. The chilli taste neither like sambal nor any typical duck rice chilli we had before. Looks aside, the duck rice could really do better with a typical sambal chilli paste. A plate of smoky chilli sambal paste with braised duck rice will probably make most duck rice lovers happy.
Braised duck noodle ($5.90) comes with braised duck, bean sprouts, yellow noodles topped with some fried shallots greens.
The amount of duck seems more generous in this noodle compared to the more pricier premium duck rice set.
Ya Lor duck on display are literally paler in terms of the colour and flavour with the main Geylang stall’s duck standard as the benchmark.
The noodles are single portion and well coated with enough sauce for every strand. However, the alkaline flavour of the noodle is still quite pronounced. The noodles are well cooked with a bite.
For the price range and the location of the stall, the serving are quite modest and I suggest to add on braised eggs, chilli fishcakes, bok choy and bean sprouts for a more satisfying meal unless you are having some other bites like I did. The neighboring bakery offers a good variety of interesting bakes if you need some sweet bites.
This Ya Lor braised duck shop is set in a small cozy corner of Guoco Tower with some no fuss tables and stools.
The neon signs at the ceiling of the shop are pretty eye catching and draw attention to the seemingly serene shop selling humble braised duck rice in the heart of CBD at Guoco Tower. Definitely rooms for improvements at Ya Lor and do make a trip to the main stall Sean Kee to sample the OG of duck rice in Geylang.
Ya Lor Location:
Guoco Tower #B2-32, 1 Wallich Street
Singapore 078881
Opening Hours:
9am – 8.30pm (Mon-Tues), 10am-8.30pm (Wed-Fri),10am- 6.30pm(Sat)
Sunday closed
(Main Branch) Sia Kee/ Sean Kee Duck Rice Location:
659-661 Geylang Lorong 35
Singapore 389589
Call: +65 97575255
Opening Hours:
11.30am-6pm daily except Saturday