The Battle For Batok – Which Hokkien Mee Stall at Bukit Batok Street 11 is King?

Two food centres. Two hawker stalls. Having lived in Bukit Batok my entire life, I often visit either one of these food centres for a quick bite before catching a movie at West Mall with my friends. My favourite dish? Fried Hokkien Mee! Located in a housing estate in the heart of Bukit Batok West are two rows of hawker stalls belonging to two adjacent food centres — Bukit Batok Broadway Food Centre and Yong Xing Mian Jia Coffeeshop.

The former is home to 777 Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee which recently took over its predecessor Soon Kee Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle in 2018, while the latter is home to Fried Baby Squid Prawn Mee which has been around since the early 1980s.

777 Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee

777 Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee has two options on their menu — the original Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee ($3.50/ $5.50/ $8) and a Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee + Roasted Pork ($5/ $7/ $10). I decided to go for the small portion of Hokkien Mee with Roasted Pork to have more ingredients on my plate. While ordering, I was chiefly curious as to how this new stall compared to the old Soon Kee Fried Hokkien Mee of my childhood.

Different stalls use a different ratio of noodles for their Hokkien Mee. For example, 777 Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee uses more yellow noodles than thick bee hoon. Although the noodles did have a slight taste of lye (which is sometimes used during the preparation process of noodles to give them a chewier texture), mixing in the stall’s chilli not only got rid of it but added flavour and tanginess to the entire dish. To me, the quality of their chilli is consistent with that of Soon Kee’s. If I had to describe what each mouthful of noodles mixed with their chilli sounds like in a voice-over, it’d be: “WAPAK!!!”

Don’t be shy! The stall leaves a container of fried pork lard, right beside their utensils, which you can add onto your plate at your own discretion. Some of the pork lard bits had gone soft, but most was still crispy. Nonetheless, it still added additional flavour and texture to the gooey Hokkien Mee! While the prawns were fresh, the roasted pork was a little disappointing as the skin wasn’t all that crispy and the meat was a tad dry.

Fried Baby Squid Prawn Mee

Looking at the multiple old Chinese newspapers clippings plastered all over Fried Baby Squid Prawn Mee’s stall front, it doesn’t take much to infer that they have been around for a very long time! The stall is manned by either father and son, or a group of 4 part-timers. I was unfortunate enough to be there on a day when the latter was at work. Do let me know if there’s any difference in the standard of the food! The stall’s Hokkien Mee comes in 3 portions — $4, $6, or $8.

I decided to go with their medium portion. Similar to 777 Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee, this stall also allows you to add your own portion of fried pork lard. Likewise, there was a combination of both crispy and not-so-crispy bits which ultimately still worked at enhancing the dish’s texture and taste. Although this stall’s chilli was more mellow and sweet, with a shrimp paste flavour, their gravy-soaked noodles had a more savoury and rich taste. And of course, there’s fresh and chewy baby squids! They also use more thick bee hoon noodles than yellow noodles, which, I feel, give the dish a smoother texture.

I thoroughly enjoyed both plates of Hokkien Mee but if I were to come back to Bukit Batok again, I think I’ll be more inclined to go to Fried Baby Squid Prawn Mee because I prefer the overall flavour of their noodles and their squids. However, if you’re looking for chilli that really packs a punch, I’ll recommend 777 Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee instead!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visits and paid its own meals at the stalls featured here.

Let’s build a food community that helps to update the food news in Singapore! Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to 777 Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee or Fried Baby Squid Prawn Mee. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!