Pork cutlet curry rice at a Hainanese hawker ($5.80)!
Hainanese curry rice — panko-fried pork cutlet slices with curry-drowned fried egg, braised cabbage and a side of fried fishcake on white rice. $5.80.
Lunch comfort plate — pork cutlet curry rice at a Hainanese hawker. $5.80. The shirt-staining classic that I love. 😋
What was on the floral plate ($5.80):
- A bed of white rice at the back, doused in Hainanese curry gravy — that signature orange-red mild curry.
- A row of panko-fried pork cutlet slices — golden crispy crust, properly thick slices showing the pink-grey centre underneath.
- A second piece of fried fishcake / chicken kueh on the left, also panko-coated.
- A fried egg with crispy lacy edges, drowned in the curry gravy with the runny yolk just barely visible underneath.
- A scoop of braised cabbage with carrot strips at the back — soaking up extra curry.
Hainanese curry rice is the original wet-and-mixed-up plate — designed to be eaten by cutting through the pork cutlet, breaking the egg, mixing everything into the rice until it turns curry-orange. Each spoonful has a bit of cutlet edge + curry-soaked rice + cabbage + a bit of egg.
The panko-fried pork cutlet style is the upgrade over standard hawker fried pork chop — thicker, crispier, more substantial bite. Even after the curry sauce contact, the panko shell stays slightly crispy.
Total: $5.80. Hawker comfort pricing.
Overall: 4.3 / 5. Pork cutlet was the right thickness (not the cheap thin chop), curry gravy had real depth, cabbage was the underrated soaker-up. Classic Hainanese curry rice done well. 😍👍🏼
