Penang Kia Prawn Mee in Compassvale, Sengkang - From Flying to Cooking

The two main faces at this newly opened Penang Kia Prawn Noodles stall have been making news lately, largely due to the fact that both husband and wife used to work in Singapore Airlines as SQ cabin crew.

They are now situated in the heartlands of Sengkang, hidden in a coffeeshop among the HDB flats. There was also an elderly gentleman in the kitchen, and I assume he is the father of the wife and he used to run a Hokkien mee stall too.

As the wife's side of the family hails from Penang, the prawn noodles they serve here bears some of the trademark flavors of this more spicy variant of prawn mee.

Penang Prawn Noodles

They offer both wet and dry versions of their noodles, and they have a standard and premium selections. The premium bowls cost almost twice as much, and they serve the large prawns that are similar to what you might expect from Wah Kee.

Dry Prawn Mee

The dry version was to me, a bit lackluster in the composition of the dish. While there was a good amount of fried pork lard and well cooked shrimp, the noodles were a bit too cooked and ended up slightly soggy. The sauce and condiments could not really enhance the texture or flavor of the noodles.

Wet Prawn Noodles

The wet version fared much better, and if you are having the dry prawn noodles, you will get the same broth in a separate bowl on the side. And it was the broth that was the standout component in this stall. It was full of robust prawn flavors and exhibited very little pork notes beneath it.

There was a pleasing spiciness and sweetness to the prawn stock that will prove addicting to the younger crowd. While I still prefer to have a more balanced prawn/pork taste to my prawn noodles, there is little for me to complain about this soup.

The prawns for the wet prawn mee were again well cooked, and despite using the regular small prawns for the less premium version, they had an almost crunchy texture and joyously succulent. It was only missing a little seasoning which would have brought out the shrimp fragrance much better.

As for the noodles, it was again overcooked and lacked that slight al dente texture that would have been perfect for such a hearty broth. The portion was fairly generous for the price you are paying and for a bowl of prawn noodles, it was certainly above average.

If they have the willingness to accept some feedback and improve on their recipe, I am certain they will get better and be a prawn noodle force to be reckon with in the near future.

Penang Kia Prawn Mee
205D Compassvale Lane
#01-02