Wanton noodles ($15)!
Saturday upgraded wanton noodles $15 — premium-tier wanton mee at a sit-down spot. Double the standard hawker pricing for the upgraded execution.
Saturday late lunch with BB — wanton noodles at $15. The upgraded premium-tier wanton mee at a sit-down spot, three times the hawker pricing.
We ordered:
- Wanton noodles — $15
The $15 wanton mee tier is the upgraded sit-down restaurant version, distinct from the standard $4-5 hawker tier. The upgrade usually comes from the toppings spread, the noodle quality, and the restaurant execution overhead.
The premium toppings probably included:
- Multiple slices of char siew (the proper Cantonese-roast variety)
- A generous portion of prawn-and-pork wontons
- Sometimes a pork belly slice or roast pork (siew yoke)
- Blanched leafy greens
- Sometimes a soft-boiled marinated egg
- A small portion of pickled green chillies on the side
The char siew was the headline. Premium-tier wanton mee restaurants typically source their char siew from specialist Cantonese roast meat kitchens — properly caramelised edges, the fat-and-lean ratio leaning slightly fatty, the lacquered red glaze from the proper sweet-soy basting throughout the roast.
The wantons were probably hand-folded fresh in the restaurant kitchen rather than the frozen variety. The fresh wontons have the proper thin skin and the visible filling, with the better texture against the chewy skin.
The noodles were the springy egg variety. Properly QQ chewy, tossed in the classic sauce mix — dark sweet-soy, chilli paste, a touch of vinegar, pork lard oil for body.
The side soup with wontons came in a proper bowl with a piece of choy sum. Light savoury broth, palate-cleansing.
At $15 for the upgraded wanton mee, this is fair sit-down restaurant pricing. The standard hawker version runs $4-5; the premium tier triples the pricing for the upgraded execution and the proper sit-down format.
Wanton mee is the kind of dish where good hawker execution often beats restaurant execution. But the premium-tier version has its own appeal — better ingredients, the proper sit-down energy, more comfort than the hawker queue-and-bench format.
Overall: 4.5 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Strong premium wanton mee — would re-order occasionally.
