Lu Ge Wanton Mee: $4 wanton mee at AMK that won’t leave you wanting
One day, a colleague of mine said to me: “There’s this very nice wanton mee in Ang Mo Kio. You really should try it.” He said it with such conviction that I, a not-very-into-wanton–mee individual, was properly convinced to give it a go. That was my introduction to Lu Ge Wanton Mee, located at Chong Boon Market & Food Centre.
The stall opened about 3 years ago and is helmed by a middle-aged couple. The owner, Joo, also owns a chicken rice stall in Changi Village. Prices at this stall are reasonable, with the standard portions starting at S$4.
Aside from the usual wanton mee, you can also get Mushroom Noodle (S$4/S$5), Chicken Feet Hor Fun (S$4/S$6), and one interesting addition that I’m told is new: Chicken Karaage Noodle (S$4/S$6).
What I tried at Lu Ge Wanton Mee
The best way to sample everything that Lu Ge Wanton Noodle has to offer is their Signature Wanton Noodle (S$5.50), which comes with a dumpling, a fried wanton and a braised chicken foot. The char siew pieces are thick and meaty, and I was quite happy to see cubes of crispy pork lard on the plate.
Tossing the noodles, you might notice they’re not particularly saturated in dark sauce, or ketchup. Don’t let the lack of colour mislead you, though – each strand is coated in a tasty lard-based sauce. The flavour isn’t overpowering and doesn’t leave an unpleasant greasy film in the mouth. Very slurpable.
Lu Ge Wanton Noodle also isn’t shy with their pork lard bits. These little nuggets of crispy gold are worth exceeding my daily calorie limit for, and Lu Ge Wanton Noodle prepares theirs fresh daily. No rancid stale lard here.
Chicken feet are kind of a polarising food item, and truth be told they were not something I’d have dared to eat as a kid. Now I’m older and wiser and have realised the error of my ways. The chicken feet here are braised for hours until tender and were a joy to munch on.
The char siew isn’t overly sweet or sticky, and is cut into nice, meaty slices. (I’m not a fan of paper-thin slices.) Their subtle sweetness complements the richness of the noodles nicely.
The other important part of a dry noodle dish (in my opinion, anyway) is the accompanying soup or broth. If the soup isn’t up to snuff, my day is ruined and the disappointment is immeasurable.
Lu Ge Wanton Noodle uses an ikan bilis base for the soup, and I’m happy to say it passes the test with flying colours. The wantons were great as well – they are meaty little balls of deliciousness and not just sad flaps of wanton skin. Similarly, the dumpling was also generously filled, and mine even had a whole prawn inside.
The Chicken Karaage (S$5 for 5 pieces) is a new addition. It’s not something you’d expect to find at a wanton mee stall, but I’m not complaining. Each piece was huge compared to the usual portions you see at a Japanese restaurant and was fried to a perfect golden brown.
The first bite of the karaage revealed that they were crunchy, and the chicken pieces were very juicy and well seasoned.
The karaage is prepared in-house and fried to order, with genuine Japanese karaage flour. It’s also not greasy whatsoever. If I didn’t have to worry about my ever-expanding waistline, I’d easily polish off the entire serving myself.
Final thoughts
As mentioned earlier, I don’t consider myself an aficionado of wanton mee. I rarely think about it, but having tried Lu Ge’s rendition of it, it’s moved higher up my list of “stuff I think about eating”. I’d happily go back again – if not for the noodles, then certainly for that karaage.
Expected damage: S$4 – S$10 per pax
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