Kuong Wantan Noodle

Everyone of us has his historical moments or we are part of history somewhere or somehow. Some create history. Others end up as  history. If you are part of the Kallang Roar in the 70s to early 80s soccer craze or squash craze then you will know those  sweet moments that could not be recreated or replicated. The history of our local street food is very much the same. 

For example, take the humble 'chee cheong fun'. The original food peddlers do not even have stalls. They were hawking their food within a vicinity moving from one place to another at various places and time. The original "chee cheong fun" street food peddler would balance their home-made wooden carriage on a pole at both ends where they placed all the  food including their charcoal stoves. The chee cheong fun have bits of dried shrimps and spring onions scattered in them and stored in a piping hot container covered by cloth. They serve the food using a folded leave held together by what looked like a toothpick such as those you find used in otah. They would then use a pair of scissors to cut the chee cheong fun, dribble some oil, light sauce and sweet and chilli sauce before topping it with sesame. Bingo! That was my first historical moment with chee cheong fun.

Here we are not gonna discuss chee cheong fun but ''Wanton Noodle''. Wanton Noodle is Cantonese and it's a noodle dish with dumplings. Not that the noodles are wanton like some humans. 云 吞 面 is the same in mandarin not dumpling face. The very first 云 吞 面 I had was when I was a young boy (early primary school age). At my maternal granny's house  along Balestier Road and just beside Jalan Kemaman there was a little hut. At this little hut there was this couple selling just wanton noodle. I called it a little hut because it appeared like a little hut to me as I now recalled too. Authentic Cantonese noodle. I could watch them prepare and cook. Oil, chilli, gravy on a plate, tossing and dipping the noodle into hot and then room temperature water. Chopped pieces of ''chye sim'' with pieces of char siew and Voila!

Then I grew in Toa Payoh during my youth and I was blessed with two good wanton mee stalls at block 73. One at each corner. Both were good. One was a drier version with more lard and the other has more gravy and a special chilli sauce and the man who ran the stall was just too enjoyable to watch whenever he tossed the noodles. I could see the passion on his face. Sometimes, he got into argument with the woman helper. When I relocated I was kind of sad. After some years, I decided to go back but alas that stall was gone. Next one I found was outside the National Library. The old lady is still doing it at Far East Square. You can find her at Nam Seng.

After I started work some years later I found one which tasted identical and they were small restaurant along Capitol Theatre (frustrated now as I could not recall the name). Later, I was used to travelling all over Singapore and eat where I was due to work and whenever I was around Kallang or Paya Lebar I would go to ''Kuong"for their noodle at Geylang Lorong 12 where they have been since 1964. They moved to Lorong 13 for some years and then finally shifted to Lorong 21A. Question: How many Lorongs have they shifted? Those days there were no apps or references. You have to travel often to to sniff out the good and nice food. Kuong was one of them.

In SG these days, good food must be accompanied by all kinds of stickers.

I wonder how much they charge for them as I could come out with some really nice stickers myself but Kuong does not need that.

All you have to do here is to place your orders and you shall be given a number. Wait for you number to be called and go collect your food. Good for them as you have to pay first and you won't disappear after waiting too long. LOL! Not bad for customers - instead of standing and waiting you could just sit down and wait. 

You see Kuong has old folks working day and night since they open from 8-8. It is not easy.

What you should do while waiting is to go to this Wu Xiang stall and order some food to deal with your hunger binge.

If you, like me have often been at the now gone National Library or MPH and Fort Canning area you would know about the Armenian Street old coffee shop where the char kway teow and this ngoh hiang stalls once operated in. 

Among the various items, you must order the not just the crispy prawn cracker (middle) but also the freshly made xia bin (top)

And boy, they do have an awesome chilli suace with chopped onions to go with.

Here is my drone shot of the wanton noodle but Kuong spelt it as "Wan Tan".

Absolutely fabulous. They make their own char siew and so well burnt you still get a smoky taste. The best char siew must have some fats in case you know not. Here, half the battle was already won.

Many Singaporeans love their food with lots of chilli. That is understandable but it is a cardinal sin to drain all foods with lots of chilli because you would have killed the taste of any food. The chilli is to enhance and not to overwhelm. Like eating sushi or sashimi, do not throw in a ton of chiil sauce as you would your sashimi with wasabe. Otherwise it will be called two ton noodle and not wan ton.  

This is quite close to the wanton noodle I had at Toa Payoh in my youth. In those days, nobody goes to Geylang just to eat noodles, they go there for some notorious and nocturnal activities.

The potent combination of Kuong's Wan Tan noodle and the killing of Wu Xiang and Xia Bing while killing time waiting for you noodles is indeed a very tempting offer.