Beach Road Prawn Noodle House: Does taste alone determine the success of an eatery?
With ieatjr
This is reportedly the most successful hawker in Singapore with monthly sales of $139,200 or at least that is what Mr Lee declared in last year's newspaper report. So what is it that makes a hawker so successful? Your first response might be that the food must be out of this world. But in my experience that is not always the case. Other factors like location, ease of parking, service and price also have a big part to play.
The prawn noodle here is of course of a certain standard or else they wouldn't be as successful as they are. However, if you compare their taste with that of the stalls which also originated from the patriach, Mr Lee, viz Jalan Sultan and Joo Chiat Prawn Noodle, you would agree with me that the taste of the soup is quite similar. So the fact that this particular stall is doing so much better than the other two begs the question, why?
I haven't been back here for almost a year I think and I have to admit that my latest visit left much to be desired. Firstly the price of a bowl of Prawn noodle has gone up. The smallest bowl now is $5.50. And for that price you are only getting one measly little prawn (split in half) and some pork ribs. The soup was still ok, though not as shiok as I remembered. Both Amagada and I have eaten here quite a few times and this latest visit was the most disappointing. 3.75/5 Hopefully this is a once off and they are not letting their success affect their standards.
Ngor Hiang seems to always go hand in hand with prawn noodles. This stall is located within the same restaurant and is operated by another relative. Most of the items are still handmade and some of the items like yam fritters and the lup cheong are quite good. The pork Ngoh Hiang was quite average though. This stall doesn't really need to be outstanding to do well since they just ride on the success of the prawn noodle. 4/5
Conclusion
Probably the most famous prawn noodle around but quite disappointed that the quality seems to have faltered. With the price increase, they are also one of the most expensive around now but that doesn't seem to have affected their business much. As I alluded to earlier, there are several factors involved in the success of any eatery and taste is but one of those factors.
Beach Road Prawn Noodle House
370 East Coast Road
S428981 63457196
8am-4pm daily
Closed on Tuesdays
16 comments:
Agree with your assessment. It seems difficult for some legendary stalls to maintain the high standards that make them legendary in the first place. They must soon realise that some folks still visit them based on reputation, but that will not last long. Foodies are more discerning and have so many choices these days.
i tend to try to avoid this prawn noodles.
too hot, too crowded, too overrated. the few times i have been there in the past few years, i get disappointed everytime.
Ho kwa bo ho jiak literally!
this place rides on the momentum of its reputation and success, IMO, and hence the food is pretty average these days.
$5.50?!
I'd stick to a good ol' bowl @ Jago's for $3.
I was there last week and had a bowl for $4.50, without ribs though. Love the chilli in the dry version. That's what sets it apart from most other prawn noodles.
i had the $4.50 one, i jus like prawns only.
I really like their soup!
U shld try de other branch, where de sisters are operating. Their father is always there too...
I feel dat the soup at this branch is so much better than de one at East Coast although they r siblings...
Have u tried b4?
The other two branches already blogged. They are found here:
http://ieatishootipost.sg/search/label/Prawn%20Mee
Only one more left to blog, which is the one at beach road.
eh...I prefer the adam road FC prawn noodles. A bit on the high side for pricing, but quite gd.
I agree, convenience plays a large part in determining biz flow...also rental these days is a very big concern for profits, so one must find the balance lor.
Most imptly I think the fact if you have a good selection of food nearby, you will tend to have better biz. Ppl like to have choices and this naturally brings up the traffic and increases the number of customers.
I live near to this East Coast branch, standard has definitely dropped.
S$4.50 for a bowl? I now get my prawn noodle from the stall at Dunman food centre for S$2.50.
These stall contribute to our high inflation rate...
over-rated prawn mee.wouldnt pay $5 or is it $5.50 for a miserably small prawn.At that price,we could find better prawn mee else where
I had always wondered at the quality of this prawn noodles stall, since it is always so croweded and well-patronised, but when I had the chance to tried it, I was quite disappointed. The soup was so thin and weak (where is the rich flavour of the prawns?), and the portions were nothing to shout about.
I guess I would still prefer to patronise the Joo Chiat Prawn Noodles at Carpmael Road. Cheaper and better (soup-wise especially!).
The branch over at Beach Road has wayyyyyyy better prawn noodles as compared to the branch at east coast and has imo one of the best prawn noodles in singapore, especially the sweet thick soup. It boggles my mind as to why the east coast branch is the more famous one..better fengshui perhaps?
Yes tried it today and quite disappointed. Good soup, but the prawns were fairly tasteless and the noodles blah. 3/5 would be generous.
Oh, i love this place so so much! I don't know why some people get so mean about their prices, but i really don't care. I am just a really big fan. I am abroad now, and this prawn mee is all i can think about everyday!It alone can be a reason to come back to spore!
Well, next time you are back, make sure you try Hoe Nam, Joo Chiat Prawn Noodle, Wah Kee as well so that you can have more Prawn Noodle memories.
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