Prawnaholic: Hipster hawker’s torched teriyaki pork belly & peeled prawn mee
Opened in 2018 on the second floor of Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre, Prawnaholic has received tremendous attention for its modern, fusion-ey take on the classic hae mee formula. Owner Alan Choong was even able to bring his concept to New York in 2022 under the Urban Hawker banner, which is a testament to its popularity.
Their signage is a minimalistic black background with LED lights peppered on the words ‘Prawnaholic’. Hard to miss.
My friend and I were treated to the spectacular sight of the staff blowtorching the pork belly as we placed our orders, promptly igniting our appetite.
What I tried at Prawnaholic
Of course, we were prepared to pay a premium for Prawnaholic’s promised quality. Special Prawn Noodles for S$12 still had me sweating, though. Mixed kway teow and yellow noodles were our choice for this dish as they had three options, including bee hoon. Since we had already taken the plunge, I requested an extra topping of Onsen Egg (S$1), bringing the cost to S$13.
First up were the prawns which had been graciously peeled. They had the signature hints of freshness, with subtly sweet and buttery flesh balanced out by an initial firmness.
The torched pork sang its siren song and I answered with the zeal of an enchanted sailor. I couldn’t help but audibly sigh with bliss after the first bite. Hyperbole aside, the pork had just the right leanness-to-marbling ratio and left me wanting more. The teriyaki sauce added a vital sweetness to the savoury pork belly and its charred surfaces capped it all off nicely. As the staff later divulged, the key was to ‘torch the sauce, not the meat’.
If anyone’s expecting the meatball to somehow be on par, that’s just unrealistic. It was well-seasoned but the pork is genuinely a hard act to follow.
We added just enough broth to revitalise the dry noodles, having spent minutes setting up for shots. This was it – a contender fit to stand against those juicy cuts of pork. The broth itself was umami incarnate. A few spoonfuls were enough to suffuse its richness into the dense bowl. It should come as no surprise to learn that such heights are only achieved with an 8-hour simmer.
Their Special King Prawn Noodles is at an astronomical S$16, well beyond my comfortable price range. For what we got, it was a little too steep to justify the cost.
At over S$5 more than the non-kingly option, the prawns were a lot smaller than I would have liked. They were every bit as fresh but with only 2, my friend and I had to make an even split. Happily however, this bowl had a more plentiful topping of pork lard which I scooped up along with fried garlic and hae bi hiam. The resulting burst of fatty, savoury goodness almost pushed my opinion up a tier.
Emptying a whole bowl of broth into the noodles lets the umami flavour completely take centre stage. It wasn’t unpleasantly salty but did leave me quite thirsty by the end.
In a rare spate of good decision-making, I had the foresight to order a separate bowl of Teriyaki Pork Belly Noodles (S$10). It had essentially the same cuts of pork as the other noodles but in a more substantial serving. Nothing quite beats out a delicious chunk of their well-marbled pork topped with fried garlic and pork lard.
The worst part was having to share it.
I lied about possessing even a modicum of wisdom. In keeping with my spirit of over-ordering, here’s our gigantic bowl of Crispy Salmon Skin (S$8). Neither of us expected a prawn mee hawker to serve up so much of it.
Despite not looking green at all, I promise you the wasabi mayo’s mustard-like punch is there. The sauce was definitely needed to break up the lingering saltiness, especially when eaten with both noodles and broth.
Final thoughts
The good ol’ bowl of prawn mee has remained a local favourite for so long that it was always destined for innovation. In this climate of continually rising costs, you’re at least guaranteed something different (and delicious) from Prawnaholic’s modern takes.
I would highly recommend a bowl of Special Prawn Noodles or Pork Belly Noodles if you want the most bang for your buck.
Expected damage: $6.90 – $16 per pax
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