Chop Chop Western Grill & Pasta – A Passion Project Started by 3 Engineers

Meet Colin, Yi Fang and Zhen Yu — 3 young hawkerprenuers in their late twenties to early thirties. The trio are engineers by training and have been friends since university days. Led by Colin, Chop Chop Western Grill relocated from Kallang Bahru to their current location in Lorong 1 Toa Payoh four months ago.

Not wanting to be tied down by a desk job, Colin tried different F&B ventures (ice cream maker, BBQ chef and private home cook) before starting Chop Chop Western together with his friends. He is the main chef in charge while Yi Fang and Zhen Yu handle the operations. The selling point of Chop Chop Western is its affordability —customers can get a full Western meal with a side and bowl of soup for less than $10!

We ordered the Double-Up Chicken ($10.80) with the Garlic Black Pepper Sauce and a side of fries. The double up option gives you two huge slabs of chicken(either fried or grilled). I chose to mix and match and got both the chicken cutlet and chicken chop. After ordering, you’ll receive a buzzer that buzzes when your food is ready for collection. Our buzzer went off after seven to ten minutes. The perfect crispiness of the chicken cutlet was a testament to the skill of Chop Chop Wester. The chicken, which was expertly fried, was still juicy inside. However, I found the chicken cutlet lacking in terms of flavour, as it largely relied on the black pepper sauce for taste. The grilled chicken chop was expectedly tender and juicy. I enjoyed it a lot more than the chicken cutlet but it was still on the bland side. Similarly, the crinkle fries were lacking in seasoning too. Perhaps we left it out for too long, but the texture of the fries seemed to be a little pasty. The portion was huge though!

Next up, the Fish n Chips ($6.80) with Sriracha Mayo and butter rice. I preferred the fish to the chicken as the golden batter was so fragrant! The fish was a wee too crumbly for my liking, though it was admittedly soft and sweet. Once again, the taste was largely derived from the well-fried batter and the sriracha mayo, with the latter bearing a slight spicy kick. The butter rice was a poor choice of as the rice grains, which seemed undercooked, were too hard. The taste also left much to be desired.

The soup is another one of Chop Chop Western’s highlights. The soup is made from scratch and the selection changes every month. Colin told us that the response for the soup has been overwhelmingly positive, with many customers returning just for the soup! The soup of the month for June was roasted capsicum with tomatoes, while for July, it is creamy mushroom soup. The effort that went into the preparation of the soup was clearly evident in every mouthful. Chop Chop Western nailed that strong earthiness that should always be present in creamy mushroom soups. Unfortunately, it was far too watery to be truly exceptional.

I think Chop Chop Western Grill & Pasta has potential but the dishes definitely need some work. However, what struck me the most was the sheer amount of passion and thought that the three young hawkerpreneurs had put into their business — from allowing customers to choose from 14 different types of sauces to continually experimenting with new soup flavours. Chop Chop Western Grill & Pasta really serves up affordable Western food that’s cooked with pure sincerity and a big heart. That alone, should warrant a visit from you!

Psst. The trio is also the same group of hawkerprenuers behind San Lor Bak Png, a hawker stall with a unique local take on simple Taiwanese fare. We heard that they are making a comeback so stay tuned!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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