Chef Kang’s Prawn Noodle House – Michelin-Starred Chef Sells Hei Mee in Toa Payoh

Chef Kang is very busy.

Besides managing his one Michelin Star private kitchen, he also has to take care of Chef Kang Noodle House in Toa Payoh. And recently, he opened Chef Kang’s Prawn Noodle House in Toa Payoh.

Coincidentally, both his wanton and prawn noodle outlets are in Toa Payoh. “Toa Payoh is my playground, I grew up here so I am very familiar with this place,” he said.

Chef Kang spends his afternoon at the prawn noodle house while he heads back to the restaurant to cook in the evening.

There are only two dishes on the menu. King Prawn Noodle Soup With Prawn Paste Spare Ribs ($10) is, of course, the signature dish.

The rich prawn broth, which Chef Kang personally makes each day, is boiled with prawn shells and heads, shrimps and chicken feet. Chef Kang starts boiling the broth a day before so that the stock will be full-bodied and robust when they open for lunch the next day. The mere aroma itself is enough to get you salivating.

Each bowl of noodles comes with medium-sized deep-sea king prawns with flesh that comes off the shell easily. Bite into the succulent prawn to uncover a sweetness and pleasant briny taste. Apart from prawns, you’ll also find tender and flavourful prawn paste spare ribs.

Chef Kang said, “During the olden days, we just mix rice with lard oil. That’s tasty enough.” Inspired by that, he came up with the Hot Stone Prawn Paste Spare Ribs Rice ($10). The hot stone pot is heated on the stove till 300°C before Chef Kang adds a generous portion of rice to it, and topped the rice with a prawn paste pork chop, fried lard cubes, spring onions, a raw egg yolk, and dark soy sauce.

The hot stone helps to crisp up some of the rice at the bottom, similar to claypot rice. That generous portion of pork lard won my heart, and the dish was well balanced with the delicious Prawn Paste Spare Ribs. The thin crust sealed in the juices of the pork while the fried shrimp paste batter packed a punch, with a burst of umami when you bite into it.

This is such a humble eatery serving simple yet homey dishes. Chef Kang said he will come up with new dishes in the near future. Word of advice : be prepared to queue.