A stone’s throw away from Telok Ayer MRT Station, Amoy Street Food Centre is full of quirky yet affordable good food. A Noodle Story is one of these innovative stalls, serving up Singapore-style ramen.
Co-founded by Gwern Khoo and Ben Tham in 2013, this stall was featured on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list in 2016 and 2017. Talk about Singapore pride!
The long queue is a testament to how popular this stall is. I had to queue for almost two whole hours before I got to place my order. I actually saw a few people give up and leave.
Thanks to my perseverance, I managed to snag a bowl of Singapore-Style Ramen ($8 for small, $11 for medium). Word of advice: if you can take your lunch break earlier, head down to the stall right when they open, because they close once they’ve sold out.
And they only serve 200 bowls a day for lunch and dinner hours, so you’ll definitely want to channel that kiasu spirit to make sure you get your bowl. I chose the medium bowl, because after queuing for two hours, I was ready to chow down on some ramen goodness.
This dish had a distinctly local flavour, and reminded me somewhat of wanton noodles. The noodles were springy and quite al dente, with a rather flavourful bite.
Make sure to mix the noodles well before digging in, so that the chilli and sweet sauce are properly mixed in. I liked that the noodles were similar to the mee kia that you get with wanton noodles, yet it didn’t make me feel bloated.
The dish also came with a bowl of soup, which was much more flavourful than the usual soup you get with dry noodles. Slightly sweet with a herbal tang like bak kut teh, there were shredded bits of pork in the soup as well.
The real reason why you’re paying $11 for a bowl of ramen? The bowl is full of delicious and quality ingredients like a thick slice of Chashu ($4 a la carte), a Potato Prawn ($4 a la carte), a Hot Spring Egg ($1.20 a la carte), and three HK-Style Wontons ($4 a la carte).
When it comes to good ramen, I’d say that the chashu makes or breaks the experience. The chashu was very thick, and melted easily in my mouth. In the case of A Noodle Story’s creation, this tender and flavourful slice of pork definitely elevated the bowl of ramen to new gastronomical heights.
The Hot Spring Egg, or onsen egg, is another essential component of a good bowl of ramen. At A Noodle Story, the onsen egg was soft-boiled perfectly; the yolk oozed out beautifully when I broke it. I recommend mixing it into the noodles to add a creamy flavour to the dish.
The Potato Prawn was one of the more interesting ingredients in the bowl. The outer layer of grated potato was similar to rosti, but much crispier. The prawn within was also fresh and juicy – this combination of carbs and protein was delightful!
The dish also came with THREE huge and juicy wontons. For those of you who need something meatier than just the Potato Prawn and Chashu, these HK-Style Wontons will hit the spot.
Some may feel that paying $8 – $11 for a bowl of hawker ramen may be too steep a price, but I beg to differ. With the quality of the ingredients used, the presentation of each bowl and the effort that goes into making the dish, I believe it’s a fair price to pay.
After all, if you’re willing to pay upwards of $12 for a bowl of ramen at chain restaurants, why not spend $11 for a uniquely Singaporean ramen bowl?
Expected damage: $8 – $11 per pax
