I first came across Wanton Fu on TikTok when I saw one of the owners, Ani, cheekily clap back at a troll comment by showing off her wonton mee cooking skills. “This aunty is hilarious, I should visit the stall sometime soon,” was what I thought, and I‘m so glad I did.
The owners owe their masterful cooking skills to the first head chef of the famous Eng’s Wantan Noodle. They were trained by the Eng’s founders back when the renowned stall was still in Dunman Food Centre before they moved to Katong. Shortly after the move, the folks behind today’s Wanton Fu left to open a store of their own. When I asked uncle, one of the owners behind Wanton Fu, what made him want to start his own business, he gave a very pragmatic answer: to make a living on his own.
The first dish we had was the Signature Wonton Fu Noodles Dry ($5.50). The noodles here were different from the ones we are used to as they were thicker and bouncier. The noodles were very well cooked because I did not taste any alkalinity, which is often the problem with thick noodles. As the fried garlic and pork lard were free-flow, I did not hold back on the toppings and slurped away.
Both the char siew and wonton were glistening. The char siew had a good balance of fat and lean meat. While the filling of the wonton is what most people care about, we noted that the wonton skin was chewy and a joy to eat.
The cherry on top was the chilli sauce available on every table. This was heat straight up, so proceed with caution. Uncle told me he stone grinds his secret mix of chilli by hand for hours to make this special sauce. A small dollop of this elevated the flavours of the noodles to the next level.
The Old-School Wanton Noodles Dry ($5.50) was a new addition to the menu. This one is made with thin mee kia noodles! As I’m writing, I can still remember the rich dark soya sauce and sesame oil aroma wafting as the owner brought it to us. The noodles were well covered in sauce, and al dente too. If you like dark soya sauce-based noodles like me, this one is for you.
Next, we tried the sides. The Homemade Fried Ngoh Hiang ($7) was served with the traditional sweet flour sauce that, unfortunately, is becoming harder to come by these days. Even after sitting out for a while during the shoot, these nuggets of meat were still crunchy outside and juicy inside. The water chestnut and carrot within further added a crunchy texture.
Wanton Fu’s mayo game is on another level with their Fried Wantons With Truffle Mayo ($6.50) and Fried Wantons With Chilli Mayo ($6.50). The chilli mayo was not as spicy as their signature chilli but leaned more vinegary to cut the greasiness. My favourite was the truffle mayo as the mayonnaise was filled with truffle bits, and the richness of it made for a very good side dish to pair with the wonton noods.
We left the bowl of Dumplings Soup ($7) for last. At first, we thought this dish would be mid as it seemed like a regular bowl of dumpling soup. But upon the first bite of the dumplings, I realised we were sorely mistaken. Normally, the dumplings sold in most wonton mee stalls are made with minced pork and a piece of prawn, but these dumplings were extra flavourful. On top of minced pork and small pieces of prawn, there were also black fungus, water chestnuts, and a bit of Chinese five-spice seasoning. The owners told me that this was the result of their research and development for the optimal dumpling filling.
Wanton Fu is located on the first floor of the ARC 380 building, which is a seven to eight-minute walk away from Bendemeer MRT Station. The eatery is small but still quite spacious with about 50 seats. The space also has strong air conditioning, which helps with the heat from the spicy chilli sauce.
Overall, I had a great time eating lunch at Wanton Fu. Just as the owners proudly tell me that almost 90% of the food here is house-made, Wanton Fu is the fruit of the owner’s labour, and a great lunch option if you work nearby.
For more wonton mee content, check out our Legend Wanton Mee review for wonton mee stall helmed by ex-MasterChef finalist. Or if you are in the area, check out our guide to the best Bendemeer food places, for rainbow mee hoon kueh, muah chee croissant and more.
Address: 380 Jalan Besar, #01-09, ARC 380, Singapore 209000
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 2am
Website
Wanton Fu is not a halal-certified eatery.
Photos taken by Daryl Lim
This was a media tasting at Wanton Fu.
Summary
Pros:
– Free flow house-made chilli sauce, fried garlic, deep-fried pork lard and green chilli
– Delicious wonton and dumplings
– Affordable prices
Cons:
– Bland vegetables in the noodles
– Not that near to the MRT Station
Recommended dishes: Old-School Wanton Noodles Dry ($5.50), Dumplings Soup ($7), Homemade Fried Ngoh Hiang ($7)
Opening hours: Daily 10am to 2am
Address: 380 Jalan Besar, #01-09, ARC 380, Singapore 209000