Pork ribs prawn noodles x 2 + ngoh hiang ($19.10)!
Hawker prawn mee for two: twin pork rib prawn noodle bowls with bee hoon in a rich prawn-and-pork stock, plus a ngoh hiang platter. $6.50 each + $6.10.
Lunch with BB: twin pork ribs prawn noodles + ngoh hiang, $19.10. π
What was on the table:
- Two bowls of pork rib prawn noodles: bee hoon, prawns and pork ribs in the deep orange-red prawn stock
- Ngoh hiang platter: the fried beancurd-skin rolls, fried tofu and accompaniments, with the chilli and dark dips
Prawn noodles (θΎι’) is the Hokkien soup that takes the most work: the broth is simmered for hours from prawn heads and shells plus pork bones, the shells fried first to deepen the flavour, until it turns a deep, sweet, umami-rich orange-brown. The darker and more concentrated the stock, the more prawn went into it, and the colour of these bowls signalled a broth that had been built properly.
The pork rib version adds slow-cooked rib pieces to the standard prawns, the meat falling off the bone, making the bowl heartier. Ordered as two bowls for two with bee hoon (the noodle that soaks the rich stock best), it is the coupleβs prawn mee lunch.
The ngoh hiang (δΊι¦) platter is the prawn meeβs classic companion: five-spice pork-and-prawn rolls wrapped in beancurd skin and deep-fried, plus fried tofu and other items, cut up with the sweet flour-sauce dip. It is the fried side that turns a noodle lunch into a shared spread.
This was a repeat visit to the same stall, and the value of a reliable hawker is exactly that, you order knowing the prawn stock will have its depth and the ngoh hiang will be crisp. Both held up.
At $19.10 for two prawn mee bowls and a ngoh hiang platter, this is fair value for two.
Overall: 4.4 / 5. πππΌ The deep prawn-and-pork stock was the standout, the ngoh hiang the reliable side. Repeat visit confirmed, would re-order.
