Chin Choon Prawn Noodle: Cheap Malaysian-style dark sauce prawn noodles loaded with ingredients at Bukit Batok
I was curious and excited at the same time when I came across Chin Choon Prawn Noodle at a kopitiam located at Bukit Batok. Not just any prawn noodle though, it’s doused in a dark soya sauce mixture which resembles the style that our neighbours across the causeway practise.
I’ve had my fair share of wanton mee in Singapore done in a similar style but Malaysian-style prawn noodles? That’s a first! Even my Malaysian colleague, Reena, said that she has never tried or heard of dark sauce prawn noodles in her life. Oh well, authentic or not, it definitely piqued my curiosity.
Besides prawn noodles, Chin Choon Prawn Noodle also has a variety of pig’s innards that are available in a soup or served with noodle options.
What I tried at Chin Choon Prawn Noodle
I was offered a choice between five types of noodles that were on display. The options were: Bee hoon, mee pok, mee kia, kway teow and yellow noodles. I started the ball rolling with the dry Prawn Noodle (S$4.50).
The poor kway teow (which was my choice) underneath was suffocated by the mountain of ingredients that were piled on top. It had four halved prawn slices, taugeh, a few slices of pork and fishcake, lettuce and a sprinkling of golden brown garlic bits on top— the quantity of ingredients is certainly generous at this price point!
I ended the kway teow‘s agony by tossing them up with all the ingredients, allowing it to take centre stage finally. There was some oil added to the mix, which made its flat surfaces gleam! The colour of the accompanying ingredients also became a little sun-kissed, which made the whole bowl of noodles more drool-worthy— I called it “the black beauty”.
The kway teow seemed to be the perfect vessel to absorb all the flavours of the smoky chilli and the dark soya sauce mixture. It was incredibly delicious and glided down my throat effortlessly with just the right amount of heat kicking you at the end.
With each bite that I took, the mini browned garlic bits were like supporting backstage crew releasing their buttery and pungent flavours every once in a while.
The prawn slices were incredibly fresh and firm. If you’re not a fan of fatty pork, you would definitely love the pork slices served here. Unfortunately, I’m the exact opposite and found the pork to be a little bit tough and dry for my liking.
I have to give a shout-out to the fish cake slices. They were incredibly thiccc and tasted good, unlike other places where you’ll be served some factory-made nonsense.
While enjoying my bowl of Prawn Noodles, I was a little disappointed that Chin Choon Prawn Noodle does not add fried pork lard to their noodles— I was missing that familiar umami-ness. Don’t get me wrong though, the noodles were still on point without them.
I moved on to the next dish, the Pig’s Kidney Noodle (S$5.50). They also have intestines and liver choices as well, all for the same price. I chose yellow noodles and opted for a soup version instead. It was served with a generous portion of kidneys, pieces of green lettuce, and taugeh.
Before I started wolfing down my noodles, I decided to give the broth a taste. The incredible flavours of the soup lifted my spirits instantly. It was sweet and had extracted all that wonderful essence that was released from the prawn shells.
The yellow noodles were cooked to perfection with satisfying crunchy textures coming from the humble green lettuce and taugeh. I was glad that the soup didn’t absorb much alkaline flavours coming from the noodles, which would usually be a little off-putting.
I think you’ll agree with me that pig’s kidneys are seldom served at hawker stalls in contrast to its other two popular counterparts (liver and intestines). Chin Choon Prawn Noodle has done a good job in handling these delicate kidneys, as the texture was amazingly tender and incredibly clean-tasting.
Final Thoughts
We also tried out the mee kia option of the Prawn Noodle which seemed to lack its absorption of flavour compared to the kway teow version. The noodles served here are definitely unique as I had never encountered dark sauce prawn noodles until my visit that day.
Chin Choon Prawn Noodle may have been located at a regular kopitiam underneath a HDB void deck, but the lush greenery surrounding it, and the fact that it was just next to a park connector, made dining here super relaxing— the cooling weather was an added bonus!
In fact, you wouldn’t expect a BMW to come crashing into the back of this peaceful coffeeshop back in 2019, into the very same stall that I had just reviewed, would you?
For something so unique in Singapore, I do not mind travelling down to Bukit Batok just to try their noodles again.
Expected damage: S$4.50 – S$14.50 per pax
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