Friends would know that I am a fan of Michelin-starred Chef Kang’s at Mackenzie Road, especially for the Soon Hock Fish Soup and Simmered Rice Noodles in Superior Stock.
Late last year when I learnt that Chef Ang Song Kang opened Chef Kang’s Noodle House serving up Wanton Noodles at Toa Payoh, I headed down immediately. I enjoyed the springy noodles and char siew, though there were reviews that commented it was ”over-rated”.
It won a Michelin Bib Gourmand any way.
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He has set up another noodle-specialty eatery at Toa Payoh, located at Lorong 4 – a short walk away from the wanton noodle house. It is run by his proteges.
Would he be third time lucky?
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This is Prawn Noodles aka hae mee focused, serving up just two items on the menu – King Prawn Noodle Soup With Prawn Paste Spare Ribs ($10), and Hot Stone Prawn Paste Spare Ribs Rice ($10).
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Having a prawn noodle shop at the bottom of a HDB flat with a “Michelin-star chef” backing would attract some curious onlookers.
But would it be enough, especially when Toa Payoh is full of affordable and good hawker food?
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I ordered a noodles and bee hoon combination, and the bowl arrived piping hot with a king prawn divided in two, and deep-fried prawn paste pork chop placed on a metal holder to keep the piece crisp (tonkatsu ramen style).
Of course I headed for the soup first. It was mildly sweet, rather flavourful, but not as strong and robust as how I would like it to be.
A reason could be because chicken rather than pork is used as base in cooking up the stock.
A not-bad prawn soup, but not impressive enough.
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The prawn was fresh, pork chop succulent, but the true star of the bowl was in fact the fragrant and crunchy pork lard.
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Unfortunately, the Hot Stone Prawn Paste Spare Ribs Rice ($10) was a let-down and fairly disappointing.
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The rice though heated to 300°C and came in a sizzling hot stone with rice crisps at the bottom, fell short of flavours and aroma.
Despite adding more of the dark soy sauce, it did little to elevate the overall taste.
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Perhaps because all it had was egg and crispy pork lard, and needed more ingredients for some savouriness. The prawn paste pork chop didn’t gel much with the rest.
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Despite being a fan, I think that both dishes would need some form of tweaking, especially for the Hot Stone Rice.
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Chef Kang Prawn Noodle House
85 Lor 4 Toa Payoh, #01-328, Singapore 310085
Opening Hours: 10am – 6pm or till sold out (Tues – Sun), Closed Mon
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Da Shi Jia 大食家大大大虾面 (Killiney Road)
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