Friday, September 30, 2016

Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee at Jurong East

Their first outlet is actually near to where i stay. I happened to chance upon it then tasted it and actually enjoyed its unique flavor. That prompted me to write an article on MAKANSUTRA in June 2014 about this Thai Wanton Mee stall, which likely to be the first of its kind at that time. I was told that they are not related to the famous wanton mee in Thailand at Soi 19. The stall got really popular after that and attracted consistently long queues, the queue is still long these days. I am still going back as and when though not as often but usually when there is a shorter queue.

They opened the second outlet in Jurong East just a couple of months ago, it is right next to the CPF building, just a stone's throw away from the Jurong East MRT station. The queue there was so much shorter when i visited on a Saturday as compared to their outlet in Ang Mo Kio. There is an option to choose between a regular bowl ($3.50), a medium bowl ($4.00), a large bowl ($5.00) or a Jumbo Bowl ($6.00) for more noodles with extra ingredients. They do not have the braised pork trotter with rice which is available in their Ang Mo Kio outlet. 


For the large bowl, the portion of noodle is quite substantial served together with 2 fried wantons and 2 soup wantons, char siew, chinese sausage and some green. There are condiments like fish sauce, dried chilli flakes, sugar, green chillies and fried pork lards for self-service at the counter.

As the portion is meant to be shared between myself and a friend that has little tolerance towards spiciness so left out the dried chilli flakes. To start, tossed the noodles well to have it coated with the fish sauce underneath and then ate it with those crispy fried pork lards, it was still a tasty treat. Somehow, i felt the standard is just different, it did not taste as good as what i had at their Ang Mo Kio outlet which is headed by their father that started it. Their chinese sausage was served in smaller pieces over here and the texture was slightly harder. Their specially made egg noodles were cooked to a perfect springiness, though.


Perhaps, the key to enjoying Thai Wanton Mee is about getting used to it. The friend that i was sharing it with has never eaten Thai Wanton Mee before. When i brought it to the table, she starved at it for a moment and said, 'Why no sauce?'. She took a bite and decided that she did not like it. And, perhaps that's the reason why the black sauce version Wanton Mee is introduced, it is available at $4.00, $5.00 and $6.00. I have yet to try this version so could not comment on its taste.

The fried wantons and soup wantons tasted quite similar but somehow, something is just missing though same recipe is used in making them. The soup was lightly flavored.


SOI 19 WANTON MEE
Block 130 Jurong Gateway Road #01-211 SINGAPORE 600130
Operating Hours: 7.30 am to 4.00 pm (Closed on Mondays & Tuesdays)

Block 151 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 SINGAPORE 560151
Operating Hours: 7.15 am to 3.30 pm (Closed on Mondays & Tuesdays)

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