Wok Hey (chicken udon: $6.80 & Shanghai fried rice with prawns: $7.30)!
Sunday Wok Hey — chicken udon $6.80 + Shanghai fried rice with prawns $7.30. Modern Chinese wok-fired fast casual.
Dinner with BB at Wok Hey: chicken udon ($6.80) + Shanghai fried rice with prawns ($7.30). 😋
Wok Hey is the homegrown wok-fired fast-casual chain whose whole identity is in the name, wok hei (鑊氣), the smoky “breath of the wok” char you get from stir-frying over a screaming-hot flame. You watch them fire your order in the open kitchen, and that’s the appeal: hawker-style wok cooking in an air-conditioned mall.
What was on the table ($14.10):
- Chicken udon: thick udon noodles stir-fried hard with chicken and vegetables in a savoury soy-based sauce. The Japanese noodles take on a smoky, Chinese-wok character here, chewy and well-charred.
- Shanghai fried rice with prawns: fried rice tossed with egg, vegetables and prawns, lighter and cleaner in seasoning than a heavy dark fried rice, with the prawns adding a sweet bite.
Both dishes delivered that smoky wok-fried flavour that’s hard to get at home, the chicken udon the heartier, saucier of the two, the Shanghai fried rice the lighter, prawn-studded option. Portions were decent and it came together fast.
At $14.10 for the two, it sits a notch above hawker pricing but well below a sit-down zi char bill, fair for the convenience and the genuine wok hei.
Overall: 4.6 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Properly smoky wok-fried chicken udon and a clean Shanghai prawn fried rice, satisfying fast-casual done right. Would re-order.
