Prawn noodles is one of those staples in hawker centres that have seen a drop in ingredients just to keep prices affordable. Given the price of shrimp, it is impossible to keep prices below $5 while still expecting a good amount of shrimp.

Wah Kee decided to take the other route by offering prawn noodles that prioritize quality of cost. I opted for the $15 one and received 3 incredibly large prawns. Getting prawns of these size at Newton food centre would easily cost $12 each! The soup is garlicky is a good way, but lacks oomph. The bowl of rice noodles is topped with a more than generous amount of crispy lard. The prawn is partially shelled and has a great bouncy bite. Unfortunately, the flavor in the head has probably leaked into the soup, so biting the head didn’t do much. Overall, a pleasant bowl of prawn noodle that I’ll eat again (though I still prefer house of prawn by a large margin!)

It is debatable whether a humble bowl of prawn noodle could even be worth $15 when you can get others at a fraction of the price. I guess ultimately, it depends on whether you eat prawn noodles for the soup (similar to ramen), or if you eat it for the savory protein of the sea.

Just to debunk a myth, the aunty is not fierce. Like most grandmas, her words come from a place of love, even if it sounds harsh if taken in the wrong context. It probably helped that I ordered the $15 bowl 🙂