We Found Singapore’s Cheapest Prawn Mee With Free-Flow Soup—Is It Any Good?

Lai Hiang Pork Rib Prawn Mee has $2.50 prawn mee

Dread it, run from it—inflation arrives all the same. The rising cost of living has been particularly worrying post-COVID, and the average person has to bear the brunt of its effects. These effects can be felt everywhere, from soaring housing prices to our hawker food being noticeably more expensive than it used to be.

It has to be said that compared to many other countries, we Singaporeans are lucky to have so much affordable and delicious food around us—$5 for bak chor mee is still cheap compared to a plate of pasta in Europe. That being said, if you’re looking for even cheaper food in Singapore, where can you go?

We recently discovered Lai Hiang Pork Rib Prawn Mee, a stall in Pek Kio Market & Food Centre that’s famous for their, you guessed it, prawn mee. Now we all know that seafood in general is expensive, and yet the stall has a $2.50 option, which isn’t just a bargain for prawn mee—it’s incredibly cheap for a hawker dish, period.

And so being the cheapskate that I am, I jio-ed my colleague out for lunch and dropped by the stall for a bowl of their $2.50 Prawn Mee.

Food at Lai Hiang Pork Rib Prawn Mee

At first glance, their $2.50 prawn mee looked like a standard rendition of the dish with but one glaring difference: there was just a single prawn sitting atop a pile of noodles. Given the wallet-friendly price, however, we couldn’t really complain.

Still, that singular prawn was really good. It was springy, sweet, and fresh. We also appreciated that it was peeled—it meant we didn’t have to waste any wet wipes on cleaning our hands after peeling it ourselves. Yes, we were in full cheapo mode for this meal.

The bowl also came with soft, springy fishcakes and meaty, yet tender pork slices. The generous serving helped the dish as a whole be a little more substantial.

The yellow noodles were tossed in a piquant, savoury chilli sauce that had pleasant hints of sweetness, making it that much more addictive. It also had a strong spicy kick that lingered in our throats. I was lucky to have brought a bottle of water from home to help quell the burn.

The mee itself was cooked to perfection. It had a springy, QQ texture, without any off-putting alkaline taste. There were also bits of fried onions and tau geh scattered throughout, adding a satisfying crunch and fragrant finish.

While we only ordered their $2.50 version, the serving size was large enough to fill us up. That said, if you’ve got a bigger appetite, they also offer a Medium and Large bowl, priced at $3 and $5, respectively.

Prawn mee doesn’t work with a lacklustre broth, so thankfully, the one here was excellent. The rich umami of prawn was apparent in the aromatic and flavourful soup, and that made us finish every last drop of it.

FYI, the soup here is free-flow, so there’s no need to worry about rationing your soup.

Since we were here, we also ordered a serving of their Pork Trotter, available in Small ($4), Medium ($6), and Large ($8) portions.

A small portion of their Pork Trotter comes with six huge chunks of meat, topped with crispy fried onions, all in the same delicious prawn broth.

We were impressed by the ultra-soft and tender meat. It wasn’t too gelatinous either, retaining a pleasant chew that paired well with the firm noodles.

Ambience at Lai Hiang Pork Rib Prawn Mee

Given the stall’s proximity to one of the hawker centre’s entrances, the surrounding seating area is cool and breezy. Pek Kio Food Centre went through a major refurbishment last year, so you can expect to dine in a bright and clean space.

The stall is known to get quite busy and often sells out before closing, so it’s best to head down early to beat the crowd. That said, the queue did move quite fast when we visited—we waited just 10 to 15 minutes, thanks to the efficiency of the stall owners.

Lai Hiang Pork Rib Prawn Mee is located at Pek Kio Market & Food Centre, a 12-minute walk from Farrer Park MRT Station.

Lai Hiang Pork Rib Prawn Mee – Eatbook review

So, how did this prawn mee fare overall? We would honestly have to say it was superb, irrespective of the price. Though it had just one prawn, the flavourful noods and soup more than made up for it.

At just $2.50, this bowl of prawn mee was an absolute steal. We’d gladly queue up for it again!

Check out our Instagram video below for our feature of Lai Hiang Pork Rib Prawn Mee.

If you’re in the mood for more of the dish, read our guide to the best prawn mee stalls in Singapore. For more cheap eats, check out our guide to the best stalls with $3 or less dishes in Singapore.

Address: 41A Cambridge Road, #01-41, Pek Kio Market & Food Centre, Singapore 211041
Opening hours: Sat-Tue 6am to 1pm
Website
Lai Hiang Pork Rib Prawn Mee is not halal-certified.

Photos taken by Heather Ng.
This was an independent review by Eatbook.sg.
This article was originally written by Enze Kay on 10 August 2023.