Shabu sliced pork + prawns + ngoh hiang tasting ($22.50++)!
Macpherson prawn noodle restaurant: prawn mee with shabu-style sliced pork and prawns in a rich prawn broth, plus a ngoh hiang tasting platter. $14++ + $8.50++.
Lunch at a Macpherson prawn noodle restaurant: shabu sliced pork + prawns + ngoh hiang tasting, $22.50++. π
What was on the table:
- Prawn noodles: yellow noodles in a dark, rich prawn-and-pork broth with bean sprouts and chives
- Shabu sliced pork + prawns: thin shabu-style pork slices and whole prawns poached in the soup
- Ngoh hiang tasting platter: an assortment of the fried five-spice rolls, prawn fritters, beancurd and other items, with cucumber and the dips
Prawn noodles (θΎι’) is the Hokkien soup that rewards patience: the broth is simmered for hours from prawn heads and shells plus pork bones, the shells fried first to deepen the flavour, until the soup turns a deep umami-sweet brown. This was the restaurant-tier version, a richer, more concentrated broth than the hawker bowls, which is where the premium pricing goes.
The shabu upgrade is the touch that lifts it: instead of pre-cooked toppings, thin-sliced pork is poached shabu-style in the hot soup, staying tender and silky, alongside whole prawns. It is a more delicate, restaurant approach to a hawker classic.
The ngoh hiang tasting platter is the spread to share: ngoh hiang (δΊι¦) is the five-spice pork-and-prawn roll wrapped in beancurd skin and deep-fried, and a tasting platter brings the whole family of fried items, rolls, fritters, beancurd, with the sweet flour-sauce and chilli dips. It turns the meal into a proper sit-down spread.
At $22.50++ for the prawn mee combo and the ngoh hiang platter, this is a premium take on prawn noodles, a splurge over the $6-$8 hawker bowls, justified for a special meal.
Overall: 4.3 / 5. πππΌ The rich concentrated prawn broth with the silky shabu pork was the standout. Premium prawn mee tier, worth the occasional splurge.
