In melting pot of a city that is Singapore, all variations of wanton mee can be found. And Soi 19, a stall selling Thai-style wanton mee is one of them.
Where can one find the best wanton mee is a loaded question for Singaporeans, Malaysians, Hong Kongers, and, yes, even the Thais. Ask who does it better and you’ve got a good chance of stirring up cross-border tensions. However, we’re in the business of seeking out quality food and not starting culinary feuds.
Thai Wanton Mee
Singapore’s obsession with Thailand can be attributed to a variety of factors; extremely affordable (and delicious) street food, shopping, massages, Muay Thai, Bangkok’s eclectic nature and errr… Siam bus (Thai girls).
The thin and springy egg noodles topped off with char siew, fried wantons and vegetables falls into the street food category. Nude noodles is the signature of the Thai-style wanton mee, no black or brown sauce, and, no sambal.
Nothing to mask the noodles if they’re sub-par, and the lack of a sauce means you’ll be able to taste every ingredient that goes into each bowl of wanton mee.
Free-Flow Condiments
It’s commonplace for hawker stalls to allow customers to help themselves to condiments like green chilli, sambal, spring onions and the likes.
So, what makes Soi 19’s readily available condiments so special? It’s container full of free-flow fried pork lard! Yes, you’re free to help yourself to the crispy golden morsels of melt in your mouth goodness.
Alongside it, you’ll find your staple of pickled green chilli, dried chilli flakes (that pack a punch) and fish sauce.
Black Or White
And finally, our verdict on the actual bowl of Thai wanton mee regular bowl ($4) from Soi 19: If you’re one with a sizeable appetite, you’ll want to go for the large bowl ($5) that comes with more noodles and ingredients or regular bowl extra ingredients ($5), putting every cent of your extra dollar into more liao (ingredients).
While the regular serving size is a little on the small side, the bowl of noodles with all its ingredients are a treat for the palate. The springiness as you lift the noodles up, the bite, chew, crunch, spice and savouriness work in unison.
If you’re adamant about having some sort of sauce in your bowl of wanton mee, Soi 19 caters to that desire with the black sauce variation which comes with no extra cost.
Thai Street Classics
Besides the wanton mee that has people flocking to Soi 19 daily, the classic pig trotter with rice ($5.50) or pig trotter ($5/8/10/15) or kao ka moo is a favourite as well.
Fried wantons ($3.50) and pig intestine ($2/5/8) are on the menu for those looking to zheng (upgrade) your humble bowl of Thai-style wanton mee.
Whether you want your bowl loaded with chilli and pork lard or with a side of stewed pig trotter and intestines, you won’t have to jet off to Bangkok for a taste of the street food that we so often find ourselves craving in clean and pristine Singapore.
Expected damage: $4 – $8
