Lao Gu Ban 老古板 – Handmade Noodles & Prawn Paste Soup

Hidden in the middle of the concrete jungle of Tanjong Pagar is an old school coffee shop with yummy handmade noodles. They pride themselves on having all things handmade from scratch, just the 老古板 (old-fashioned) way. If you’re craving for some homecooked food, the noodles here might fit the bill. Mellow, comforting and flavourful. You might just find a taste of home in the food served here.

Lao Gu Ban (LGB) has a substantial menu that consists of various types of soups paired with a bowl of springy noodles. I love that the noodles are not too thick and floury. When you bite into it, you won’t feel that you’re just biting into a chunk of flour. Every bowl of noodles is tossed with a mix of sauces. I’m not too sure what goes into it, but it makes the noodles much more tasty and flavoursome! Other than the secret tasty sauce, every bowl also consists of three pieces of mock abalone.

I had the Handmade Mushroom and Fish Maw Noodles ($6) and the Handmade Prawn Paste Noodles ($6). The noodles that come with a bowl of soup is available in two sizes — $6 and $8 (for the days when you feel like you can eat a horse). Although prices stand on the steeper side for a hawker stall, they are very generous with the ingredients which make the dishes value-for-money. Bonus points for them tasting like bowls of homecooked food too!

The Handmade Mushroom and Fish Maw Noodle stood out and I preferred this to the Prawn Paste Noodles. The noodles had an extra ingredient of mushrooms, which almost makes it feel like a bowl of bar chor mee (minced meat noodle) but with handmade noodles. There was also the addition of 扁鱼干 (dried flatfish) for a salty punch to the otherwise plain noodles.

That aside, what stood out to me was the fact that the soup has a tinge of sour aftertaste that was very pleasant. It feels like they added some suan cai (pickled mustard greens) in the making of it. It is not too overpowering, and in fact, it’s slightly addictive! I think that it’s going to be a favourite for those who have an old person’s tastebuds like myself. Expect ingredients like a Teochew dumpling, a fish dumpling, fish maw, vegetables and minced meat in the soup. Wow. I was just constantly scooping up something new.

Moving on to the Handmade Prawn Paste Noodles. It was vastly different from the fish maw noodles. In the soup, there was a seemingly endless supply of prawn paste cubes and the handmade noodles were just straight up noodles with three pieces of mock abalone. For a fuss-free meal with no surprises, this will be great.

The prawn paste cubes are all handmade (with love). Each one has a unique shape, but roughly in the form of a cuboid. They were springy and had a very good consistency. They taste very different from the factory-made prawn paste things.

The prawn paste is best eaten with another original concoction of theirs — the chilli sauce. The stall assistant was encouraging me to try their chilli as she explained it’s an original recipe by them, and it complements the food. Well, she was right! Dip the prawn paste into the chilli, and it immediately tastes much better. The chilli sauce lies on the saltier side due to the addition of soya sauce, but at the same time, it’s countered with a strong fragrance of garlic that brings back the balance. Don’t forget to get a saucer or two of the chilli at the self-service condiments table while waiting for your order!

There’s just something about traditions and things that are made by hand. Even though you might not see what goes on behind the scenes, you are able to “taste” the effort and passion in them Here’s to the ones who make heartwarming meals like this possible!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.