This Amoy Street Stall Has $8 Chilli Crab Noodles—Is It Any Good?

Gan Lao Zai has chilli crab noodles at Amoy Street Food Centre

Given that we’re celebrating SG60 this year, perhaps it’s no surprise that we’re seeing everything from chilli crab burgers to pizzas emerge in celebration of the iconic local dish. One that caught our attention recently was the chilli crab noodles by Gan Lao Zai, a stall located within Amoy Street Food Centre.

Gan Lao Zai offers a variety of dry-tossed noodles with influences from both Chinese and Japanese cuisine—we counted six options, each with its own playful twist. As fans of innovative noodle dishes, we braved the CBD crowds to see if these noodles tasted as good as they looked.

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Food at Gan Lao Zai

We started with the aforementioned Chilli Crab Noodle ($8). All the dishes here use la mian noodles, and the chilli crab noodles are no exception. Do note that you can upsize your noodles for free here!

The noodles were doused in the thick chilli sauce used in chilli crab, giving each bite a mix of chewy goodness and sweet-spicy flavour. But halfway through the bowl, we began to understand why chilli crab sauce, despite its obvious appeal, isn’t widely used in noodle dishes. That bright, in-your-face flavour got cloying and one-dimensional over time, especially since it was combined with something as hearty as la mian.

This jelak-ness was thankfully alleviated by a few elements, such as the shreds of real crab meat. They were fresh, sweet, and came in generous portions, albeit a little lacking in moisture. The presence of tobiko also added a burst of umami with every mouthful.

Those brown chunks on the right aren’t pieces of pork lard, but rather mantou-esque croutons that lent some nice crunch to the dish. There’s also half a slice of ajitsuke egg, which sadly was rather flavourless.

Next up was the Honey Glazed Pork Belly Noodle ($6.50), which saw la mian tossed in a dark sauce and topped by braised mushrooms, pork slices, chye sim, and half an ajitsuke egg.

While this savoury sauce-noodle combo wasn’t as flashy as the chilli crab noodles, it made for a more nuanced and balanced eating experience.

The honey-glazed pork slices were succulent, with a sweet-savoury finish, though we would have preferred them thicker rather than the thin, rectangular pieces pictured above.

And though the mushroom was nicely braised and earthy, it was a little too rubbery for our liking.

We concluded our meal with the Chilli Oil Dumpling (from $2), which also features in the Chilli Oil Dumpling Noodle ($5).

Unfortunately, the dumpling was a letdown. Its wrapping was a little too doughy, and the filling lacked meatiness. Even the chilli oil did not have that addictive fragrance one might expect, though it did have a decent spicy kick.

Ambience at Gan Lao Zai

Gan Lao Zai can be found on the second floor of Amoy Street Food Centre. The hawker centre is full of great food options, but it can get incredibly packed during lunchtime as the CBD office crowd streams in. Be sure to drop by early, or visit during off-peak hours so that you won’t have to scrap for a table.

Amoy Street Food Centre is a six-minute walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station.

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Gan Lao Zai – Eatbook review

Though the food at Gan Lao Zai is far from perfect, we found ourselves enjoying the flavours in each bowl more often than not. So if you find yourself in the CBD and are craving some noodles, consider giving Gan Lao Zai a shot.

For a restaurant with excellent noodles and dumplings, read our Restaurant Aisyah review. For affordable la mian in City Hall, read our 800 Bowls coverage.

Address: 7 Maxwell Road, #02-123, Amoy Street Food Centre, Singapore 069111
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10:30am to 2:30pm, Sat 11am to 2:30pm
Tel: 9027 0782
Website
Gan Lao Zai is not a halal-certified eatery.

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Photos taken by Jordan Ong.
This was an independent review by Eatbook.sg.