Review of The Old Stall Hokkien Street Famous Hokkien Prawn Mee 第四代福建虾面

Block 531A, Upper Cross Street, Hong Lim Food Centre, #02-67

Nearest Mass Rapid Transit Station: Chinatown MRT

Buses to Hong Lim Food Centre: 2, 12, 33, 51, 54, 61, 63, 124, 143, 147, 174, 190

Opening Hours: 09:00 to 20:00 (Daily)

Queue: 1 to 3 people (Waiting Time: Less than 5 minutes)

Service: Fast and good

Environment: Clean but crowded hawker centre

Reputation: Traditional Singapore Pork Rib Noodles and Prawn Noodles

Thoughts after eating: Shiok soup but average tasting food items

Value for money: 70/100

Will I come back again in 6 months' time? No, there are better alternatives

My opinion:

This Upper Cross Street hawker stall has been selling Chinese noodles since 1943. The current 4th generation owners specialize in pig organ soup, pork rib noodles and prawn noodles. For this food review, my mother and I decided to try out their signature Hokkien pork rib and prawn noodles for lunch.

There were 5 pieces of pork ribs, 4 prawn slices (2 prawns), 1 packet of chili powder, 1 packet of soy sauce with red chili slices, 1 packet of soup and moderate amount of yellow noodles in our food portion. Pork ribs were tough and had too much bones in them. Prawn slices were dry, small sized and tasteless.

Although the noodles were packed separately from the soup, they were too soft and did not mix well with the other ingredients. Soup was fragrant, rich and filled with meat taste. Adding the chili powder and soy sauce slightly increased the addictiveness and flavor of the already excellent soup.

To sum up, the food here could satisfy our stomachs but not the craving for prawn noodles. Unless you are a hardcore fan of Chinese noodles, our advice is to give this stall a miss and visit other food alternatives in the Chinatown area.

Ways for the owners to improve their food ratings:

First, add more prawns for future customers. Second, reduce the amount of time used in cooking the pork ribs. Third, the preparation process of the yellow noodles must be thoroughly reviewed.