Not to be confused with fried Hokkien noodles which are flat yellow noodles stewed in dark gravy with seafood, meat, and cabbage - fried Hokkien prawn mee (or noodles) is a uniquely Singaporean culinary invention by southern Chinese immigrants, specifically, the Hokkiens.
Just like other longstanding street food favorites, fried Hokkien prawn mee has undergone some changes to suit evolving tastes. But at its heart, the main ingredients are round, yellow Hokkien noodles, bee hoon (to lighten the heavy starchiness of the noodles), beansprout, egg, squid, and of course, prawn. Some stalls have chosen to do away with Chinese chives and pork belly cubes, but most still include lard for a smoother texture. Then, there are condiments such as lime - its tang cuts through the grease - and sambal chilli. Traditionally, the dish was served with cut chilli.
Thankfully, there are many great fried Hokkien prawn mee masters who dish out plate after plate of excellent noodles across our island. Those in this review represent some of the best. But who's the best of the best?
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 5.30pm-2.30am. Closed once every two weeks, no fixed day.
Price: $3, $4, $5
Rating: 4.5/5
Just looking at Ah Hock's fried Hokkien mee made us drool. When we actually tasted the dish, it was fabulous as it looked! Although there wasn't a strong presence of the smokey "wok breath" flavour, it's so scrumptious it's enough to make you forget that little imperfection. The amount of moisture was just right. Even if you leave the dish out for a while, the noodles don't become dry and clumpy. The stock was light, but sweet and tasty.
Overall, the flavours were perfectly balanced. There's a good proportion of yellow noodles and bee hoon. No pork belly cubes were used, only prawn and squid, and they were tender and fresh. The fragrant sambal chilli deserved praise too, as it went very well with the noodles.
Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee
Opening hours: 11am - 3pm, or when food sells out.
Price: from $3
Rating: 4/5
Nam Sing is the place to go to for old-school, dry-style fried Hokkien mee. At times, though, it feels like we were eating fried bee hoon rather than Hokkien noodles, as there seemed to be more bee hoon than noodles. The yellow noodles were also mostly broken up. Otherwise, it was extremely palatable. The noodles were imbued with a delightfully charred aroma. Although it looked dry, the noodles were sufficiently moist and retained a pleasant, bouncy texture. You could also taste the seafood stock in both the bee hoon and yellow noodles. It might not be obvious, but the subtly sweet and savoury flavours were nicely balanced.
True to tradition, instead of sambal, only sliced red chilli was served as a condiment. If we had to nitpick, the prawn and squid were a little tough, and the serving could be more generous.
Come Daily Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee
Opening hours: Tues-Sat: 10.30am-9pm, Sun: 9am-9pm
Price: from $3
Rating: 4/5
Come Daily's fried Hokkien mee failed in the looks department, with only two small prawns and four slices of squid. But looks can be deceiving because the noodles had such great depth of flavour.
If you like the "wet" style of fried Hokkien mee, you'll love this. Purists might scoff at the use of thick bee hoon, but both noodles and bee hoon had soaked up all the umami or goodness of the robust stock. The noodles were coated in slick gravy and evenly interspersed with egg. It'd be nice if the cook had thrown in more prawns and squid; here, seafood was used as a garnish rather than an ingredient.
Geylang Lor 29 Fried Hokkien Mee
Opening hours: Tue-Sun: 11.30am - 9pm
Price: from $4
Rating: 3.5/5
Sticking to tradition, this stall still uses charcoal flames to fry its Hokkien mee, a method which is supposed to impart a special aroma that's impossible to achieve with gas fire. Charcoal flames are also supposed to cook the noodles more gently and evenly. Indeed, the noodles were well-cooked and had a lovely, smooth texture. The noodles and bee hoon had absorbed the stock well without being soggy. However, we couldn't detect much of that unique charcoal fragrance it was supposed to have.
Although flavourful, we'd prefer the seasoning to be less salty. For $4, you get three large tiger prawns, but not much squid. However, it was nice to see the presence of Chinese chives, which sadly, are often omitted by most fried Hokkien prawn mee hawkers these days.
Che Jian Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle
Opening hours: Mon-Sun: 5pm - 1am. Closed once or twice a month, no fixed day.
Price: $3, $4, $5
Rating: 3/5
If you prefer your fried Hokkien mee on the dry side, you'll like Che Jian's version. Here, the fine bee hoon was given the time to soak up the stock, so you could fully taste the flavours. There was a nice, slightly charred aroma as well. Overall, it was very traditional in style, with the use of pork belly cubes and lard cubes. However, the noodles tended to feel a little on the heavy side. Also, it would taste better with a sweeter stock. The seafood was a little overcooked, and the chilli was also too salty, with an overpowering taste of taucheo (fermented bean paste).
