The next time you order a bowl of wonton mee, don’t be surprised if it comes with sides like spicy whole quail and a chrysanthemum-tea cocktail to chase it down.
This is one possible future of hawker fare, as young chefs look for innovative ways to improve current versions. Take Wanton, for example. The new noodle bar at 52 Amoy Street, which opened at the end of June, is a joint venture between the famous Seng’s wonton noodle stall at Dunman Food Centre and The Establishment Group, which owns modern European restaurant Pluck and Gem Bar.
The 28-year-old shares that he uses finer dumpling skin for juicier wonton and imports premium cuts like Spanish pork belly for the char siew. He acquired Seng’s noodle stall two years ago.
Ng is not alone in doing this. Tan Ken Loon, owner of The Naked Finn, uses a combination of wild-caught giant red shrimp and dried sakura shrimp to make the intensely flavoured broth for his hae mee tng (prawn noodle soup). He also serves up iberico pork lard and distilled prawn oil as condiments at his Gillman Barracks restaurant.
And where diners might once have closed their eyes to what exactly goes into their bowl of noodles, these new improved versions could afford them some relief at finally knowing the provenance of their beef or pork. Come to think of it, an idea worth exporting to China, then?