The owner of this stall claims that they can trace their lineage all the way back to the old Hokkien street around 50 years ago. Back then, prawn noodles were very different in that the gravy was very dark. He claims that it was his mother who first invented the light colored prawn soup which is the common garden variety nowadays. Since they have been around for so long, they have built a very faithful following especially amongst the older folks. Apparently, the stall is frequented by MPs and other VIPs as well, who go there because of its original taste.
So with all that historical backdrop, the strong recommendation by Damien, plus the bold statement on their signboard stating "Specially Make Delicious Soup", I primed my tastebuds for an adventure of a lifetime.The soup was good but I guess I had expected much more. It did have that prawn soup kick but just did not hit the threshold for "Shiok!!". 4.25/5
The thing that really did have the Oooomph factor though, was the specially prepared chilli powder. One whiff of the powder and you know that it is something special. Unlike a lot of other stalls which simply give you plain chilli powder. This stall fries their chilli powder with dried prawns (Hae Bee). The taste is very distinctive. It is so good that he even sells the chilli powder for those who need to get their satisfaction at home.
Conclusion
Is this really a direct descendant of the originator of our present day Prawn Noodle? Perhaps our more seasoned readers can shed some light the history of Prawn Noodles? And by the way, is Prawn Noodles only found in Singapore or do they also have this dish in Malaysia?
The Old Stall Hokien St Famous Hokkien Mee Hong Lim Complex
531A Upper Cross Street #02-68
9am to 5pm
Thursdays Closed
Michael Tan 98539630
They have prawn noodle soup in Malaysia. The difference is that they dont serve it with the large prawns we have here. Theirs is a darker soup, loaded with tiny shrimp or hei bi. Pork slices, kangkong and egg. First time we had it, my friends were wondering if the stall owner forgot to put in the prawns! haha
ReplyDeleteAdriane
I had prawn noodles when I was in Sabah once! It was memorable as it was shiokalicious..*smack* If my tastebuds can remember correctly, it has a dark soup base(actually reddish in colour)and comes with alot of tau gehs and big prawns. Wah got kick! Oh and i love the chilli as well. :)
ReplyDeleteThe taste of Malaysian prawn noodle is quite different from SG. Adriane is rite abt the size of the prawn thou...
ReplyDeleteTheir dry version is usually dark sauce based unlike our chilli based.
I think People's Prawn Mee sell nice prawn mee tooo! Especially the one at Geylang Lor 12. Their prawns are fresh and the chilli is awesome(; You should try having it dry!
ReplyDeletei tried e prawn mee yesterday.. e soup is different from e rest.. it's got tis "fresh from e sea-prawn" smell!! =)
ReplyDeletebut it's quite plain/dull.. cos normally, when i eat prawn mee soup, there's always vege like kang kong..
& if u never state ur choice of noodle, it's by default e fat, flat yellow noodles. i prefer e round, yellow noodles! =)
soup and chilli powder is really not bad! ;)
The Chilli powder is special. I usually order the dry noodle and sprinkle it with generous amount of chilli power. Shiok.
ReplyDeletethe fat flat yellow noodle could be the original type of noodles served with prawn mee - anyone any idea?
ReplyDeletewent to revisit this stall on saturday, ordered prawn with pai guat. for $5, i hv to say the portions were generoous, espciallyl the paiguat which came in 2 large pieces.
soupwise i felt it had a good prawn flavor to it, obviously from boiling prawn shells and pork bones to produce the stock - albeit a little watered down (due to commercial reasons, i would think) - better than other stalls which used too much rock sugar, or black soya sauce to darken the soup.
not a bad bowl of prawn noodles.
haa.. i have the same feeling too. The soup was a little diluted :P. potion big though but , i felt tt they should serve fresher prawns though.
ReplyDeleteermmm sorry but i think i wont go for a second bowl :P
I'm not sure there are how many prawn noodle stall in Hong Lim Complex. But I know there is one called "Ah Huey". This stall was at Hock Nam St when I was young (late 60s). The street (no more exist)is between Upper Hokkien St and Tofu St. Their business was real good. I had to wait for 45 mins for my order. I ate their soup noodle almost every Sunday morning then. At that time, no chilli powder. Only cut chilli.
ReplyDeletetried this the other day. Soup wasn't power enough but overall not bad. What was good was the pig's tail. It was VERY soft and no smell at all :)
ReplyDelete