Teochew Fish Ball Noodle: Traditional Dry Fishball Noodles For S$3 With Smoky Chilli Oil Hidden At Crawford Lane

It constantly amazes me whenever I find hidden hawker gems like Teochew Fish Ball Noodle. While slurping down their bowl of mouthwatering fishball noodles, I think to myself: “Where have you been all this while?!”

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1796

I came across Teochew Fish Ball Noodle on Instagram and I immediately knew I had to check it out.

Located at Wiseng Food Place—a kopitiam located at Blk 462 Crawford Lane—this rustic hawker stall is helmed by an elderly couple with more than 50 years of experience.

Now, younger staff have taken over the labourious cooking. When I visited for lunch, I still spotted the elderly ah ma taking orders while the ah gong was at the back of the stall, portioning out noodles and ingredients for the next order.

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1776

To be frank, if I had visited Wiseng Food Place without any prior knowledge of the stalls there, I wouldn’t have given Teochew Fish Ball Noodle a second glance.

It doesn’t have a large signboard nor menu and the only indication of its presence is its humble little metal storefront. Yet, it drew a steady stream of customers, and whenever I looked back at the stall, there always seemed to be people queuing up for a bowl of piping hot fishball noodles.

Apart from Teochew Fish Ball Noodles, Wiseng Food Place is also home to several other stalls, including a cai fan stall, bak kut teh stall, curry yong tau foo stall, and Western stall.

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1770

I got the Fish Ball Noodles (Dry) (S$4/large) and asked for mee pok with my fishball noodles. Prior to serving, the elderly ah ma asked if I wanted chilli, vinegar, spring onions, and fried minced garlic, and I eagerly nodded my head.

Looking at the bowl of fishball noodles, my stomach growled loudly. I loved how appetising the entire bowl looked. The chilli looked lethally spicy and piquant, there was plenty of colour from the spring onions and fishcake, and there was a generous amount of fishballs, meatballs, minced meat and garnish. Mmmm!

We got the Large (S$4) version, but you can also order the Small (S$3) version and ask for different noodles, like mee kia, yellow noodles, and kway teow.

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1832

The minute I gave my fishball noodles a good stir, I saw a gleam of lethally dark sauce lying at the bottom of my bowl.

Right away, I recognised it as chilli oil, and I was instantly surprised and impressed because dry fishball noodles don’t typically use chilli oil. I’d go so far as to say that I haven’t come across any fishball noodle stall that uses chilli oil in their sauce or mix at all—rather, majority of them use chilli sauce or soy sauce, which ends up being more watery.

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1846

Man, this bowl of dry fishball noodles was absolutely fantastic. It was smoky, nutty and fragrant, with an aromatic touch from the fried minced garlic.

Though it used chilli oil, the noodles weren’t slick with oil. Rather, the chilli oil coated the mee pok nicely, such that it made the noodles smooth enough for slurping. To some extent, it even reminded me of Indomie because of how flavourful it was.

Underlying all the umami and roasted nutty flavours was the comforting sweet custard-like taste of the flat egg noodles, which balanced out the peppery spiciness from the chilli oil. The noodles were springy and super bouncy, and for just S$4, I’ve got to say that the stall owners were really generous with their portions.

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1851

When I first spotted these orange slices on Instagram, I thought they were carrot slices. Instead, to my pleasant surprise, they were coloured prawn cake slices! Taste-wise, they tasted exactly the same as regular fishcake—slightly starchy, springy and sweet.

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1854

I loved it that the stall owners gave a variety of meat. There were fishballs, meatballs, minced meat, and even meat slices.

My favourite was the meat slices. Though they were sliced thinly, the meat slices were juicy and sweet, with a nice springy bite to it. The chilli oil seeped into the meat and made each bite piquant, peppery and savoury.

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1864

Though I had ordered the large bowl of fishball noodles, it was so delicious that I slurped up the entire bowl in record timing. It’s almost as though I blinked, and it was gone.

I wished I had more noodles to munch on—the chilli oil was addictively piquant and made each mouthful aromatic and savoury. I was even tempted to buy another bowl, but I stopped myself before I could pull out my wallet.

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1764

I ordered the soup version as well, in Large (S$4), but with kway teow this time.

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1807

The one thing that I was really surprised by was how springy the kway teow noodles were. Typically, kway teow noodles are really thin, to the extent that sometimes, it breaks apart when you’re lifting it with your noodles and the noodles look almost transparent.

However, Teochew Fish Ball Noodle’s kway teow noodles were a tad fatter, almost like chee cheong fun, and they were slippery and opaque. I loved it that it had more bite than regular kway teow noodles, but still soft enough that I had no trouble biting through them at all.

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle 1828

The soup was full-bodied, sweet and light, and it was exactly the kind of comforting soup that I’d crave for on a rainy day or if I’m sick. It also had a hint of white pepper, which added a tinge of earthy flavours to the soup.


Though Teochew Fish Ball Noodle only sells one dish on its menu—fishball noodles—I was more than satisfied with both its dry and soup versions. At the end of the meal, I couldn’t decide which was my favourite. The dry version was really smoky, savoury and tangy, while the soup version was light, full-bodied and comforting, perfect for a rainy day.

It’s no wonder that this humble stall had a steady stream of customers no matter the day or time. It’s just that good, and definitely something you have to try for yourself in order to understand why it’s been around for more than 50 years and counting.

Expected Damage: S$3 – S$4 per pax

Price: $

Our Rating: 5 / 5

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle

Blk 462 Crawford Lane, #01-29, Wiseng Food Place, Singapore 190462

Price
Our Rating 5/5

Teochew Fish Ball Noodle

Blk 462 Crawford Lane, #01-29, Wiseng Food Place, Singapore 190462

Operating Hours: 8am - 3pm (Mon - Sat), Closed on Sun

Operating Hours: 8am - 3pm (Mon - Sat), Closed on Sun

Newest