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!

HEAR:

SEE:

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.

Fiery-Hot Old School Wanton Mee

• LISTEN: & download the podcast of this week’s fiery-hot episode
• READ: the full story at CNA Lifestyle.
• WATCH: Denise try this makan recommendation on GOLD 905’s facebook page.

If you think spice is nice and are looking for dishes that really turn up the heat, then this wanton mee stall is for you. Fellow hot head and foodie friend Chef Shen Tan of OG Lemak recommended I try the Eunos branch of a Dunman Food Centre stall that’s famous for serving up some of the spiciest noodles in Singapore. I gamely placed my asbestos taste buds at the mercy of Mr Sam Ng, whose family owns the two Dunman Char Siew Wan Ton Mee outlets. He’s in charge of the Eunos branch, which opened in March of 2019.

MasterChef SG’s Mel Lim – Fave Dark Soy Sauce Wanton Mee

Hi Makan Kakis!

This week, we welcome Hotel Operator Melissa Lim, who most recently exited the MasterChef Singapore competition. She tells us about that fateful episode, gives us insights into the MasterChef experience and also recommends her favourite wanton mee in Singapore.

HEAR:

• Click to listen/ download podcast – Part 1 of Mel’s interview (on being eliminated and lessons learnt).
• Click to listen/ download podcast – Part 2 of Mel’s interview (on her favourite MasterChef SG judge and her plans for a bubble tea and patisserie concept in future).
• Click to listen/ download podcast – Mel recommends Dark Soya Sauce Wanton Noodles!

SEE:
Passionate about French Patisserie & Japanese Cuisine, Melissa is usually based in Manila (The Philippines), where she is a hotel manager. But when she’s back in Singapore, it’s all about all the local hawker favourites she misses when she’s away. She loves this East-side stall for their unique wanton noodles.    

photo via bei-ing wanton noodles facebook.

Mel swears by Bei-Ing Wanton Noodles at Roxy Square, which offers up delicious and affordable options like Chicken Katsu noodles, Katong Otah and more. But the most outstanding of all is their insta-worthy, artistically-presented wanton mee. Each serving is presented with a stylish swoosh of dark sauce painted on the side of the bowl. Such flair, Mel observes, is worthy of a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Notice the artistic brush swoosh of sauce on the plate rim! Photo courtesy of Melissa Lim.

STAY HOME & EAT – DIY Wanton Noodles

HEAR:
Click to listen/ download podcast of this week’s delightfully do-it-yourself episode!

SEE:

Bee Kee Wanton Noodles created in my kitchen from their DIY kit!

This week, let’s bring on the best of both worlds and combine cooking at home with hawker quality wanton mee, all in a DIY kit delivered straight to your doorstep. You may already know Bee Kee Wanton Noodle in Lorong Lew Lian for their truffle & traditional wanton mee and now you can reproduce the latter in the comfort of your own kitchen!

Here’s what you get in the kit: 40 wantons, 10 bundles of noodles, 3 jars of sauces (crispy lard chunks sold separately).

I filled up a quick online order form for the Bee Kee wanton noodle kit, consisting of 10 bundles of their fresh thin egg noodles, 40 freshly wrapped pork wantons and 3 jars of sauce – homemade chilli, fragrant oil & signature soy sauce. Delivery was prompt and I received a text message with cooking instructions that were easy to follow and foolproof. I managed to turn out delicious wanton noodles of my own in less than 5 minutes!

WHICH WANTAN MEE DO YOU PREFER?

HEAR:
Click here to listen/ download podcast of this week’s double recommendation of wantan mee spiciness!

SEE:
Hello Makan Kakis! If you love Wantan Noodles as much as our Foodie Friend Xin Hui Helder-Eng, then you might already  be familiar with Eng’s Noodles House, of amazing springy noodles, crispy lard & fiery chilli fame. In particular, everybody talks about the extra-spicy chilli sauce that can make you cry and bring you to your knees! Of late though, there’s been some debate over the appearance of TWO Eng’s wantan mee restaurants along the same stretch of Tanjong Katong Road. Are they the same as the original noodles the late chef-owner Mr Ng Ba Eng gave us? Why are there two shops with almost the same name opposite each other? And which one is better?  Xin Hui did a little digging to find out…

Eng’s Wantan Noodle (original location)

Flawless, Flying Wanton Mee

HEAR:
Click to listen/ download podcast of this week’s flying noodle episode!

SEE:

Greetings Greedies! If you’re anything like our Makan Kaki, Chef Shen Tan of Ownself Make Chef, then you’re always on a quest for the perfect plate of Wanton Noodles. This week, Chef Shen recommends a find in Commonwealth Crescent that is run by an affable husband and wife team. He turns out perfectly cooked noodles that are firm to the bite, springy and never too alkaline in taste. And as a bonus, he’s fun to watch too – he puts on a veritable aeronautical display, flicking the noodles up high into the air before catching them in his ladle – highly theatrical and entertaining!

Chef Shen always goes for the dry version and the noodles come perfectly sauced, as does the char siew, along with some green veggies and a small bowl of billowing wantons on the side. A liberal helping of pickled green chilli completes a her Wanton Noodle meal, which she says is impossible to find fault with. All that for just $3! If you prefer, they do decent chicken feet noodles too.

However, for Chef Shen, their Wanton Noodles have never disappointed her. Across the region, you get different versions of Wanton Mee – there’s Hong Kong style, Malaysian style, but here, theirs is quintessentially Singaporean. You get great value, Wanton Noodles that taste fantastic AND a show too! Plus, parking is not difficult at the location and makes an excellent lunch treat.

So for flawless Wanton Noodles, this place definitely lives up to its name – Hao Hao, which mean very good in Mandarin!

TASTE:
Hao Hao Noodle House (好好麺食之家)
#02-83 Commonwealth Crescent Market & Food Centre
31 Commonwealth Crescent S(149644)

Makan Kakis Best of 2018 – Part 3

It’s time once again for Season’s Eatings and as we celebrate the end of another delicious year, enjoy this Makan Kakis special –  we’re looking back at 2018’s most popular makan recommendations!

We continue the festive feasting with these next contenders:

• Ownself Make Chef Shen Tan’s Wanton Char Siew Noodles recommendation.
• Gurmit Singh’s all-time favourite Char Kway Teow.
• Home-cook, Fashion Designer and Theatre Practitioner Oniatta Effendi’s go-to Nasi Jenganan & Rawon.

Wanton Mee – Wan of Singapore’s Most Wanted!

HEAR:
Click HERE to listen/ download podcast of this week’s saucy episode!

SEE:

Hello Foodies! We see the return of last week’s Makan Kaki, Head Chef of Burnt Ends, Jake Kellie, who’s off to Western Australia this weekend to headline the Feast in the Forest at the Margaret River Gourmet Escape. We caught him just before his departure to recommend more makan and he offered up his favourite Wanton Mee stall at Hong Lim Food Centre, which sees relentlessly long lines at lunchtime. Of course, Singaporeans know that a long queue means good things at the end of the wait and Chef Jake is no exception – he’s willing to wait in line because their noodles are just that good! A typical visit to Ji Ji Wanton Noodle Specialist sees Chef Jake start off with some crispy, tasty, deep-fried Wantons that are packed full of minced pork and shrimp.

To follow-up, he gets a bowl of dry Wanton Mee with Char Siew. He loves the fat, juicy parcels of boiled dumplings floating in soup, which he scoops into his noodles and mixes in with the sauce. This way, the soft, pillowy, boiled Wantons take on lots of flavour from the sauce mixture.