Teowchew Kway Tiao Mee @ Whampoa Food Centre · Over Half Century Heritage Hawker Stall 潮州粿条面汤

Stalking Whampoa / Balestier area this week, I stumbled upon a long queue at Teowchew Kway Tiao Mee, so decided to give it a try. This heritage stall with over fifty years of history, generations of fans, yet has very little social media mention.

Stall name: Teowchew Kway Tiao Mee 潮州粿条面汤

Address: 91 Whampoa Drive, stall #01-07, Singapore 320091

Hours: 6:00am - 10:00am (Sun & Mon off)

There was a constant queue of 10 - 15 people, the whole three hours I was hanging out at Whampoa Food Centre.

The stall actually has no brand name, their signboard just says what it sells, which is Teochew kway teow mee.

Mdm Lim and her husband started as pushcart hawkers in the Whampoa / Balestier area and moved into Whampoa Food Centre when it opened in 1973. Mdm Lim has retired and the stall is run by the second generation now with the third generation supporting.

Mdm Lim shared her gratitude about how this little food stall has provided for and blessed generations of her family. Through the years, Teowchew Kway Tiao Mee has a multigenerational following of loyal fans. Many are life long friends whom Mdm spoke fondly about.

My usual order at Teochew kway teow stalls is mee pok dry but by the time I got to the front of the queue at 8:30am, both mee pok and mee kia were sold out 😂

So, I went for kway teow dry, the $5 medium size serving. I quite like the careful plating, that flamboyant splatter swoosh of chili sauce and the beautiful bowl which the noodles were served in.

 

The mound of rice noodles, bean sprout and sauce was topped with minced pork, fish cake slices, two types of fish balls, herr kiao (fish dumpling) and a prawn (halved, shelled and de-veined 🙏  ).

The kway teow was the broad and thick type which I like. After vigorous tossing, they were fully enveloped with a spicy, savoury, tangy, lardy sauce (in that order of presence). The spiciness was quite assertive and hot (more than most tah or dry mee elsewhere).

There was a lot of noodles for $5. Next time, I shall order the same $5 serving but request for less noodles.

The fish balls which were hand made with yellowtail fish at the stall were quite special. They were thumbnail small, soft like little balls of cotton (okay slightly but not much firmer with a subtle bounce to the bite), and have a nice sweet fresh fish taste.

Pro-tip: Get more fish balls next time.

They make their own soft, sweet savoury fish cakes too.

I like their her kiao too. It's the small, dainty, thinner type but it has a nice soft crunchy bite and nice sweet savoury taste. Yeah, get more of these too. I don't know how (been here only once)..., but ask and see 😄

There was one of this smooth shiny round fishball. Taste nice (subtly savoury sweet) and texture also okay (light spring to the bite).

There was a good size prawn, halved. I appreciate it a lot that they shelled and de-veined the prawn (my two pet peeves about eating prawns are shells and vein - that black gunk that runs along the prawn's spine).

I like their plain looking soup a lot. It is made with water from making fish balls and boiled with prawns for more flavour. I guess blanching mince pork in it would have imparted some flavours to the soup too. The soup has rich depth of sweet savoury flavours.

Another customer's order - one dry and one soup. Why do I get this feeling that I will enjoy the kway teow soup a lot 🤔 I have already tasted their tasty soup and their fish ball and herr kiao are excellent. I'll find out next time 😄

                  

Written by Tony Boey on 4 Jan 2022