Prawn & Mee is run by two young men, Raphael & Gladwin, who have been churning out prawn noodles here in Bedok for a few years now. What is remarkable is their stellar credentials: both are graduates from the prestigious Culinary Institute Of America (CIA). They initially started here selling pink plum rice paired with fish and braised meats, but were flexible enough to switch to the more popular hawker classic which better suited the demography in this area. On the day of my visit, I was happy to have Raphael prepare my order.
There are only 4 options - a choice of prawn only or prawn with pork ribs, and then a choice of dry or soup. The menu may be simple, but the same cannot be said about the cooking method for their soup. The young duo use the mirepoix (pronounced meer-pwah) method to enhance the sweetness of their prawn broth. Briefly, in mirepoix, a mix of aromatics made from finely diced vegetables are cooked in butter, under low heat to slowly sweeten the ingredients rather than caramelize them. These aromatics are supposed to help coax the flavour out of the prawn shells and heads used in the stock.
With these knowledge at the back of my mind, I did feel that there was added complexity to the soup compared to the traditional types which have a more subtle prawn flavour. Was it psychological? Perhaps, and it's hard to explain how different it tastes from the typical prawn soup. It tastes familiar, yet has an extra dimension to it that makes it distinct. You'd have to try it on your own to understand what I mean.
The prawns are pacific prawns, and I could taste the fresh, crustacean sweetness. They are thoughtfully peeled but with the heads kept intact - ideal for those of you who love to suck the creamy goodness of prawn heads.
A special mention for the pork short ribs that are used here - it's a cliche term but they are really fall-off-the-bone tender. The chili for their dry version has a distinct hae bee (dried shrimps) smell for me - it instinctively reminds me of the hae bee hiam that we often fry long beans with - just spicier. The lard was a little meh for me - perhaps it was off on the day - though the fried shallots were good and sprinkled liberally on top as condiments.
They also throw in old-school prawn mee ingredients like kang kong and bean sprouts. Prices are at $4.50 / $6.50 / $8.50. It can be difficult getting a seat in this food centre during peak hours, so do exercise a little patience!
Prawn & Mee
Block 216 Bedok North Street 1, #01-45, Singapore 460216
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday: 8am to 1pm.
Closed every Monday
Date of Last Visit: 11th May 2022
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