Fried fish pao fan + fish roe prawn ball ($7.80)!
Golden Mile hawker fried fish pao fan: tomato-tinged seafood broth over rice with fried fish chunks and fish roe prawn balls, crispy rice and fried fish skin side. $5.80 + $2.
Lunch at Golden Mile. Fried fish pao fan + fish roe prawn ball, $7.80 total ($5.80 + $2). ๐๐๐ผ
What was in the bowl:
- The orange-tinged broth: tomato-and-seafood base with a visible simmer froth, cabbage melting through it
- Fried fish chunks: battered, golden, half-soaked and half-crisp
- Fish roe prawn balls: the pink-flecked handmade spheres, roe dotted through the paste
- Side box of crispy rice + fried fish skin: for pouring in
- Chilli dip: the bright orange garlic-chilli
Pao fan at hawker prices is the version that makes the genre make sense. The restaurant paofan wave pushed $15-$25 bowls; this Golden Mile stall runs the same architecture (rich broth, fried seafood, crispy rice poured over soaked rice) at $5.80 before add-ons.
The tomato-seafood broth is the homier school of pao fan base: tomatoes simmered into a fish-bone stock until the acidity rounds out, cabbage adding sweetness as it collapses. Less luxurious than the pumpkin-gold restaurant broths, more like the Teochew home pot the dish descends from.
The fish roe prawn ball add-on is worth the $2: hand-paste prawn balls with roe worked through, so the bounce comes with little pops. They drink the broth as they sit.
The crispy rice + fried fish skin side box is the texture insurance: pour in stages, not all at once, so each spoonful keeps some crackle. Fish skin holds longer than the rice puffs; alternate them.
At $7.80 all-in, Golden Mile Food Centre does it again: the most under-priced building in the pao fan conversation.
Overall: 4.3 / 5. ๐๐๐ผ The roe-studded prawn balls were the standout add-on. Honest, hot, generous bowl. Would re-order.
