Wanton mee ($5)!
Tuesday hawker — wanton mee $5. Dry mee pok with char siew, soup wantons. Honest hawker pricing for the Cantonese classic.
Tuesday hawker lunch — wanton mee at $5. The reliable Singapore-Cantonese hawker classic.
We ordered:
- Wanton mee (dry) — $5
The mee pok noodles were the substantial component. Cooked to that proper QQ chew — slight bite, not over-soft, not chalky undercooked. Tossed in the classic sauce mix — dark sweet-soy, chilli paste, a touch of vinegar, pork lard oil for body. Each strand coated thoroughly.
Char siew slices were the headline topping. Properly caramelised edges, lean-fatty balance, with the proper sweet-soy lacquered colour. The Cantonese roast pork is the topping that defines wanton mee — bad char siew makes the dish forgettable, good char siew makes it memorable.
A handful of choy sum on top for green. The blanched leafy greens provide the small fresh component against the heavy sauce.
The side bowl of clear soup with three plump wantons (prawn-and-pork filling, thin skin) is the proper accompaniment. Light savoury broth with a piece of choy sum, palate-cleansing between bites of the heavy dry mee pok.
A small dish of pickled green chillies on the side for the optional sour-spicy lift.
At $5 a plate this is the standard hawker pricing for wanton mee in 2020. The $3-4 plates are mostly gone; $5 is the steady tier; $6-7 is the premium variant with the upgraded toppings.
The Tuesday hawker lunch slot is the small mid-week break from the home cooking rotation. Wanton mee is one of the consistent rotations through the year — every hawker centre has one or two stalls doing the dish, with the quality varying but always at the predictable pricing tier.
Phase 2 had restored the hawker centres to full operation. The wanton mee stalls have been steady through the year.
The pattern through December had stabilised. Home weekday cooking + hawker stops + occasional restaurant breaks + the steady weekend home brunch. By mid-month the year-end stretch was well underway.
Two weeks until 2021. The home cooking + hawker break routine that had carried us through 2020 was still the steady anchor.
Overall: 4.3 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Reliable wanton mee — would re-order.
