Soup or Dry, This Prawn Mee Hits the Spot!

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Our Makan Kaki Lambert Chen (co-owner of Seafood Restaurant Diamond Kitchen & Modern Japanese Izakaya iKO) is back this week to tell us about his favourite place for Prawn Noodles and it’s a stall at Adam Road Food Centre that really needs no introduction. Adam Road Noo Cheng Big Prawn Noodle has been around for decades and Lambert finds himself returning often for a hearty prawn-centric meal.

A self-professed big eater, Lambert enjoys the best of both prawn noodle worlds and always orders a bowl of the dry (pork ribs and big prawn $10, 12, $16 or $20) version and a bowl of the soup version. Speaking of soup, a good prawn mee must always start with a well-prepared broth with depth of flavour. Prawns, prawn shells, pork bones all need to be boiled for hours to extract maximum flavour from the basic ingredients and at Noo Cheng, Lambert says the boss spares no expense in creating his signature stock.

Indeed, everything else is kept clean and simple, but the broth fairly bursts with a strong prawn taste. It may not be as thick as other broths I’ve had elsewhere, but it’s undeniably tasty, with layers of naturally sweet, savoury and umami flavours coming through from the meticulously brewed prawn & pork mixture.

The least expensive $10 bowls are pictured here, yet the portions of pork ribs and big prawns are satisfyingly generous. Lambert finds the large slabs of the bone-in meat boiled to perfection – so tender and soft, they slide off the bone. And then there’re the big prawns, which are very fresh – their briny sweetness really shines.

For the dry version of the prawn noodles, its secret lies in an excellent savoury-sweet-spicy sauce – redolent with chilli, shallot oil and lard. Lambert is partial to “white noodles” (thick vermicelli), but there are varieties to suit your tastes. Choose also from kway teow, bee hoon or yellow noodles – I think the latter are the best choice for that whiff of alkaline flavour that enhances the classic prawn noodle taste.

If you love your food spicy, Lambert’s final tip is to request for lots of chilli powder – he likes to add loads into both his dry and soup versions and even helps himself to extra chilli padi (in light soy sauce) for that searing kick!

TASTE:
Adam Road Noo Cheng Big Prawn Noodle
Adam Road Food Centre
2 Adam Rd, #01-17, S(289876)
Open Daily: 10am – 4.30pm; 6.30 – 11.30pm (Closed Mondays)
Tel: +65 9693 7961