Woodlands Claypot Prawn Review: SG’s First “Prawn Hotpot” Stall In Woodlands

Woodlands Claypot Prawn is a new hotpot stall in Woodlands

It seems the popularity of the claypot lala has skyrocketed in recent times, with many Singaporeans crossing the causeway to try out the Johor Bahru eateries that offer this dish. This craze has brought the dish to our shores—see Ubi Claypot Lala—and seems to have even inspired new concepts, such as the one you’ll find at Woodlands Claypot Prawn.

The stall in question offers a “claypot prawn” concept that’s centred around a soup base reminiscent of prawn mee. Fueled by charcoal fire, this broth can be enjoyed with prawns, sliced meat, vegetables and more—as you would with traditional hotpot.

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Food at Woodlands Claypot Prawn

During our recent visit to Woodlands Claypot Prawn, the Speciality Prawn Broth ($32.80) arrived in a sizeable claypot with some charcoal underneath it.

Without much delay, the staff ignited the charcoal, sending the broth inside the claypot—and the many prawns within it—into a bubbling frenzy.

Once the soup was sufficiently heated, that first sip we took of it was just incredible. Brimming with the natural umami and sweetness of prawns, this rich soup immediately left us wanting more.

But the more we drank it, the more issues we had with the broth. Its sheer depth of flavour soon became too salty, too cloying, to the point where we needed some water to wash down that overt jelakness. The balance was just not right here.

Still, we appreciated the generous amount of prawns that were present in the claypot, and the fact that they were large and fresh made it even better. I’d reckon this amount could feed up to four people.

To enjoy the dish hotpot-style, we ordered ingredients such as Shabu Pork ($8.80), Toman Fish Slice ($6.80), Enoki Mushroom ($2.80) and more.

Most of these ingredients were pretty good. The shabu pork, for instance, was cut into long and relatively thick slices that turned out quite succulent after simmering in the prawn broth for a while.

We also enjoyed the toman fish slices, which were fresh, tender, and chunky. As a hotpot experience, Woodlands Claypot Prawn offers a pretty solid one, soup-related issues aside.

Aside from the claypot prawn dish, you can also get the stall’s rendition of Hokkien Mee ($8.80). However, we do not recommend getting this, as it lacked the rich crustacean flavour, egginess, and wok hei that one expects from the dish.

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Ambience at Woodlands Claypot Prawn

Image credit: Paul Toh

Woodlands Claypot Prawn is located in a coffeeshop tucked away in an industrial area. This coffeeshop is quite big and can accommodate large groups of people, but its somewhat closed-off design means that it can get quite stuffy, even with the large fans above helping with the ventilation.

The coffeeshop is a 15-minute walk from Woodlands MRT Station.

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The verdict

Woodlands Claypot Prawn had one major flaw—its prawn-based soup was far too salty and cloying. If the stall manages to fix that issue, however, then we could see the claypot prawn hotpot being a good alternative to the popular claypot lala.

For where you can try great prawn mee in Singapore, read our best prawn noodles in Singapore guide. For more places to get your hotpot fix, have a look at our best hotpot restaurants in Singapore guide.

Address: 10 Marsiling Industrial Estate Road 1, #01-01, Stall 7, Singapore 739276
Opening hours: Tue-Sun 12pm to 10pm
Tel: 9623 1929
Website
Woodlands Claypot Prawn is not a halal-certified eatery.

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Photos taken by Kia Ee Hor.
This was a media tasting at Woodlands Claypot Prawn.