Wanton noodles + dumpling soup ($10)!
Hougang hawker wanton mee for two: char siu over springy egg noodles with chilli, plus a shared dumpling soup with leafy greens. $3.50 each + $3.
Lunch with BB at Hougang. Wanton mee x2 + dumpling soup, $10 total ($3.50 each + $3). πππΌ
What was on the tray:
- Two plates of wanton mee: thin springy egg noodles, generous char siu slices (the red-rimmed roast pork, properly thick-cut, not the paper-thin token slices), blanched leafy greens, one plate tossed paler, one with the chilli-sauce-stained orange tint
- Bowl of dumpling soup: plump dumplings with the leafy green vegetable in clear pork broth
- Two side bowls of soup: the standard wanton-stall freebie with scallion
- Side saucers: pickled green chilli + the braising sauce
Wanton mee (δΊει’) is the Cantonese import that Singapore made its own. The Hong Kong original is soup-based with the noodles submerged; the Singapore version is dry-tossed: noodles coated in a light sauce (ketchup-and-chilli on the spicy version, soy-and-lard on the plain), char siu on top, wantons served separately in soup. The chilli-or-no-chilli choice is visible on this tray, one plate of each.
The noodle test: good wanton mee noodles are thin, springy and slightly alkaline, cooked seconds and tossed before they clump. The char siu test: any stall can buy factory char siu; the better ones roast their own with a proper red rim and some fat left on. The thick-cut slices here passed.
The dumpling soup upgrade ($3) swaps the standard small wantons for the bigger, fuller dumplings (sui kow style): more meat, often with prawn and water chestnut in the filling, in the same clear pork-bone broth. Between two people it turns a $3.50 noodle plate into a proper two-course lunch.
The pickled green chilli on the side is non-negotiable wanton mee protocol: the sharp vinegar heat cuts the lard and sweet sauce. Stack a slice on every second bite.
At $10 total for two plates and a dumpling soup, this is classic heartland hawker pricing, the kind of lunch that still exists in Hougangβs older coffeeshops.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. πππΌ Solid Hougang wanton mee. The thick-cut char siu was the standout, dumpling soup worth the $3 every time. Would re-order.
