Pure Prawn Noodle • Back to Basics Wee's Prawn Mee @ Wee's Family Coffee Shop near Kaki Bukit MRT Station 🦐

In today's Singapore, prawn noodle is a popular dish but there seems to be an obsession with big, big, big. Big prawns, big umami kick, big portions. I love today's big, big, big style too but find going back to basics sometimes refreshing and just as satisfying. For a delicious, down-to-earth prawn mee, I go to Wee's Family Coffeeshop at block 117, Bedok Reservoir Road. Price $3.90 a serving in 2022.

Stall name: Wee's Family Coffee Shop 黄家咖啡店

Address: 117 Bedok Reservoir Road, #01-50, Singapore 470117

Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Kaki Bukit station

Tel: 6743 7482

Hours: 8:15am till sold out (prawn noodle)

Boss Milton Wee's idea is simple. The popular zhi char shop uses a lot of prawns and crayfish every night. Being the sensible businessman that he is, Milton decided to use the shells and heads from the previous night to make and serve prawn mee for breakfast at Wee's Family Coffeeshop. So, prawn noodle is available from 8am.

Five years and at least three editions on, today's Wee's prawn mee is the epitome of prawn mee simplicity but certainly not short on flavours and taste.

Made with prawn and crayfish shells and heads, the pure crustacean soup has a smooth round body and robust crustacean umami in layers. It's classy pure prawn soup simplicity without pork or seasoning - you can taste the difference with every mouthful. 

Wee's Family's pure prawn noodle is the only one in Singapore as far as I know. Prawn noodle in Singapore (Penang and even Xiamen) generally have pork for added flavour and body.

No extra large, Del Monte banana size prawns but they were fresh - the flesh was tenderly crunchy, succulent and sweet, and that's enough for me.

But, they were not shelled. Personally, I prefer shelled prawns so that I can keep my fingers dry to take photos 😬

Bak pok (lard croutons), lean pork slices, egg, beansprouts, kang kong and in-house fried shallots add their flavours and textures to the dish. The lard croutons are served separately at the side (not floating in the soup) on request to keep them crisp and dry.

A mix of yellow noodles and skinny bee hoon is my usual choice - the rice vermicelli pick up the soup's umami flavours and I like the bite and taste of yellow noodles.

Swee (nice).

I like it with cut chili in soy sauce or chili powder. These work well with the pure prawn soup but I used them only sparingly as I don't want anything to disturb the taste profile of the pure prawn soup. They also have a robustly savoury-salty-spicy sambal chili which I feel didn't really go well together with the soup. You should try it and see.

Get Wee's prawn roll (hae cho) to go with your prawn mee. It's a blend of fresh minced prawn and pork with carrot, scallion, and large bits of water chestnut rolled tightly in tofu skin and deep fried to a golden brown crisp outside. It's well fried, so there was no slick on or inside the roll.

Nice savoury sweet flavours from the meats' succulent tenderness and juicy crunchy chestnut. Shiok.

Get also Wee's har cheong gai. Nice golden crisp outside and tender juicy flesh inside. It's the old school type which uses fresh chicken and so the savoury fermented prawn seasoning's intensity is moderate, leaving some room for us to enjoy the chicken's natural sweetness in the juicy meat.

Old school prawn mee, prawn roll and har cheong gai together for breakfast - good combination, right?

Did you notice that these were actually three prawn dishes? 🦐 😋

Restaurant name: Wee's Family Coffee Shop

Address: Block 117 Bedok Reservoir Road, Singapore 470117 (5 minute walk from Kaki Bukit MRT station)

Tel: +65 6743 7482

Hours: 8:00am - 11:30pm (prawn noodle served for breakfast 8:30am - 1pm)

Date visited: 5 Oct 2020 | Reviewed by Tony Boey in 18 Sep 2022