Noodle King — fried fish dumpling noodle + wanton soup ($4.50 + $1.50)!
Noodle King Chinatown — dry mee noodles with mushroom slices and choy sum, side of 4 fried fish dumplings, plus wanton soup with greens. $4.50 + $1.50.
Lunch today: Noodle King fried fish dumpling noodle + wanton soup at $6 combo, Chinatown. 😋
What was on the tray ($4.50 + $1.50):
- Dry yellow noodles plate with braised mushroom slices, choy sum, chilli.
- 4 fried fish dumplings in side dish (yu jiao, fried golden).
- Wanton soup bowl with greens + scallions.
This is the classic dry mee setup: the noodles come tossed in a dark, savoury sauce (the gravy pools at the bottom rather than drowning the strands), topped with braised mushroom slices and blanched choy sum, with a dab of chilli on the side to mix in for heat. Keeping the soup separate is the smart hawker move, the bowl of wanton soup with greens and scallions resets the palate between mouthfuls of the sauced noodles.
The reason to come to a stall like this, though, is the fried fish dumplings (yu jiao). Made from a springy fish-paste filling wrapped in a skin and deep-fried golden, they’re crispy on the outside and bouncy within, and four pieces turn a simple noodle plate into a proper meal. Add the wanton soup and you’ve got noodles, a fried side and a clear soup, a full Chinatown hawker lunch for around $6, which is hard to beat.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. Noodles had spring, the fried fish dumplings were crispy outside and bouncy within, and the wanton soup balanced it all. Honest hawker comfort. 😋👍🏼
