It does seem that the tenants of the stalls at Lau Pa Sat had finally been stabilised for a while — this is especially considering how most of the vacant stalls had since been taken up, and that there hadn’t been much movement for the tenants for quite a while. That being said, we did come across a new stall that had recently set up shop in Lau Pa Sat — taking over the former premises of the bakery and waffle stall located around the beverage kiosk in the middle of the stall is a new outlet of Pin Wei 品味 Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun. Some might find this name oddly familiar, and it is no surprise to be so — this is the same Pin Wei Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun that has started its operations from Pek Kio Food Centre which is also mentioned in the Michelin Guide; these folks have since opened at multiple locations across the island, including that of Bedok (i.e. Blk 216 Bedok Food Centre) and Senja (i.e. Senja Hawker Centre). As the namesake suggests, Pin Wei Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun specialises in Hong Kong-style rice vermicelli rolls; something which was the trendy item to sell just a couple of years ago. That being said, Pin Wei Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun has stayed true to its roots (they have been in operation way before the Hong Kong-style Chee Cheong Fun craze) — the Lau Pa Sat outlet serving up the same four (4) variants since their Pek Kio Food Centre days; Cheong Fun (i.e. Plain), Char Siew, Prawn and Scallop.

We went with the Prawn Cheong Fun since this would be the default variant that we will go for whenever we try out a new establishment serving up Hong Kong-style rice vermicelli rolls. Just like how most establishments serving up Hong Kong-style rice vermicelli rolls are like, Pin Wei Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun at Lau Pa Sat prepares their rice vermicelli rolls fresh upon order — this would ensure that patrons would enjoy hot rice vermicelli rolls at their very best. Observing how the Prawn Cheong Fun is being done, the rice slurry is poured across a cloth sheet with prawns being placed atop to be warmed in the steamer — once ready, the folks behind the counter will roll up the rice vermicelli rolls and slice them into smaller pieces before drizzling the rice vermicelli rolls with light soy sauce. This is followed by a sprinkle of sesame seeds, before it is lightly drizzled with sesame oil over the top. A dollop of chili is placed on the side as well.

Digging into the freshly-made Prawn Cheong Fun, the rice vermicelli roll can be described as silky and smooth; we liked how the rice vermicelli roll is of the right thickness that it doesn’t feel too thick, yet not so thin that it easily tears apart when one is picking them up with the chopstick as well and holds the weight of the prawn really well. We also liked how the rice vermicelli roll wasn’t too dry and sticky; each piece being distinguishable from another. There was ample light soy sauce to give the dish a sweet-savoury balance of flavours, though we did feel that the drizzle of sesame oil was a little excessive — kinda resulting in the dish feeling a tad greasy even. Prawns were actually pretty decently-sized and provided a natural note of sweetness typical of crustaceans. The chili on the side exudes a mostly savoury note; not particularly spicy given how it should work just about right with those whom have a moderate tolerance to spiciness. Not sure if Hong Kong-style rice vermicelli rolls would appeal to the office folks working in the Central Business District as a meal option, though this definitely serves well as a light eat for those looking for something smaller to share around the table; we do recall having the same variant of Cheong Fun from Pin Wei Hong Kong Style Chee Cheong Fun at their Pek Kio Food Centre location prior to their expansion of operations — perhaps the greasiness of the Prawn Cheong Fun at their Lau Pa Sat location is something that they can work on balancing out.