A savoury hawker lunch: 炒苏东虾面 (stir-fried sotong prawn mee), $4. 😋

What I had:

Fried Hokkien-style noodles with squid and prawn, beansprouts and egg, with sambal and a calamansi on the side

This is the paler, dry-ish style of fried Hokkien noodles, made with a mix of springy yellow noodles and thin bee hoon. They get wok-fried with egg and beansprouts, then moistened with a savoury prawn stock so the strands soak it up and turn savoury and a little sticky, with that smoky wok hei running through.

The seafood is the draw: sweet slices of squid (sotong) with a gentle chew, and prawn for that firm, briny bite, scattered through the noodles. It is generous and comforting, the kind of plate you happily work your way through.

The two things that finish it are the sambal and the calamansi: a smear of that spicy, shrimp-paste chilli stirred in, and a good squeeze of the lime over the top, which brighten and lift the whole plate so it never feels heavy. At $4 for a seafood-topped plate this size, it is honest, everyday hawker value.

Overall: 4.4 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Smoky prawn-stock noodles with sweet squid and a bright squeeze of lime, comforting and good value. Would re-order.

Original IG post