Dai Dong Prawn Noodles: Lost n Found!
Are there any fans of this particular stall amongst our readers? According to the owner, they were quite famous back in the 90's but since then they have been moving from place to place. Last year, they managed to settle in this coffeeshop and have slowly been building up a following again.
This is a case of a bit of pride and over-confidence I guess. The owner shared with me that he regretted not allowing the media to interview him or do a write up in his hey days because he felt that he didn't need it and wouldn't be able to manage too big a crowd. After he moved, business had not been so good and soon his once famous stall started to fade into history.
Well, it is hard to keep a good bowl of prawn noodles down. Over the last year, the stall has started to build up a regular following, including our very own SCS Butter who would eat there a couple of times a month. It was he who told me that the prawn noodle was as good, if not better than my current gold standard, Wah Kee over at Cambridge Road Food Centre.
With such a strong recommendation, I found myself at Rangoon Road one steaming hot afternoon, sipping on some delicious prawn noodle soup. Incidentally, this stall had taken over from Lam's Prawn Noodles whom I blogged about previously. Lam's have since moved down the road.
I thought that the soup was quite shiok and better than quite a lot of the other prawn noodles. It still has that robust prawn taste without being overly salty. The noodles were a bit of a dissappointment as they were almost pastey and translucent. I am not sure if it is just that day but surely it shouldn't be a big problem procuring some nice Hokkien Noodles. The prawns they use here are very succulent medium sized sea prawns which are peeled. The pork ribs have also been boiled till they are just nice and tender. 4.25/5
Conclusion
So any old fans of this stall who are happy to find out about their new location?
Dai Dong Prawn Noodles
97 Rangoon Road
94797181
7.30am to 3pm
Closed Mondays
18 comments:
If you cannot win the race, you're not good enough, as simple as that. It doesn't matter who wanted to interview you or had interviewed you before in the past, if you are not good enough today, then you are just not good enough.
We have known of many good places which folded because of factors such as bad location, bad management, high rentals etc. It is really a combination of a lot of factors and a bit of luck. Of course that is assuming that the food is good in the first place.
my family and i still frequent this stall.. they're located at starlight road now rite? we have "chased" them around singapore from farrer park to east coast road (the one wif the magnificient hokkien mee yea?) and back here again. the prawns are really fresh and for a dry prawn noodle lover like me, the spiciness of the whole dish is shiok!
just an interesting point to note, if u mass order from the uncle, he will actually "gabra" and forget or serve you noodles with the wrong ingredients. the other time we ordered prawn with pig's tail, bak kut without prawn and tau geh etc etc, and he did not get a single one right. haha. nevertheless, the quality of the food is there :)
-Francis
Glad to hear from a fan of the stall! Do you think the noodles can be better?
yes i actually think it could be better. the texture could be improved, with most of the flavor comin from the chilli. the people whom i know usually eats their prawn noodles the soup version, so it might not matter so much to them in my opinion. speaking of which, the soup broth is really good. i really like this place, as much as i like the one at hoe nam.
I am an old fan!! -waves-
Oh hi! Good to know you are an old fan, but I wouldn't consider you old!
Nice to have met you at last at the photography workshop
You are right Leslie, but I think business is all about judgement. Business acutement they call it. You make the decisions, where to rent a shop, what prawns to use, how much ingredients to prepare, how to attract customers, how to satisfy customers.
You can say there's a bit of luck but without a doubt, you have to make a lot of right decisions and together with luck, you become osmething.
For me, if you cannot go beyond the the basic level, even you can really cook very delicious food, then it's still going to be hard.
He is just not good enough, period. Of course now he can say those interviews may had changed the story but then who is to say if he had been interviewed, he wouldn't still be a nobody?
It's easy to say the ifs and buts ....but at the end of the day you have to ask, whats the point, the reality is that the game is fair and you're just not good eonugh today.
anon - have you actually tried the noodles?
you seem very quick to pass judgement that because the business is not doing as well, the food is not good.
there are many stalls who serve mediocre food and doing well on hype and past reputation as well. dont you agree?
Ya lor, sometime food may be popular not because it is nice but good marketing work. One of it like breadtalk.
Have you tried Hoe Nam Prawn Noodles behind (the now defunct) MacPherson Kopitiam? It's one of the best around in my humble opinion. Do try.
Yes Hoe Nam is very good. You can do a google search using the search bar or click on "Prawn Mee" in the directory to find it.
The link is here: Hoe Nam Prawn Mee
Actually, as much as I agree that Hoe Nam is quite tasty, they use MSG in the soup. I know since I'm quite sensitive to it.
That said, I still trudge there like a zombie for my fix. =)
How is this place? Any MSG?
Most places will put a bit of MSG. This place is no exception. MSG makes food taste good.
My favourite prawn noodle stall since Wahcow recommended it sometime ago. Always ask uncle for refill of soup. The msg used here is not so bad. I don't need to drink tons of water afterwards unlike some of the other stalls.
I have eaten this, really nice prawn and the uncle not bad
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i am a fan of this prawn mee stall! and yes, the uncle does tend to mix up the orders at times but overall not an issue. His trusty wife will always come back to you to double/triple check on your orders!
that being said, how about featuring another prawn noodle stall that is my ultimate fave - Ah Hwee Prawn Noodles along Selegie Road. It used to be at McKenzie Road, opposite the old Rex Theatre but has seen moved to the main Selegie stretch that is heading towards Little India.
Order the $5 bowl and trust me, you won't be disappointed!
It would be useful if you provide the actual address and opening times. : )
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