Traditional Joo Chiat Prawn Mee certainly isn’t as famous as its prawn mee competition further down the road, but it’s still a solid bowl of prawn noodles. Also, I can’t attest to how traditional it is, but I can vouch for it being a piquant prawn mee.⠀
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Some things are best kept separate, noodles and prawn soup being a prime example of this. The noodles are poached perfectly, and tossed in a sapid sauce mix of violent chili, ketchup, soy sauce, and of course, the prawn soup. The prawn soup itself is a loud, flashy prawn star with its vivid reddish-brown hue. That hue is attained from frying the prawn heads and then boiling it all down, which produces a briny, deeply savoury stock that extracts all the umami goodness out of the prawn head. It might be a tad overpowering for some, but I absolutely love it.⠀
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At six bucks for the largest portion, you get the stellar soup, noodles, de-shelled shrimp, sliced lean pork, pork ribs and a smattering of deep fried crispy shallots. While the portions and pricing are alluring, the main attraction is all the add ons they offer. You can choose from extra prawns, pork ribs, pig intestines, and even razor clams at the low, low price of two bucks each. That’s right, you can add more stuff onto this luscious bowl of prawn noods and still pay only ten bucks! On the day I went, they were only left with prawns, so I got more prawns and more satisfaction for two dollars.⠀
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Traditional Joo Chiat Prawn Mee is yet another reason in the lengthy list of reasons why Singapore’s hawker culture is undefeated. Go early, ‘cause this prawn mee merchant closes shop by one thirty in the afternoon.