Old-School Wonton Mee – the Noodles are the Star!

Hi Makan Kakis,

We welcome back Gek Pang, founder of Surrey Hills Grocer, who certainly has been keeping busy! Since we last had her in the GOLD 905 studio, she has expanded her Aussie produce & cafe empire with a new fourth outlet at Raffles City!

Today, Gek recommends a go-to comfort food that isn’t fancy, but its flavour fills her with nostalgia and is a family favourite. She loves this wonton mee so much that when she used to live in Melbourne, Australia, she would bookend her trips back home to Singapore with visits to this place. Her interest in the noodles was so serious that before opening Surrey Hills Grocer, she even approached the owners with the possibility of franchising the business! Listen to our chat & download the podcast below. And scroll down for the video and more!

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Found in a heritage shophouse along East Coast Road and flanked by perhaps more famous and swankier eateries, Mei Yuen Restaurant’s slightly run-down appearance adds the charm of a bygone era to the food they serve. Their wonton mee is not immediately impressive, rather its selling point is how simple and basic it is. Consisting of just egg noodles, sliced char siew, a few wontons and caixin, Mei Yuen Restaurant’s signature dish gives you a really old school taste.

Gek usually opts for the dry version of the wonton noodles, with a little bowl of soup on the side ($5 for a generous portion).  No frills and nothing fancy here, but the noodles do stand out, as does the chilli sauce, which is made in-house from scratch. Gek loves how it’s not a thick sambal paste, but a more liquid vermillion concoction that has its own unique spicy, savoury & slightly sweet taste.

The wontons are not of the luxe dim sum restaurant variety, but have the rustic appearance of being made quickly and efficiently. The small pork dumplings end up however they look the day the staff do it on the day! This essentially means a dab of minced pork balled up in a wonton wrapper. Gek says with a frank laugh that wonton skin is probably nicer than the meat, but she’s ok with that. Because she’s really there just for the top quality noodles.

This wonton mee is not something Gek shares much with friends, but it remains a firm favourite with her immediate family for a very sweet reason. If food is a love language, then this dish speaks volumes of her parents’ care for her.  Often wthout her having to ask, they’ll takeaway a few portions when they are in the Katong area and stash them in the fridge for Gek. That way, whenever she feels like it she can heat up a favourite meal conveniently despite her busy schedule.

Nice memories triggered and beautiful story aside, the noodles truly are amazing. Even after being kept overnight, reheating does’t compromise the quality. Gek usually reheats by steaming the dish, but when she’s feeling a bit lazy and opts to use the microwave instead, the noodles remain just as “QQ”.  She simply zaps them with a few sprinkles of water, and they emerge from the microwave very bouncy and never clumpy. The noodles don’t stick together and taste as if they were freshly cooked.

Since discovering Mei Yuen Restaurant over a decade ago, Gek says that the owners have literally seen her grow up as a regular there. And though service may not “exactly friendly”, Gek still and sees value in giving this standalone F&B business more support – the food is worth it! It has to be noted that when I paid them a visit though, the guy manning the stall was very jovial and friendly. I had a very quiet, pleasant late lunch at around 2.45pm with 3 other customers in the restaurant. 

As I ate, I also happily took in my surroundings – the dining room which looks untouched by time – from the tiles tiles on the walls and floor, to the signage in Chinese characters, to the wooden clock hanging on the walls and the classic wooden kopitiam chairs. The traditional-style wonton noodles were hearty, wholesome and comforting – a real reminder of the kind I grew up eating. As was the restaurant itself, which transported me back to the 80s. Nothing like memories and nostalgia to make a meal tastier!

Getting up to leave, I couldn’t resist taking away crispy roasted pork (siew yoke), roasted duck and a few more packets of wonton mee for my family to try. There’s also another stall in the same restaurant selling roasted chicken rice (it had sold out and was closed for the day) that might be worth a try next visit!

TASTE:
Mei Yuen Restaurant
233 East Coast Road, Singapore 428928
Open: 8am – 7pm (closed on Wednesdays)