Hong Mao Wanton Mee: I don't see no Ang Mo around
I know that there are quite a few people out there who regard this particular Wanton Mee as the best in Singapore. The most famous of whom is Gerard Ee, the ex-President of AA and also Singapore's most well known philanthropist. His face is unceremoniously pasted on the glass display cabinet next to the noodles. Apparently, he comes here every Saturday to have his wonton mee fix. The other not-quite-as-famous, but perhaps still quite famous personality (at least within foodie circles) who frequents this stall is Aston of Astons Specialties. When Aston is not eating steak, he is sitting here eating what he considers to be the best Wanton Mee in Singapore.
I have written much about Wanton Mee and have posted reviews of twenty of the most well known Wanton Mees around Singapore. It is in actual fact a very simple dish which many Singaporeans enjoy, but I still haven't been able to find one that stands head and shoulders above the rest. The highest I have given for Wanton Mee was a 4.6/5. They all seem to have just something lacking to make the 4.75 grade. When the noodles and sauce is good, the Charsiew is lacking. When the Charsiew and noodles are good, the Wantons are lacking. I reckon that the main stumbling block for most Wanton Noodle sellers must be the Charsiew because unless you are able to Chargrill your own Charsiew, it is difficult (an expensive) to procure one that is really good.
The Charsiew just happens to be the stumbling block for this particular Wanton Mee. The texture and taste of the noodles are very good, as are the Wantons and the soup which is full of anchovy flavour. But the Charsiew just couldn't make it. Now, if I could get hold of some freshly roasted "Bu Jian Tian" Charsiew from Fatty Cheong to add to the noodles, I reckon this might then be a Wanton mee I would really rave about. 4.25/5
Conclusion
I know I will be getting a lot of protests from fans of this stall who consider this to be the best Wanton Mee stall in the East, if not the whole of Singapore. That's fine, if you feel strongly about this Wanton Mee than do write in to express your support. And btw, if you know why it is called Hong Mao (red hair), do write in and let us know. Apart from the lady boss, I certainly don't see anyone there with red hair.
Hong Mao Wanton Mee
128 Tembeling Road
7am to 4pm
Closed on Mondays
29 comments:
This is my fav wanton mee stall!! I don't really eat much char siew, so the lack of quality in the char siew doesn't make much difference. I love the peppery flavour of the wantons, the springy noodles and the chilli!!! It's all good. :D
huh ?...no fight with kok kee@lavender for me..... think its the secret sauce...aiyah...its a "gong tao" thing... moooohahahah
wahcow, I also like Kok Kee Wanton Mee with the "gong tao" sauce. Their wanton is not bad but I don't quite like their charsiew. So I always order their wanton mee without charsiew and have more wanton instead.
I will give this Hong Mao Wanton Mee a try when I am around the area.
The best wanton I have tried to date is from Mak's Noodle in Central, Hong Kong.
After reading this post, I drove down with my wife to try Hong Mao Wanton Mee for the first time. I had wanted to try it for very long, but feedback about the long waiting time had been putting me off.
Here are my humble 2-cents about Hong Mao Wanton Mee: Personally, I would prefer the noodles to have abit more bite. Also, I would prefer the sauce to be abit more savoury. I agree with wahcow and iJeff that 'gong tao' sauce at Kok Kee Wanton Mee taste better. As for the char siew, Fatty Ox wins hands down. I also find the wanton soaked in the soap for too long and thus is slightly lacking in flavour. Hong Mao Wanton Mee is good, but does not stand out for me.
There is this Koka Wanton Mee at North Bridge Food Centre which I heard is very good. They only opens at 7pm and the waiting time is at least 45 mins. Had not tried it though.
I wonder if anyone knows of this excellent wanton mee in a coffeeshop at the junction of Bras Basah Road and Victoria Street. Pity it was relocated around 1990. I can't find it anymore. That was, in my memory, the best wanton mee I had ever tasted.
Wow you sound like a real Wanton Mee afficianado Puay Hing! Koka Wanton Mee is now on my radar.
Totally agree with wahcow & ijeff. hehe ijeff, Kok Kee wanton mee without char siew & more wantons sounds familiar...
Les, someone recommended Eng's wanton mee at Dunman Food Centre to me but I personally have not tried it. Here's another to be added to your list. When are you trying Nam Seng too?
Holybro who ate with me that day tells me that compared to Engs is no match for this one so Engs has gone to the bottom of the list.
I thought Nam Seng was Mee Pok rather than wonton mee?
why does the wanton mee look so small in serving? feels like i can finish it in 4 bites or less.. how much was that dish?
mohahahaa...ijeff and ice...you should see when the lady boss of kok kee cooks....she is rather slow....but i so "gong tao" till i am willing to wait patiently and when its time to order, i can still give her another smile.......
Hong Mao is actually the nickname of the father who used to run the business in a old coffeeshop along the main road (its the corner where Kim's is right now). I used to frequent that stall ages ago with my dad almost each morning. The thing abt it was that when u order the noodles with the old man or the asst, by the time u sit down and start to order coffee, the noodles would arrive :)...haha fast service and by no means the place was empty at all man...
memories :)
Eng wanton noodle at Dunman Food centre is not too bad...but i wont drive all the way there for their noodle. But their chilli is very fiery hot....it looks ordinary but phew.....my lips were on fire after a few bites of their noodles with chilli....
Concerning the famous Eng's wanton mee at Duman Food Centre
What happened was that the boss has been in hospital for quite some already, prior to that he tried to impart his wanton noodle making skills to his disciple...
And to put it bluntly, I think it was not very successful...just my opinion anyway..
I find the texture of the wanton skin lacking in silkiness and smoothness, sauce of the noodles not that shiok anymore...and occasionally I hear my dad, a chilli lover and an avid supporter of the stall for decades (When the boss was going around houses like local garang gunis and calling loudly for HDB dwellers to come and buy a bowl or 2) complaning that the chilli is not that hot anymore...
Personally, I would go to Hong Mao near closing hours, and enjoy the gummy noodles and tasty wantons!
If wontons are your thing, the best wonton I had so far is the one at Kovan Food Centre featured in the previous blog. Next is the one at Fei Fei but it is tiny. This stalls one ranks up there among the top 5.
I like Koka. Once stall shutters are up in the evenings, the queue never ends...
Ang Mo is quite near to my parents' place. They are big supporters, visiting once a week. I'm ok with it. I prefer the springy Hong Kong type mee.
If you like this type of wonton mee, check out Mei Yuen, located right at where Ah Loon/ Ah Teck sells their durians, opposite Cafe Oliv along East Coast Rd. Been there since I was young (over 30 years?).
Koka sounds interesting!
Okay lemme clarify about Eng's. An apprentice has taken over. Standard has drastically fallen. The only saving grace is his potent chilli sauce, unrivalled in SG.
Cactus, I am not a fan of mei yuen, though EVERYONE ELSE around me love it especially my church friends. I find their wanton too mushy and too much skin. I prefer Carlton anytime, hygiene standards notwithstanding.
But both are legendary in their own right lah. Got chance must try their roast meats on noodles plus extra shuigao soup. shiok.
koka is quite okay,their watons are better than Kovan Food Centre and Fei Fei.The long Q because the old lady is very slow .
Les, you got it mixed up. Nam Seng is for wonton mee & good for venison hor fun too. It's opposite Don Pie & 2 doors down from Hock Lam. Best for you to go around 2pm when the lunch crowd peters out. In fact, I just saw liverpool & taukwa eating there just the other day, right liverpool? :)
Hong Mao Noodle and Kok Kee Noodle are in fact from the same noodle manufacturer.I saw the delivery van @ lavender .. Hung Wen Noodle Manufacturer. Maybe can order back and try cooking..
You can buy freshly made noodles from the Bamboo Noodle house. I have been cooking noodles at home and you can put anything you like on it and they taste yummy. I don't think you can actually buy small amounts from these suppliers.
yes ice!.. :) I actually go there for the sauce they put on the noodles!
I discovered this is a strange stall. Why? I ordered the noodles and requrested the chiili sauce not to mix with the noodles. The ladies there asked me next time to have the same request, just say noodles without chilli sauce. :D. I couldn't accept such logic, and somehow I never stay nearby, so I would not frequent there so often. BTW, my rating for the whole thing 7.0/9, not really that outstading for me who stayed in the west come here just for one dish.Neither it is bad.
I seldom post my comment on food nowadays, but this time round I have to say a few words now.
Seems to me that nobody here ordered the noodles without chilli in actual fact just ask them to provide chilli aside?
ooooh yes indeed...i eat here every other day...the chilli's brilliant...laced with lard and fried shallots....it's top notch to me...
and i see gerard ee every now and then too...
but you're right, the charsiew is not up to the standard of the rest of the ingredients...that's one bugbear for me too...but the chilli makes up for it...and more :)
I've no comment on their charsiew becos i always opt for chicken feet + a bowl of wanton.
With reference to my post Mar 03 ...
Overall: 7.0/9 (Year 2009)
Noodles - 7.0/9
Char Siew - 7.0/9
Wan Ton - 7.0/9
Sauce (incl Chilli) - 7.0/9
Plus Point - Nil
Minus Point - Nil
Interesting Point - Nil
A good foodstop for those stay within the radius of 5km.
dear all, the hong mao tel is in my blackberry coz i call ahead to avoid the queue (and sometimes disappointment when they run out of their fengzhao). i can have 2 plates of fengzhao at one go. it is uberyummyliciousfantastico. even better than the clementi calypot fengzhao. splendid balance of spice and soy and ginger, braised to perfection in their electric crockpot. u can ladle sauce over any carb and go to makan heaven immediately. 4.5 / 5 I say.
The original stallholder was this lanky elderly, who didnt look like a typical chinese. Very ang-moh features, hair also not asian-black. He was always in thin white tee, tucked neatly into bermudas which looked like they have been pressed-ironed [from my fading memories].
My grandparents used to run a furniture shop along the main Joo Chiat Road. And Hong Mao used to be tucked in a traditional Hainanese Kopitiam, where Kim Hokkien Mee took over (facing the also famous-in-joo-chiat Chinese temple). I spent my childhood growing up in Joo Chiat and grandfather would bring all of us to Hong Mao on saturday afternoons for tea-break. Those days in the good ole 1980s....
It is truly the BEST wanton mee in Singapore!
I still go back there every other Sunday, with my dad...and now with my converted husband who didnt know much about the glorious food in the East last time.
Why that is an interesting bit of history! Thanks for that golden nugget!
Post a Comment