Wang Jia Wang: 24-hour stall serving delicious bowls of black pepper mee pok & laksa
For my food review today, I made my way to Serangoon North Avenue 4 in search of Wang Jia Wang (旺佳旺). It’s a 24-hour fishball noodle stall that sells a peculiar dish: black pepper mee pok. I bet you’ve never heard of this before, am I right? Well, me neither, so I had to try it at least once!
Nestled within the residential area underneath a multi-story carpark, I found KPT Coffee Shop which looked surprisingly familiar. I then realised that I’ve actually passed by this place a countless number of times, but I’ve never actually dined here.
I spotted Wang Jia Wang (旺佳旺) at a corner with its black signboard. The menu offers a variety of noodles like Fishball Noodle (Dry/Soup) (S$4), Prawn Noodle (S$5) and Mini Wok Noodle (S$5.50).
I observed the magic happening right in front of my eyes as I waited for the chefs to prepare my food. The mee pok was tossed in a dark fiery-looking black pepper sauce before the ingredients were scattered on top, and the uncle’s assistant expertly cracked a beautiful soft-boiled egg by the side.
What I tried at Wang Jia Wang (旺佳旺)
As the weather was nice and cool after a heavy downpour, it was the perfect occasion to try the Laksa (S$4). This delicious bowl had the usual ingredients: fishcake slices, tau geh, cockles, pieces of tau pok, thick bee hoon and a sprinkle of finely-chopped laksa leaves on top.
The gravy was nice and thick, speckled with red spots on the surface which resembled a lovely terrazzo tile. It was luscious and lemak-tasting from the coconut milk used, but I found it slightly under seasoned— it would’ve been perfect otherwise.
The thick bee hoon was cooked perfectly like al dente spaghetti, retaining a firm bite and managed to soak up all the creamy goodness of the Laksa gravy. The laksa leaves exuded a subtle grassy and zingy vivacity which permeated my sense of taste and smell with every bite I took.
The pieces of tau pok acted like mini liquid grenades which detonated in my mouth as soon as my teeth sunk into it, gushing the warm and slightly spiced broth inside.
The cockles were also firm and odourless, an indication of its freshness. It provided a little briny taste of the ocean with its umami flavours. Overall, this bowl of Laksa was one of the better ones I’ve had in recent times.
I’m moving on to the highlight of my visit, the Black Pepper Mee Pok (S$5.50). In it, there were morsels of minced pork, slices of fish cake, pork slices, pork lard bits, one fish ball, one meat ball, black mushrooms, one ngoh hiang, a soft boiled egg, and a heap of mee pok drenched in black pepper sauce.
The jiggly soft boiled egg at the side stood out, and I wasted no time probing my chopsticks into it and started mixing the entire bowl of noodles up.
The light brown tones of the black pepper sauce encompassed all the various elements of the dish, making them look like they had spent an hour sunbathing underneath the sun. The entire egg had disintegrated within the ingredients, causing the noodles to have a viscous creamy texture.
The noodles became smoother from the egg coating and gave off delicate peppery notes which weren’t overpowering. The crispy pieces of pork lard varied in size and only the large ones had impact, giving off the shiok fatty essence of the animal fat. I just wished they were more consistent on the size which could have further enhanced the flavours of the noodles.
The piece of ngoh hiang was unbelievably fat and was a mouthful to eat. Unfortunately it wasn’t homemade and the meat tasted of flour more than anything else.
I was pleasantly surprised by the pork slices which were so tender that I could chew them effortlessly. I had no complains with the fishball, meatball and sliced fish cake.
Final thoughts
Wang Jia Wang is a great stall to visit whenever you crave for a decent bowl of laksa or noodles. Being a 24-hour stall, I love that you can have them for breakfast, supper or at any time you desire!
Unlike other fishball noodle stalls with menus which only revolve around bak chor mee and meatball soup, I’m impressed that they also serve prawn noodles, laksa and even their exclusive black pepper mee pok.
Head down to Serangoon North Avenue 4 and give their noodles a try today!
Expected damage: S$4 – S$5.50 per pax
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