HK Wanton Mee: Smoked duck rolls & plates of Malaysian-style noodles from $3.80 at Hougang
Sometimes, the simpler the stall name, the better the food. A perfect example would be HK Wanton Mee located at Ci Yuan Hawker Centre. I’m not sure if the ‘HK’ in the name stands for Hong Kong, but I did find out that the owners hail from Malaysia.
I discovered this stall a few months ago when I ordered takeaway, and was blown away by how tasty their noodles were. I felt I needed to introduce this stall to my fellow readers at Sethlui.com, and so I returned to try out their other offerings.
What I tried at HK Wanton Noodle
I kickstarted my lunch with the Wanton Noodles (S$3.80). On the plate was a heap of noodles, slices of char siew, one fried wanton and green vegetables. It was accompanied by a bowl of soup containing 2 pieces of boiled wantons.
The noodles were finer than our usual mee kia, similar to those served at Hong Kong eateries.
After giving the noodles a good toss, the thin golden strands of mee had not only absorbed the savoury and spicy notes coming from the sauce mix, but had also taken on a sexy darker hue.
Every slurp of the noodles was pure enjoyment— smooth and perfectly seasoned.
Don’t expect charred and fatty slices of char siew here, they serve your old-school variety— lean and meaty. The one and only precious piece of fried wanton was nothing to shout about. It just provided a nice crispy element to the plate.
Besides the noodles, the other star of the dish was the boiled wanton. The meat was remarkably tasty and the skin was silky soft.
I wasn’t having high hopes of the clear broth, but I was blown away after I had my first spoonful. It was clean-tasting and naturally sweet. I wanted an extra huge bowl all to myself.
I was intrigued by the next dish, the Braised Soft Pork Ribs Noodles (S$5). It is a dish not commonly seen at hawker stalls (at least in my opinion).
It had about 5 pieces of soft pork ribs, a bed of fine noodles doused in the dark sauce mix with pieces of green veggies.
Describing the pork ribs as soft would be an understatement. The meat was fall-of-the-bone tender and had aromatic flavours of the herbs that were used in the braising liquid.
I just popped the whole thing in my mouth and spat out the tiny pieces of soft bone. Super satisfying!
I then moved on to the next dish, the Smoked Duck Roll (S$4.50 for 5 pcs). I was a little disappointed with the measly portion, which didn’t really justify its price. There were 5 golden-brown pieces of rolls, served with a dollop of mayo. I would have liked the rolls to have been larger.
Despite finishing each roll in 2 bites, the saving grace was its taste. After my teeth sank through the crispy and paper-thin skin, my taste buds were greeted by the smoky and creamy notes coming from the pieces of smoked duck (meat and fatty skin included).
Dipping the rolls into the slightly sweet mayonnaise lifted the experience to another level. Simply divine!
The last dish I tried was the Shredded Chicken Hor Fun (S$3.80). It had shreds of chicken, black mushrooms and green vegetables resting atop a pile of Ipoh-style thin hor fun. I requested a non-spicy version for this.
The hor fun was ultra-smooth and had absorbed the subtle smoky notes of the dark soya sauce mix. However, due to the absence of chilli, the taste of the Shredded Chicken Hor Fun paled in comparison with the other 2 noodle dishes.
The mushrooms had tons of flavour jam-packed into its tiny body, which created a party in my mouth when I popped them in.
The chicken shreds were moist and tender while the green vegetables provided some hints of freshness in-between bites, reducing the richness of the hor fun.
Final thoughts
The great-tasting noodles and wallet-friendly prices at HK Wanton Mee have converted me to become one of their regular customers.
I’m truly appreciative that I found another spot to get Malaysian-style noodles right here in Singapore. Keep them coming, I ain’t complaining!
Expected damage: S$4 – S$7.50 per pax
Other articles you might like:
Mama Lemak: Delicious chicken wings & nasi lemak served with devil’s curry & beef rendang at Hougang
Omar’s Thai Beef Noodles & Rice: Scrumptious beef noodles with 4-hour broth & must-try basil chicken
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