Wanton Noodle (Dry) — Small Have been scrolling around social media and noticing some talk about Ah Piaw 亚標云吞面 that has been making its rounds online — these folks are actually an establishment that hails from Johor Bahru, Malaysia with there (3) outlets in operations there; whilst still a relatively new name in Singapore, it is noted that these folks had opened two (2) outlets thus far. Their very first outlet is situated within the Teck Ghee Court Food Centre in Ang Mo Kio — this is also their better known location as compared to the second one that we had visited at 3 Seng Poh Lane at the foot of New Cape Inn within the Shang Taste Collective air-conditioned food court. Ah Piaw 亚標云吞面’s stall at Shang Taste Collective is one they directly faces the main thoroughfare of Seng Poh Road and shouldn’t be too difficult to miss since the food court isn’t one that is particularly buzzy. A stall that specialises in their Wanton Mee offerings, Ah Piaw 亚標云吞面 keeps its menu relatively simple; apart from Wanton Mee offerings, they also do serve up Wanton Soup, Crispy Fried Wonton, and Signature Vegetables.
It is worth noting that Ah Piaw 亚標云吞面 does serve up its Wanton Mee in both dry and soup variants; for the dry variant, patrons can also opt to go for the Original, Original + Spicy, Black Soy, Black Soy + Spicy and Tomato Sauce variants — we went for the Original + Spicy version for our order of the Wanton Mee (Dry) — Small; the Original being the default variant being served up should one not specify for it. One thing worth noting is how Ah Piaw 亚標云吞面 mentions that they serve noodles made using duck eggs — this is pretty much a rarity here; the texture of the noodles already looking fairly different here as compared to the usual egg noodles that we are used to seeing being served up by other Wanton Mee specialty stores over here. The noodles does come with a slightly firmer texture but also one that is more fragrant without carrying any undesirable notes of alkalinity from the lye; the noodles bear a “straighter” look whilst also slightly broader than the typical egg noodles, but still being pretty easy to have. Opting for the White variant meant that the noodles are tossed in pork lard; the addition of the chili gives it a bright, zippy and zesty spicy kick that felt really old-school — not quite as heavy as the sambal-like chili that some establishments uses. Amidst the bowl of noodles, one can find chunks of crispy pork lard; providing even more flavour to the lard-laced noodles.
The Char Siew does come across as a little lacklustre for us; but it does present that sort of old-school Wanton Mee vibes where the Char Siew just isn’t the main star of the dish and just a mere accompaniment to everything that comes alongside. The wantons that came in the bowl of soup were aplenty; we rarely come across an occasion where more than five (5) pieces of wantons come with our order of Wanton Mee even when ordering larger-sized portions — and this is the smallest portion size that we had opted for on the menu. Coming with a silky smooth wanton wrapper, the wantons were wrapped with a decent amount of meat which one is able to chew on and detect the savouriness of the minced meat within — all that without carrying any undesirable porky stench.
We also went for a portion of their Signature Vegetables during our visit and this featured leafy greens that came doused with a little bit of oil, light soya sauce, and also crispy pork lard. The light savouriness here keeps things from being overly heavy to the tastebuds, while we liked how the greens were pretty fresh and retained a soft crunch without carrying a bitter aftertaste. The crispy bits of pork lard are similar to those that can be found within the Wanton Noodle (Dry) — Small; does retain its crispness if not soaked in the light soy sauce and the oil for too long. Overall; a good accompaniment for those looking for some greens to go along with their bowl of wanton noodles at Ah Piaw 亚標云吞面.
Sure, the bowl of Wanton Noodles at Ah Piaw 亚標云吞面 might not look like a gastronomical affair on first impression; that being said, we do feel that they offer quite a good value for how their Wanton Noodle is priced — the small portion of the Wanton Noodle is starts at $4.50, with the largest size being priced at $6.50; the quality of Ah Piaw 亚標云吞面’s Wanton Noodle also surpasses that of what some local establishments are serving up at hawker centres, food courts and coffeeshops. Not sure how aggressive these folks are with their expansion plans of the brand in Singapore considering they have already got two outlets here in such a short span of time, though Ah Piaw 亚標云吞面 is definitely worth checking out for those hunting for a more than average bowl of Malaysian-style Wanton Noodles to have!
