One of my favourite noodle stalls in Singapore, and I haven’t even got down to writing it till now.
A Noodle Story is a Michelin Bib Gourmand listed-stall located at Amoy Street Food Centre selling Singapore style ramen noodles. Consider a good form of recognition for young Singaporeans who take the harder way to become hawker.
(Click PLAY for video highlights of A Noodle Story.)
While the signature here is called “ramen”, I like to think it is a local take of the Hong Kong style wonton noodles.
“Hawkerpreneurs” Gwern Khoo and Ben Tham have trained at Shatec, with working experience in renowned restaurants such as Iggy’s, Waku Ghin, St Pierre and Jaan par Andre (where Chef Andre used to helm) before setting up their own shop.
You can tell that they are super passionate about their product, tirelessly working at a cramped corner stall in a crowded hawker centre.
Even after being listed in both Singapore Michelin Bib Gourmand 2016 and 2017, they remain humble and rooted.
When asked if getting the Bib Gourmand helped business, they candidly replied that they were “already at max level”, limited to serving 200 bowls per day for lunch and dinner services.
With that said, they were full of gratitude for the recognition, ”I almost gave up in the early days. Now when I think back, those days were a zoom-like blur. Those were hectic 14 hours workdays. Huge sacrifices were made. I persisted. Hope and vision gave me the strength to hang in there. Day by day, bowl by bowl, the tides slowly turned.”
A Noodle Story’s signature is inspired by modern European techniques and Asian flavours, sold at $8, $11, $15.
There were customer complaints after a recent price increase, but I personally thought that was justified seeing the ingredients that went in.
The two guys were really preparing it bowl by bowl, without the short cuts that would compromise taste.
The presentation itself was already note-worthy, especially when I peaked at how Ben carefully arranged each item on the bowl.
Tender cha-su, Hong Kong-style wontons, soy-flavoured hot spring egg, crispy potato-wrapped prawn, freshly sliced scallions and red pepper sit neatly on top of the thin, springy noodles.
Hungry diners can also add on the onsen egg for $1.20, and the HK-style wantons, braised char su, and potato wrapped prawn for $4 each.
They have a unique recipe that cannot be found in any other hawker centre noodle stalls.
The specially ordered thin-noodles had a delectable, lovely bite, without strong alkaline taste.
Gwern revealed that the batches that came in could differ slightly daily, and they would have to eat a bowl early in the morning to decide if they would modify the seasoning to keep that taste consistent.
The sauce, created with a homemade recipe of sambal and dried shrimps, gave the noodles a coat of layered flavours.
That gorgeous-looking Char Su is made using belly pork from Spain, marinated and cooked for 36 hours in a water bath, resulting in a meltingly-tender piece of meat.
It did receive a number of accolades, and understandably some might comment that it was “over-rated”. Especially when the wait could be quite long.
On their Facebook, the owners admitted they were “no saints and do screw-up sometimes”, but would like to humbly invite customers to go back if they ever left disappointed.
Customers are still their number one priority.
”Money had never been the first priority, making YOU (customers) happy and satisfied is Number One. It is for this reason that we constantly source for better produce and keep improving to better ourselves and the dish.”
A Noodle Story
7 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069111, #01-39 Amoy Street Food Centre (4 min walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT)
Tel: +65 9027 6289
Opening Hours: 11.15am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 7.30pm (Mon – Fri); 10.30am – 1.30pm (Sat), Closed Sun, PH
http://www.facebook.com/pg/ANoodleStory
A Noodle Story – Guoco Tower
Guoco Tower #B2-32, 7 Wallich Street, Singapore 078884
Opening Hours: 11am – 8pm (Mon – Fri), 11am – 3pm (Sat), Closed Sun
Read: DFD Singapore Michelin Bib Gourmand Reviews
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and I peaked at your amazing English. lol.