Mary, the second generation owner is mulling over how to continue the legacy of this heritage stall started by Tan Ah Hui as a humble pushcart in Tiong Bahru in 1963.
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Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle was operating in Longhouse kopitiam near Jalan Besar stadium in 1986 before Longhouse kopitiam moved to Longhouse Eating House at Upper Thomson Road in 2002.
In 2014, Ah Hui again moved the stall to Balestier Market as Longhouse Eating House was redeveloped into a residential-commercial complex.
Mary is looking for a hawker centre stall to continue operations after 13 Jul 2023. But, bidding for a suitable stall at the right rent is not easy - she has made several unsuccessful bids so far.
Furthermore, finding helpers is always a challenge but Mary can't operate alone with the long hours. Mary is also having pains and difficulty controlling both her wrists - cartilage worn out from overuse from a decade of cooking 14 hours a day, six days a week.
If Mary can't find a suitable hawker centre stall, she will take a break to give her wrists time to (hopefully) heal.
I had Ah Hui's signature big prawns today. It is still as good as my last visit.
Scroll down to read the details from my last few visits below.
Meanwhile, we wish Mary the best and hope we can preserve Ah Hui's 60 year old legacy. If you have any idea where Mary could restart operations, please share in the comments.
Thank you 🙏
Stall name: Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodles · Long House
Address: 411 Balestier Road, Singapore 329930
Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Novena station
Tel: 8198 8585
Hours: 8:00am - 8:00pm (Mon off)
Four of us came to visit Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodles · Long House at Balestier Market.
Towkay neo (lady boss) Mary was in the house.
The prawn mee soup cost $15 each and the extra prawns cost $5.50 per piece. (Extra prawn prices are seasonal.) The oyster omelette cost $10.
One of us also got the dry version, $15 also.
I haven't been to Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodles for a while. The soup has changed - for the better in my opinion. In the past, the Chinese herbal taste is quite pronounced, reminding me of herbal bak kut teh. Now, lady boss Mary has toned down on the herbs, thus letting the crustacean umami of the prawns show up a bit more. So, now the soup tastes savoury umami with natural prawn sweetness. There is also a slight pepperiness. The herbs are still there but in the background and much more subtle.
They have grey prawn, tiger prawn, and ang kar (red feet) prawn depending on the availability. Today, we had tiger prawns.
The big prawns were halved but not shelled.
Ah Hui Big Prawn is famous for their....... big prawns, lah 😄 They have a good reputation of big and fresh prawns at reasonable price. Service is friendly too. There's no pressure to go for the big prawns if you prefer normal size prawns.
You know I don't like to peel prawns (because I need to keep my fingers dry to take photos) but here at Ah Hui, the prawn meat come off the shell easily.
The prawn was meaty. The thick flesh was tender with a light crunch to the bite. The meat was sweet and complemented by the savoury sweet peppery flavours of the soup which accentuated the prawn's freshness.
Then the pig tails - I love pig tails with my prawn mee.
The pig tail was cooked to just the right doneness. The skin had a nice soft-tender crunchiness, the meat soft-tender juicy. It tasted porcine sweet. Just wonderful.
There was just enough yellow mee to help me enjoy the big prawns, pig tail and soup. The noodles were nicely done, soft-tender, slurpy with flavours from the savoury umami peppery soup clinging to the strands.
When you crave for big prawns, check out Ah Hui Big Prawn · Long House in Balestier Market. They have good tasty soup to complement the excellent quality big prawns which are reasonably priced.
There's another Ah Hui Big Prawn · Long House outlet at Kovan 209 Food Centre 👈 click
Written by Tony Boey on 7 Jan 2021 | Updated 23 May 2023
6 Feb 2016. As a pig tail lover, I long wanted to treat myself to a bowl of pig tails at Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodles. So, a few like minded pig tail lovers gathered at Balestier food centre this morning.
Balestier food centre is a bright and clean space which is kept comfortably cool with huge fan coolers. I used to spend hours here as a child in 1960s Singapore when this place was a dingy wet market. Never dreamed that 40+ years later, I will be here regularly to chill over good food and coffee with buddies.
Our favourite stall here is Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle, Long House.
Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle's claim to fame is.... of course, big prawn noodle lah.
But, today we are here to indulge in pig tails :-D
The pig tail comes with noodles and I opted for mee pok today (other times, I also enjoy mee kia).
To me, since the egg less noodles at most Singapore noodle places are generic, the winning trick is in robust tasting tossing sauce and garnish. Ah Hui's noodles got everything I like - in the robust tasting sauce there is vinegar, sambal chili (hae bee hiam), soy sauce, shallot oil, fried shallot crackles, pork lard and fried lard crackles (as much as you like :-D ). The noodles are also done nicely tender al dente.
And then, there is the pig tail.
Ah Hui's pig tail is served in a bowl of Ah Hui's signature, slightly herbal broth. The flavourful, not overly greasy savoury sweet herbal broth has little or no synthetic flavour enhancers and I was able to drink all of it.
Pig tail has the best combination of skin, fat, meat and bone in a pig, in my humble opinion. Ah Hui cooked it just right - the skin has a spring in its tender coil, the fat is juicy, the soft meat still has bite and the bone has little gaps with bits of flavour from the juices that tease my tongue and taste buds. Ah......., the joy of humble, simple sweet things.
Yeah.... pig tails are quite a niche thing... but Balestier food centre has plenty of choices and Ah Hui stall itself has a few other delicious dishes to offer.
Traditional curry laksa.
Fried seafood pancake.
Delicious tender bouncy sole fish fishballs - I've not seen these sold anywhere else in Singapore.
And, Ah Hui Big Prawns has a fishball story.
It was a privilege and humbling to meet the founder Mr Tan Ah Hui.
Ah Hui started work at a fish ball noodle push cart stall in Tiong Bahru Singapore when he was 13 years old. As he was well built, Ah Hui's first job was to smack the fish meat for making fish balls. That sealed his life long journey with fish ball noodles.
Ah Hui then moved a few more times around Singapore before settling down in the popular Long House Eating House along Upper Thomson Road. Ah Hui's stall had no name but everyone knew it as the famous Long House Big Prawn Noodles.
When Long House food centre was demolished to make way for a new residential-commercial development, Ah Hui moved his stall to here in Balestier food centre.
Now, he has to give it a name and so it's Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle, Long House. Naturally.
Despite his fame with big prawns, Ah Hui never forgot his roots and attachment to fish balls. So, he has a separate stall also at Balestier food centre serving excellent hand made fish balls - but, that fishball story shall be for another post :-D
Today, it's glorious pig tails :-D
->> If you are a pig tail lover, come and get it at Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle.
Restaurant name: Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle 阿辉大虾面
Address: Balestier Market, 411 Balestier Road, Singapore
Tel: 8198 8585
GPS: 1.325805, 103.849047 / 1°19'32.9"N 103°50'56.6"E
Hours: 8:00am to 8:00pm (Closed on Mondays)
Non Halal
Date visited: 6 Feb 2016
29 Jul 2015. I've heard a lot about the famous Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodles at the now demolished Long House food centre along Thomson Road. For fans of Ah Hui, the stall has moved to Balestier Market along Balestier Road (old news ;-p ).
Restaurant name: Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodles 阿辉大虾面
Address: Balestier Market, 411 Balestier Road, Singapore
GPS: 1.325805, 103.849047
Hours: 8:00am to 8:00pm (Closed on Mondays)
I've not eaten at Ah Hui's before at Long House but have been to their Balestier stall a few times as it is the favourite haunt of a few of my makan kakis (foodie buddies).
Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle stall is now run by James and wife Mary, the second generation owners.
The broth at Ah Hui is not prawn broth at all, but a herbal broth with a secret formula created by James' father, Tan Ah Hui - Big Prawn's founder.
Ah Hui's big prawns are kept iced, never frozen.
The large wild sea prawns are kept under an ice blanket, and only blanched in Ah Hui's signature herbal broth just before serving.
Big prawn (halved) noodles in soup.
My personal preference is for the "dry" version as I can enjoy the prawns, soup and noodles separately.
The generic yellow noodles were tossed in a robust blend of premium soy sauce, lard, lard crackles, fried shallot, sambal chili sauce, garlic, and ketchup. The intense flavours are appealing to Ah Hui's strong following of fans. Personally, my taste buds nowadays are tuned to gentler flavours.
The big sea prawns (either Ang Kar 紅腳 or Sway Kar 小腳) in herbal broth.
The savoury sweet medium bodied broth has slight herbal notes. The flavours were further intensified with a dash of premium soy sauce, shallot oil, fried shallots and lard crackles.
I've asked for just the broth without garnishes of soy sauce, shallot oil, fried shallots etc. I like the savoury sweet herbal flavours neat - all by itself :-D
The big sea prawns were merely blanched in the herbal broth just before serving, so we were able to taste the meaty prawn's natural crustacean sweetness.
I appreciate it this way instead of short cuts like pre-cooking the prawns or soaking them in the broth. Kudos to James and Mary for the extra effort to serve customers better food.
Love these ocean fresh meaty prawns done just right in herbal broth.
Next time, I shall also go for the prawns plus pig tail version at Ah Hui as I am a pig tail person ;-p
Balestier Market - this place holds many memories for me as I was studying nearby in Balestier Hill West Primary School (now demolished) in the 1960s. I spent many hours roaming these streets and the (then) wet market.
Disclosure: James declined our payment for the food consumed.
Dates visited: 29 Jul 2015
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
And then, there is the pig tail.
Ah Hui's pig tail is served in a bowl of Ah Hui's signature, slightly herbal broth. The flavourful, not overly greasy savoury sweet herbal broth has little or no synthetic flavour enhancers and I was able to drink all of it.
Pig tail has the best combination of skin, fat, meat and bone in a pig, in my humble opinion. Ah Hui cooked it just right - the skin has a spring in its tender coil, the fat is juicy, the soft meat still has bite and the bone has little gaps with bits of flavour from the juices that tease my tongue and taste buds. Ah......., the joy of humble, simple sweet things.
Yeah.... pig tails are quite a niche thing... but Balestier food centre has plenty of choices and Ah Hui stall itself has a few other delicious dishes to offer.
Traditional curry laksa.
Fried seafood pancake.
Delicious tender bouncy sole fish fishballs - I've not seen these sold anywhere else in Singapore.
And, Ah Hui Big Prawns has a fishball story.
It was a privilege and humbling to meet the founder Mr Tan Ah Hui.
Ah Hui started work at a fish ball noodle push cart stall in Tiong Bahru Singapore when he was 13 years old. As he was well built, Ah Hui's first job was to smack the fish meat for making fish balls. That sealed his life long journey with fish ball noodles.
Ah Hui then moved a few more times around Singapore before settling down in the popular Long House Eating House along Upper Thomson Road. Ah Hui's stall had no name but everyone knew it as the famous Long House Big Prawn Noodles.
When Long House food centre was demolished to make way for a new residential-commercial development, Ah Hui moved his stall to here in Balestier food centre.
Now, he has to give it a name and so it's Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle, Long House. Naturally.
Despite his fame with big prawns, Ah Hui never forgot his roots and attachment to fish balls. So, he has a separate stall also at Balestier food centre serving excellent hand made fish balls - but, that fishball story shall be for another post :-D
Today, it's glorious pig tails :-D
->> If you are a pig tail lover, come and get it at Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle.
Restaurant name: Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle 阿辉大虾面
Address: Balestier Market, 411 Balestier Road, Singapore
Tel: 8198 8585
GPS: 1.325805, 103.849047 / 1°19'32.9"N 103°50'56.6"E
Hours: 8:00am to 8:00pm (Closed on Mondays)
Non Halal
Date visited: 6 Feb 2016
29 Jul 2015. I've heard a lot about the famous Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodles at the now demolished Long House food centre along Thomson Road. For fans of Ah Hui, the stall has moved to Balestier Market along Balestier Road (old news ;-p ).
Restaurant name: Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodles 阿辉大虾面
Address: Balestier Market, 411 Balestier Road, Singapore
GPS: 1.325805, 103.849047
Hours: 8:00am to 8:00pm (Closed on Mondays)
I've not eaten at Ah Hui's before at Long House but have been to their Balestier stall a few times as it is the favourite haunt of a few of my makan kakis (foodie buddies).
Ah Hui Big Prawn Noodle stall is now run by James and wife Mary, the second generation owners.
The broth at Ah Hui is not prawn broth at all, but a herbal broth with a secret formula created by James' father, Tan Ah Hui - Big Prawn's founder.
Ah Hui's big prawns are kept iced, never frozen.
The large wild sea prawns are kept under an ice blanket, and only blanched in Ah Hui's signature herbal broth just before serving.
Big prawn (halved) noodles in soup.
My personal preference is for the "dry" version as I can enjoy the prawns, soup and noodles separately.
The generic yellow noodles were tossed in a robust blend of premium soy sauce, lard, lard crackles, fried shallot, sambal chili sauce, garlic, and ketchup. The intense flavours are appealing to Ah Hui's strong following of fans. Personally, my taste buds nowadays are tuned to gentler flavours.
The big sea prawns (either Ang Kar 紅腳 or Sway Kar 小腳) in herbal broth.
The savoury sweet medium bodied broth has slight herbal notes. The flavours were further intensified with a dash of premium soy sauce, shallot oil, fried shallots and lard crackles.
I've asked for just the broth without garnishes of soy sauce, shallot oil, fried shallots etc. I like the savoury sweet herbal flavours neat - all by itself :-D
The big sea prawns were merely blanched in the herbal broth just before serving, so we were able to taste the meaty prawn's natural crustacean sweetness.
I appreciate it this way instead of short cuts like pre-cooking the prawns or soaking them in the broth. Kudos to James and Mary for the extra effort to serve customers better food.
Love these ocean fresh meaty prawns done just right in herbal broth.
Next time, I shall also go for the prawns plus pig tail version at Ah Hui as I am a pig tail person ;-p
Balestier Market - this place holds many memories for me as I was studying nearby in Balestier Hill West Primary School (now demolished) in the 1960s. I spent many hours roaming these streets and the (then) wet market.
Disclosure: James declined our payment for the food consumed.
Dates visited: 29 Jul 2015
Return to Johor Kaki homepage.
Strange, you never mention their la la clam with prawns noodle.
ReplyDeleteWent to visit today only to find that it has closed. Having tried so many different prawn noodles, Ah Hui Prawn mee is in fact as good or even better than Jalan Sultan Prawn mee. Unfortunately the previous location was just not helping them. I hope they can find a better location this time round.
ReplyDelete