Tampoi Ah B Wanton Noodles Review: JB-Famous Wonton Noodles Now In Kallang

Tampoi Ah B Wanton Noodles has house-made wonton noodles in Kallang

If you’re like me and love venturing across the border to Malaysia for their budget-friendly and delicious food, here’s some exciting news! Tampoi Ah B Wanton Mee has opened in Singapore, and it’s so new that it hasn’t even been listed on Google Maps yet! If you haven’t heard of them before, they’re touted as one of JB’s best wonton mee stalls, with consistently long queues back in Malaysia.

Hailing from Tampoi and located in Restoran Lee Soon, a coffee shop in Jalan Skudai, their stall is known for having everything house-made, from the wonton to the noodles. It is said that you can expect a rich, pork-infused sauce, along with springy egg noodles, and huge, plump, and meaty wonton. To keep it legit, the staff at this Singapore outlet were trained in Malaysia before they set up shop here.

Food at Tampoi Ah B Wanton Noodles

As with most wonton mee stalls, you can choose between the soup and the dry version━of which we opted for their better-known dry noodles. Pick from two different flavours: black or white, which can be ordered with or without chilli. We decided to go for their non-spicy Black Mee Kia Wonton Noodles, spicy White Mee Pok Wonton Noodles, and Dry Wonton.

We started our meal with their Black Mee Kia Wonton Noodles ($4.50), which we ordered without chilli. This dish features thin egg noodles doused in a sweet-savoury dark soya sauce base, topped with slices of char siew and lots of pork lard.

Even after sitting out for quite a while, I was surprised to see that the noodles did not clump together. Mixing them was a breeze, thanks to the generous amount of sauce coating them.

The mee kia, AKA thin egg noodles, were evenly coated and came in distinct, bouncy strands that had a satisfying, chewy texture.

While I typically prefer char siew with smoky, caramelised edges━or KL-style char siew━here you’ll be served thick slices of red char siew, which were sweet and not tough.

After just one bite of noodles, I found myself immediately going for my next: it was rather addictive. The savouriness of the crispy cubes of lard paired with the sweetness of the dark soya sauce created a delightful combination of flavours.

Next, we had their White Mee Pok Wonton Noodles ($4.50), which we chose to have spicy. It comprises flat, broad egg noodles coated with a light soya sauce and chilli oil mix. Again, right off the bat, my colleagues and I were impressed with the copious amounts of pork lard given. If you’re not a fan of lard, you might find the taste of pork oil very strong in Ah B’s wonton noodles.

As compared to the mee kia earlier, this bowl of wonton mee was drier and had less sauce, which made it harder to mix. Nevertheless, it’s nothing a few dashes of soup can’t solve.

At first bite, it wasn’t too spicy, which is good for those who can’t take spice well. But I liked that there was a gradual build-up of spiciness, although personally, I’d have preferred it to be even spicier.

The star of this dish is undoubtedly the mee pok. Neither too thick nor too thin, the noodles were smooth and cooked to a QQ finish, with a noticeable egg flavour.

Comparing the two types of noodles, I much preferred the mee kia, while my colleagues preferred the mee pok. I felt that the dark soya sauce had clung onto the mee kia well, whereas, with the mee pok, it didn’t. Perhaps the stronger flavour from the dark soya sauce might have worked better with the eggy mee pok, which had overpowered the lighter, white sauce mix.

Like most wonton mee stalls, each bowl of wonton mee comes with a small bowl of wonton soup, with three dumplings. The clear, peppery soup complemented the noodles, but didn’t stand out.

The wonton had a great skin-to-filling ratio, with a silky dumpling skin enveloping a generous amount of filling. As much as I loved the dumpling skin, I wished that the minced pork could have had a stronger seasoning to enhance its flavour.

To share, we got their Dry Wonton ($5), AKA 干捞云吞 (gàn lāo yún tūn), which features the same wonton tossed in chilli oil and their own unique house-blend of sauces.

We found that the flavour here was similar to the white, spicy mee pok that we had earlier. Like in the mee pok, the sauce in this dish had a subtle spice kick that gradually built up too.

I would recommend getting this dish over their regular Wonton Soup ($5 for 10 pieces). The wonton here is more flavourful thanks to the chilli oil sauce, albeit still somewhat lacklustre. Perhaps you can give their Mala Wonton ($7 for 10 pieces) a try instead if you’re looking for a stronger flavour!

Ambience at Tampoi Ah B Wanton Noodles

Located in Food Haven Coffeeshop, the same coffee shop that houses Fei Chang Hao, Tampoi Ah B Wanton Noodles is conveniently situated just a four-minute walk away from Kallang MRT Station.

A word of caution: as every bowl is made fresh to order, the waiting time can be rather lengthy. Despite visiting outside of the lunch peak hour, we still encountered a relatively long wait, but this could be because they’re still getting used to operations too.

The verdict

If your definition of a good bowl of wonton mee is largely determined by the quality of noodles, then Tampoi Ah B Wanton Noodles is a definite must-visit for you. Taste-wise, you may find that theirs is rather average, similar to what you would get at other stalls.

For solid wonton mee in Singapore, read our Legend Wanton Mee review, where we tried fatty char siew wonton noodles by an ex-MasterChef finalist. Alternatively, check out The Coffee Code, a popular cafe from Malaysia which offers nian gao and bak kwa waffles.

Address: 5 Upper Boon Keng Road, #01-22, Singapore 380005⁣
Opening hours: Thurs-Tue 10am to 8pm
Ah B Wanton Noodles is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Daryl Lim and John Lery Villanueva.
This was an independent visit by Eatbook.sg