We tried Singapore’s best-rated Wanton Mee

Wanton mee. Think slices of decadent char siew lined on strands of QQ egg noodles enveloped with sauce. Think wanton dumplings floating lazily in a piping bowl of clear broth.

To me, this dish is more than any texture or flavour. It is part of my Guangdong heritage. Thus, I was beyond excited to hop on my first “best-rated series” for Wanton Mee.

There was a store that kept popping up during my search for the best wanton mee in Singapore — Yong Chun Wan Ton Noodle at Bukit Merah View Market & Hawker Centre. At time of writing, the hawker stall has garnered a grand total of 227 reviews and and rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 on Google Reviews.

With their noodles selling out before lunchtime, the hawker stall is infamous for long queues starting around 6am. Huh, how can? 

The highly acclaimed wanton mee store is helmed by husband-wife duo, Gary and Linda, and has been around for over 10 years using old-school recipes passed down from one of their mothers. As the stall opens at 5.30am, the couple begin preparing ingredients as early as 3am to ensure optimal freshness.

I will never complain about waking up early again.

What’s more, Yong Chun Wan Ton Noodles received a Michelin Bib Gourmand last year. With the rise of franchised and hawker wanton mee stores, there can only be one winner of this Cantonese classic.

Is Yong Chun Wan Ton Noodle truly Singapore’s best wanton mee? Let’s find out.

What I tried at Yong Chun Wan Ton Noodle

Waking up at the crack of dawn was no easy feat. The last time where I had to pull myself out of my cosy bed at 6am was back when I was in secondary school!

Nevertheless, accompanied by my enthusiastic father who describes himself as a “seasoned eater” in tow, I groggily trudged down to Redhill.

Emblazoned with a bright white signboard with red and blue lettering, Yong Chun Wan Ton Noodle was not hard to find. Even more so with the long queue that was lengthening by the minute.

Seriously.

As daunting as the queue looked, Gary, Linda and her mother were working at breakneck speed. Funny enough, I noted that Gary has a memory like an elephant too.

Going down the snaking line of customers, he was able to memorise up to 10 orders in 1 go while collecting payments at the same time. Unsurprisingly, he also managed to recall past orders of the regulars who frequent his stall without any prompting.

Fortunately, we managed to snag a Wan Ton Noodle (S$4), Dumpling Noodle (S$5) with extra char siew and Shredded Chicken Hor Fun (S$4) after a 20-minute wait.

Aside from the Chicken Feet Noodle (S$5/ S$6), all dishes are priced at S$4/ S$5/ S$6 depending on the portion you prefer.

Here’s to waking up early — by the time we collected our food, there were about 30 customers in line!

Upon staring at those familiar yellowish noodles strewn messily on the plate, I didn’t really see the hype around it. Note to self: do not judge a noodle by its cover.

Unlike common preparation methods, the egg noodles are boiled in a wok before the dish is served. This yields noodles with a springy texture and softer consistency, which eclipses all the other wanton mee versions that I have ever tried. I could not resist going back for more, soaked with savoury soya gravy as they were.

How could I not mention the char siew? Similar to their egg noodles, the lean meat is cooked using the traditional Ma Jie method in a wok. Although I did not fancy the firm char siew very much (I preferred the caramelised version instead), my dad loved it A LOT.

The Wan Ton Noodle is also served with crunchy cai xin and my favourite… pork lard! This order comes with a comforting bowl of wanton soup as well. Infused with the flavour of spring onions, the clear peppery broth has fresh wantons that boast a firm meat filling encased in silky skin.

But what truly wowed us was their shui jiao (water dumplings).

Loaded with tender minced pork, the dumpling had an unexpected addition of sweet water chestnuts that offered a delightful crunch. Rare, and given that the stall sells frozen packets of their wanton and dumplings, I am sure that there is a high demand for it.

Yong Chun Wan Ton Noodle’s Shredded Chicken Hor Fun did not disappoint either. Topped with well-seasoned shredded white chicken and a shiitake mushroom, the light and bouncy hor fun was immersed in the same sauce as the Wan Ton Noodle.

According to my satisfied father though, the wanton mee still trumps the hor fun. And I have to agree.

Final Thoughts 

Stepping aside from ratings, I truly truly admire the hard work of hawkers like Gary and Linda. Looking at the family working together in a cramped and humid stall, I could never imagine the gruelling effort it takes to prepare bowl after bowl of wanton mee. 

The verdict? Coupled with my father’s stamp of approval, the standards at Yong Chun Wan Ton Noodle did live up to my expectations based on their online reviews.

It all boils down to preference though.

While my dad preferred the old-school char siew, I preferred the eggy noodles. And despite its stellar 4.5-star rating, truth be told, I still believe that the best wanton mee in Singapore has yet to be discovered.

What do you think?

Expected damage: S$4 to S$6 per pax

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