Underrated Wanton Mee and Fish Head

After the disappointing outing for Singapore's "best" wanton mee, it was time to return to a presently underrated wanton mee stall at Dunman Road Food Centre. There were two rather famous wanton mee stalls at this food centre: Eng's and Seng's. Now, there is only one stall left, called Dunman Road Char Siew Wan Ton Mee (德明叉烧云吞面). It is at the stall location of Eng's, so perhaps this might be Eng's, though regulars might want to verify that.

Wanton Mee (云吞面) - $2.50

The wanton mee here is unlike any other wanton mee. This is definitely classified as Singapore-style, but it isn't like any Singapore-style wanton mee you might have eaten. The highlight of this stall's wanton mee is the fiery chilli. Yes, fiery. Now, I am what you would call a "chilli person" - I take lots of chilli padi with my bak chor mee. But the chilli here is hot. The first thing that hits is the raw-ness of the chilli sauce, followed by the burning sensation. But if you are not a chilli person, take heart. The chilli has definitely been toned down quite a bit, and doesn't leave a fiery sensation in the mouth. I expect some would find the chilli too hot, but I thought the chilli went well with the noodles. The friendly stall owner lady even tells every customer to help themselves to the chilli sauce if they want more.

Chilli aside, I liked the noodles as well, which started off a little hard, but shortly became the perfect consistency. For $2.50, there was a generous portion of char siew (叉烧), though they tasted pretty average, and a few small wantons. I thought the portion was actually pretty decent for the price.

Next to the wanton mee stall was one selling steamed dishes, called OK! 蒸好味. This stall's steamed fish head was recommended to me by a relative, so we decided to give it a go. We ordered several dishes from the friendly stall owner.

Mushroom Chicken - $6

I thought this dish of Mushroom Chicken was alright. Taste-wise, there wasn't anything particularly outstanding, so perhaps more mushrooms would have made it a more memorable dish.

Soya Sauce Pork Rib - $6

The Soya Sauce Pork Rib dish was a disappointment. I love pork ribs, but these were bony and tough. The soya sauce seasoning was something different for steamed pork ribs and I would have enjoyed it more were it not for the tough meat.

Soya Sauce Fish Head - $13

The Soya Sauce Fish Head was the star. The name, though, is somewhat of a misnomer, since it is actually steamed with tau cheow (fermented soya bean paste; 豆酱) and tau see (fermented black soya beans; 豆豉). I thought the fish head was steamed just right, and the flesh was soft and, I don't know if this is the right word, silky. It was too bad the fish had a slight "fishy" taste to it that day (I had just gone a few weeks before and it didn't have that taste). I'm no food connoisseur, but I think the added tau see gave an extra "oomph" to the seasoning - well, that and the spicy chilli padi too. The seasoning was a little salty for my taste, but I think it would go well drizzled over a bowl of rice. If you want something different from the steamed fish head available at Chinatown Market (to be precise, Smith Street Market and Food Centre), you should consider this.

I really enjoyed myself that day. The wanton mee from Dunman Road Char Siew Wan Ton Mee more than made up for that disappointing meal at Fei Fei Wanton Mee. I am not really a fan of the Singapore-style wanton mee, but if I really had to have it, this would be it. OK! 蒸好味 offers several steamed dishes, but the highlight is definitely the steamed Soya Sauce Fish Head. Note that the stalls only operate from 3pm.

Dunman Road Char Siew Wan Ton Mee (德明叉烧云吞面)
#02-19
Closed Mondays and Thursdays

OK! 蒸好味
Blk 271 Onan Road
#02-20
Dunman Road Food Centre (map)
Singapore 424768

Fei Fei Wanton Mee - Money fly away

There are two kinds of wanton mee (云吞面) you can get in Singapore. The first is local style, with the thicker, softer noodles and thick, dark soya sauce or tomato ketchup and red chilli sauce. The second is the Hong Kong noodles style, with the translucent, springier noodles and a light, watery sauce. Personally, my preference is for Hong Kong-style noodles, perhaps because I have been eating local-style wanton mee from young and have grown tired of it.

A while back, I read that Fei Fei Wanton Mee (飞飞云吞面) is a "must-try" for any wanton mee lover, and yet I had not eaten from there before, so one day, we headed to Joo Chiat to see what was so great about this Fei Fei Wanton Mee. Now, it is important that if you want to go on a food hunt, that you do your research carefully first. Unfortunately, we didn't, so instead of going to 62 Joo Chiat Place, we ended up at 72 Joo Chiat Place, simply because we passed that first. The shop at 72 is actually called 炎記飛飛雲吞面大王 (simpl.: 炎记飞飞云吞面大王). Like Dr. Leslie Tay of ieatishootipost, we were actually at the franchised stall, and not the original.

Of course, we didn't know that at the time. And since we went all the way to Joo Chiat for the famed wanton mee, we ordered the big portion.

Wanton mee (云吞面) - $3.50 (big)

This was what was served to us. It doesn't look like much. I gave my noodles a stir.

No, it certainly isn't much. First, the noodles. No, I didn't think it was all that great. Yes, it's better than most of the local-style noodles, that's for sure. But it wasn't that much better. The chilli sauce is supposed to go with the noodles, of course. But again, I didn't think the chilli was all that great. I actually thought it was a little too salty, and being a chilli lover, I felt it lacked the spicy "oomph". So, chilli plus noodles didn't help too. Next, the wantons were tiny. It would not be an exaggeration to say they were the size of, say, macadamia nuts. They tasted alright, but there were just too few of the tiny wantons. And the char siew (barbecued pork / 叉烧) was not even barbecued. I guess my opinion of this bowl of wanton mee is pretty clear by now. There wasn't a single redeeming factor. Above average noodles and an average chilli sauce do not make outstanding noodles. That, coupled with the meagre and substandard ingredients makes this $3.50 bowl of noodles a rip-off.

We also ordered a portion of hei zho (fried prawn roll).

Hei zho (fried prawn roll / 虾枣) - $6

This has got to be the most expensive hei zho I've eaten. The photo shows the portion. If the hei zho were good, it would have been money well spent. Unfortunately, it wasn't. The hei zho was (re-)fried after being cut into pieces, which I really dislike because it usually results in the filling being overcooked, and it was the case. It also destroyed the taste of the filling, and so I felt like I was eating flour instead of meat and prawns. I have eaten better and cheaper hei zho.

When I started this blog, I wanted to be different, to be objective. I wanted to be fair as well. Perhaps I went on a bad day. Perhaps I had too high expectations. Perhaps it was simply because I wasn't at the original stall. I certainly did not enjoy my meal at all, and I have absolutely no reason to return. I am even hesitant of trying the original stall. Instead, I might just stick to my usual stall in Dunman Road Food Centre.

Fei Fei Wanton Mee (炎記飛飛雲吞面大王)
72 Joo Chiat Place (map)
Singapore 427789

Also, the original:
Fei Fei Wanton Mee (飛飛雲吞面)
62 Joo Chiat Place
Sin Wah Coffeeshop (map)
Singapore 427785

Links: HungryGoWhere