Besides my one true love bak chor mee (both dry and soup!), Teochew mee comes close to being one of my favourite Singaporean meals. I love savouring the balance of the sauce as it coats the noodles with just the right amount of lard oil, vinegar, and chilli oil. Punchy, tangy and spicy, all in one. When my dad recommended Soon Huat Teochew Tradition Kway Teow Mee at Lorong 29 Geylang, it was a given we would visit for breakfast over the weekend.
Run by a husband-and-wife duo for over 50 years, it’s no surprise that they’ve garnered a loyal following. Their humble shop is located in between other big names in the food scene such as Swee Guan Hokkien Mee and Hup Kee Fried Oyster.
Stall operations are easy peasy. The elderly uncle does all the cooking himself, while his elderly yet energetic wife takes orders and collects payment. It’s been like this since the beginning and while age may have slowed down their pace and energy, serving hungry customers always keeps them going.
If you do pay a visit, do be patient with both of them! The wait for your food might be delayed due to the kitchen’s one-man show and orders mixed up due to overwhelming orders.
What I tried at Soon Huat Teochew Tradition Kway Teow Mee
Auntie jotted down my order in a paper notebook she keeps by her side and handed me a buzzer so I could wait at my seat. She hastily told me that she’ll collect cash only upon collection. It was interesting to witness a mix of old school and digital practices come together at the old coffee shop.
I’ve to be honest—when I ordered the Minced Meat and Fishball Noodles Dry (S$4.50 for small, S$5.50 for large), I requested for my choice of noodles to be mee kia (thin egg noodles). However, I was served mee pok (flat egg noodles) instead. I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt since orders were hectic early on a Sunday morning until I overheard the next few orders faced the same mix up too. Oh, well, let’s move on.
The modest bowl came with two fishballs, thick liver slices, fishcake, beansprouts, minced and lean pork, braised mushrooms, and pig skin. A small peek into the sauce gave me the impression that this chilli sauce was not going to pack a punch.
A quick toss and bite into the bouncy noodles were all it took for us to determine this bowl was just average. The chilli sauce was pretty normal, though it lacked the fragrance and heat and fell short of meeting expectations.
Yong Xin 永薪: One of the best bak chor mee & dry noodles in Ang Mo Kio
I really appreciated the thicker slices of liver served up at Soon Huat Teochew Tradition, which had a good chew to it. Nevertheless, it was a simple bowl with nothing much to shout about.
Onto the soup version of Soon Huat Teochew Tradition’s Minced Meat and Fishball Noodles Dry (S$4.50 for all, S$5 for large), served with kway teow (flat rice noodles). Likewise, with the dry version, the ingredients you’d find here are the same, with the exception of the lacklustre chilli.
Perhaps it was an off day for the couple, but the soup we had was just too salty. No doubt it was flavourful yet the umami-laden broth simply overpowered the dish.
The fishballs were large, bouncy, and unevenly shaped—a good sign that these were indeed handmade. If you look closely, you will see how aerated they are which confirms their bounciness to one who’s yet to taste it.
A pity the soup failed to rise to the occasion otherwise, this would have been a light and decent bowl of kway teow soup to begin the day with.
I thought I’d switch things up with the Teochew Dumpling Soup (S$4.50 for small, S$5 for large) that often goes unnoticed here at Soon Huat Teochew Tradition Kway Teow.
The small bowl comes with six dumplings and a bunch of beansprouts. I noticed that only one in ten customers would add this bowl to their order of noodles and I wondered if it was going to be the underdog of the meal.
Lucky for me, each dumpling was stuffed with a dense meat filling which I quite enjoyed. Don’t expect minced prawns or chestnuts in here because these are Teochew dumplings, not wanton. If you’re like me and prefer minced meat noodles over fishball noodles, this bowl is good to share with a companion as extra protein.
Final thoughts
Soon Huat Teochew Tradition Kway Teow Mee serves up a decent bowl of authentic Teochew noodles but it was average, to say the least. Don’t get me wrong—this is by no means a bad bowl. Glad I made the trip to try it myself but perhaps, my high expectations set the bar too high. However, if you never try, you’ll never know.
Expected damage: S$4 – S$5 per pax
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