Yummy wanton mee from Hong Mao

The Business Times | Mon Aug 24 2009

A regular plate and a bowl of wonton soup (with a dozen wontons) go for $4.50.

Singapore, August 22, 2009 - This corner kopi tiam is in a quiet street among a row of shophouses and facing an open field, so there is a sleepy feel to it – but not during the peak morning times, when the line is long and the wait considerable.

Retirees, businessmen, office workers, taxi drivers, young couples and school kids all find their way here and wait expectantly (for 30 minutes or more) for their serving of the Hong Mao Special. There is seating for perhaps 50 people, which may explain the long waiting time.

A regular plate and a bowl of wonton soup (with a dozen wontons) go for $4.50. The noodles are firm and chewy and served with a thick soy base, and the chilli sauce is pretty potent – the stall’s not-so-secret ingredient.

Each dish of noodles is consistently well-balanced, with a just-right ratio of noodles to sauce, and a notable lack of clumping. The wontons are small and thin-skinned and the char siu is decent enough.

Not far from Hong Mao is another popular pit stop for noodle lovers – Fei Fei Wanton Noodle at 62 Joo Chiat Place, which serves small portions for $2.50. After a head-to-head tasting session, however, Hong Mao came out on top.

Hong Mao Noodle House
Where: 128 Eating Corner, 128 Tembeling Road

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