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For those who’ve visited China or more specifically Yunnan, dining at 唐大小姐 Mademoiselle Tang Noodle will transport you back there in an instant.
Located at Royal Square at Novena, this humble shop serves authentic Yunnan dishes, including its signature 过桥米线, also known as cross-bridge rice noodles.
The story of Yunnan’s legendary cross-bridge rice noodles is really touching and inspiring: 100 years ago, a dutiful wife would cross a small bridge to deliver lunch every day to her husband who was studying hard in a pavilion by the lake. However, the dishes turned cold and soggy by the time the scholar got down to eating his food after a long day of studying.
The wife then had an ingenious idea of separating the soup, noodle and ingredients and combined them just before her husband was ready to eat. On its own, the broth stayed hot and the noodles stayed firm and springy, and once combined together, the bowl was hot and ready to be eaten.
Because of the wife’s love, diligence and creativity, her husband passed the imperial exams and went onto become a great scholar.
It is this exact legend that’s painted as a gorgeously vibrant mural on Miss Tang’s Rice Noodle’s interior walls and also replicated in the restaurant’s signature dish.
Spacious and airy, the interior of the shop is decked with wooden tables and stools, as well as rattan lamps for that rustic touch.
Mademoiselle Tang Noodle also has outdoor seating, you get to pick between air-conditioned seating or bright and natural lighting outdoors.
What I tried at Mademoiselle Tang Noodle
Just like the dutiful wife who spent hours preparing the loving meal for her husband, Miss Tang’s Rice Noodle’s nutrition-packed broth has been simmering over a fire for over six whole hours.
Using purely huge pork rib and chicken bones, the soup broth is light, flavourful and warmed my entire tummy in a way that reminds me of my mother’s home-cooked soup, perfect for a rainy day or when you’re feeling unwell.
True to the fable, the 12-item Signature Rice Noodle (S$20.80) comes with all its ingredients separated individually.
The clear broth is served in a huge Ming dynasty-inspired bowl and the rice noodles in a separate bowl, while the ingredients are packed beautifully in an Instagrammable geometric square tray.
Amongst its list of ingredients are prawns, fish, pork ribs, fried pork, chicken, chives, bean sprouts, spring onions, quail eggs and chrysanthemums.
There’s a particular order to which you’re supposed to add the ingredients to the delicate broth.
First, pour the quail egg into the soup. Then, add the cooked meat, fish and shrimp. After you’re done, toss in the vegetables, garnishes and flowers. Lastly, add in the noodles and enjoy!
While adding in the ingredients one by one really reflected the fable to a tee, with regards to flavour, I felt that the steps didn’t make much difference to the flavour of the noodles.
However, being able to re-enact what the dutiful wife did in the legendary tale made me feel as though I was personally building my own bowl of noodles, which made me savour and appreciate the meal even more.
One thing I thoroughly enjoyed was the rice noodles. Imported directly from China, the rice noodles were smooth and silky in texture.
Though thicker than the usual bee hoon noodles, the rice noodles were super light and delicate. They weren’t gummy at all and instead, were cooked perfectly al dente. I slurped my noodles down unabashed.
The fried pork came in huge slices complete with a crispy outer skin. Though it added a salty and charred flavour to the soup, the meat itself became slightly soggy after a period of time, so I suggest eating these first.
The fish slices were really fresh. I genuinely appreciated that they didn’t have a fishy taste and instead, were sweet and soft.
All in all, the Signature Rice Noodles was a dish that I could totally imagine myself downing on a cold rainy day. The warm, light pork bone broth warmed me right up, and the portions were so huge that I actually thought it was meant for two persons instead of one.
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If you don’t have that big of an appetite, go for its Chrysanthemum Rice Noodle (S$8.90) instead.
Apart from its signature rice noodles, Mademoiselle Tang Noodle also serves other authentic Yunnan cuisine, such as Tofu Pudding Dry Rice Noodle (S$11.50) and Spicy Pickled Cabbage Rice Noodle (S$10.50).
Being a huge fan of spicy food, one dish that I thoroughly enjoyed was its Spicy Pickled Cabbage Rice Noodle (S$10.50) with a glass noodle substitution.
With a generous dose of fiery red sambal chilli, large juicy chunks of minced pork, green scallions and silky glass noodles, this dish was a complete delight.
The sauce had tinges of vinegar to balance out the spice, so what you get with every mouthful of slurp-worthy noodles was a mix of delicious heat, mouth-tingling peppery mala, and an acidic tartness that came from the vinegar.
I was really surprised at how generous they were with the chilli. It came in gorgeous huge chunks, complete with chilli seeds and oil. Though the dish was a tad oily, it wasn’t overwhelming. In fact, it made the silky glass noodles even easier to slurp down.
If you’re wondering how spicy this dish was, don’t worry. The chilli was more peppery and tongue-numbing (just like a bowl of comforting mala hotpot) than spicy. I cleaned out the entire bowl of glass noodles without even breaking a sweat.
Mademoiselle Tang Noodle also offers customised rice noodles to customers who wish to pick and choose what they’d like to add to their noodles. Think of it like yong tau foo!
Choose between three soup bases: Pork Ribs Soup (S$2.60), Spicy Pickled Cabbage Soup (S$5.20) or Ma La Pork Ribs Soup (S$3.90). Then, pick your noodles from Rice Noodle, Noodle or Glass Noodles for S$2 each.
Then comes the exciting part of choosing your ingredients. Vegetables such as chives, fried tofu skin, black fungus, pea shoot and quail eggs go for S$1.28 per plate, while meats like pork ribs, minced pork, fried pork and chicken are S$2.55 per plate.
Seafood such as prawns, fish, clams and mussels are slightly pricier and cost S$3.55 per plate.
We had Spicy Pickled Cabbage Soup with rice noodles, Shanghai greens, lettuce, black fungus, fried tofu skin, pork ribs, prawns and clams.
The soup itself was tangy and slightly peppery, which went perfectly with the soft black fungus and fresh lettuce. The rice noodles was the same kind as the ones used in the Signature Rice Noodle — springy and delicate.
The seafood used was really fresh too! The clams were sweet and soft while the prawns were large, crunchy and firm, and it added a briny sweetness to the piping hot broth which I really enjoyed.
Ending our meal was a delightfully refreshing Handmade Bing Fen (S$5), which is a traditional Chengdu summer snack and is made with some sort of jelly.
What makes Mademoiselle Tang Noodle bing fen extra unique is the fact that it used roses to create a sweet, light and floral flavour to its bing fen. With pure rose petals, sesame seeds and rose syrup, this dessert wasn’t overly sweet but instead was thirst quenching, chilly and light, great for a hot summer day.
Final Thoughts
The large portions and authentic food served at Mademoiselle Tang Noodle warms the belly as if it’s been cooked lovingly by mum, which promises for a satisfying and relaxing meal without breaking the bank.
I absolutely loved that it had a wide variety of noodle dishes, including hot and spicy options, as well as customised bowls to cater to any appetite. While the meat and seafood ingredients were pretty average, the heroes of the shop definitely have to be its nutritious broth and silky smooth rice noodles. Be sure to bring a friend or two as the servings are huge!
Expected Damage: S$10 – S$20 per pax
Order Delivery: foodpanda Deliveroo
*This post is brought to you in collaboration with 唐大小姐 Mademoiselle Tang Noodle.
