Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
There are dishes that define Singapore, and for me, prawn noodles would be one of said dishes. I mean, rich flavourful broth with springy noodles coated in lip-smacking sauces topped with succulent and tender prawns and pork slices – what more could you want?
So when I chanced upon Hong Lim Prawn Noodles on my Facebook with the main highlights being its super gao broth and generous jumbo-sized prawns, I knew I had to go and check it out myself.
Located in Hong Lim Market & Food Centre (hence its namesake), this place boasts a 4.3-star review on Google (at the time of writing).
Their menu is rather simple with the 3 main dishes being their signature Prawn Noodle (from S$5.50), Pork Ribs Prawn Noodle (from S$5.50), and if you’re feeling a little bougie, their Abalone Prawn Noodle (S$8/S$10).
What I tried at Hong Lim Prawn Noodles
I was originally supposed to go with a partner just so I could sample and compare 2 different bowls of prawn noodles but unfortunately for me, my partner bailed last minute hence I had to be careful to not overeat.
However, I wasn’t going to let that hinder my experience and I still tried my best to make the most out of my visit. I decided to go for the Pork Rib Prawn Noodle with an additional add-on of Pig Intestines (S$2/S$3).
I’m usually a dry noodle kind of girlie as I tend to savour the soup on its own, so that’s what I opted for. I was surprised to see that the ingredients were mixed with the broth as opposed to it being with the noodles from past experience.
However, it did keep the ingredients warmer for longer so it wasn’t a huge dealbreaker for me.
First thing I dug into was the broth as I really wanted to see if it was as gao and umami–packed as I’ve seen from reviews online. I’m happy to report that it was indeed umami–packed and pretty gao.
Not to mention that the flavours were nicely savoury and robust — to the point where I was taking sips of it every other second as it was that addictive.
Moving on to the ingredients, the first thing I had to check out was the prawn. Just like the broth, the prawns were also highly raved for their jumbo size. While they weren’t as ginormous as I expected them to be, they were still pretty sizeable compared to most prawn noodle spots out there.
Not to mention how fresh and juicy each prawn was and removing it from the shell was a piece of cake. In total, I counted about 4 to 5 half-prawns in my bowl which was a pretty decent portion.
Next up, the pork ribs which were tender and succulent with an almost melt-in-your-mouth texture, and were easily pulled apart which once again, allowed me to pick the bones clean here.
Lastly, the pig intestines which was something I’ve never added to my prawn noodles in the past, but decided to give it a go since I saw some patrons from past reviews talking about pairing their dish with the pig intestines.
I mean, not much to complain about here — the intestines were well cleaned, and the texture was well cooked and chewy which is always my favourite part about offals. It was rather gamier than what I’m used to but paired with the noodles, it made an excellent combination.
Of course, what is prawn noodle if I don’t talk about the noodle itself? The noodles were nice and springy maintaining a QQ texture. It was so well coated with the sauces that every bite was just as flavourful. The fried lard pieces and fried onions on top made for a nice savoury crunch to the dish.
Final thoughts
Dare I say that this is probably one of the best prawn noodles I’ve had in my life? That’s honestly debatable but it does come very close. Everything they’ve done here, they’ve done it well and I can definitely see why they’re highly raved about online.
Needless to say, I would definitely be coming back the next time just to try out their other prawn noodle variations and to inhale more of their soup.
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