Hong Ji Mian Shi Jia – Old School Wanton Mee at Telok Blangah

Situated away from the highway traffic, Telok Blangah Food Centre houses multiple stalls that are no stranger to snaking queues. On weekdays, the hawker centre draws a huge lunch crowd from nearby office buildings, while families congregate in the morning for hearty meals on weekends. Hong Ji Mian Shi Jia is one wanton mee stall with perpetual long queues on both weekdays and weekends. At first glance, Hong Ji seemed like a typical wanton mee stall but upon closer inspection you will see its stall front decorated with many accolades.

The stall has steadily garnered a fervent fan base over the last twenty years. A magazine clipping detailed how the owner (now well into his seventies) honed his culinary skills under his father for forty years, having started out as a humble push-cart hawker selling bowls of noodles for twenty to thirty cents.

I have always felt that the kind of old school wanton mee Hong Ji does is a dish that people either love, or find it mediocre at best.

As I visit Telok Blangah Food Centre quite often, this was my fourth or fifth time patronising Hong Ji. I must say that their standards are pretty consistent. As always, I ordered my usual standard Char Siew Wanton Mee ($3).

Heavy eaters will not be satisfied with Hong Ji’s portion. For $3, you get a small serving of noodles, three wantons and a smattering of char siew and chye sim.

Despite the tiny portion, Hong Ji’s springy noodles were nicely seasoned with the addition of a spicy chilli sauce which made the noodles gleam and slick. If you are perceptive enough, you can taste the lard Hong Ji added into their noodles for extra smoothness and fragrance. Upon receiving the hot bowl of wanton mee, mix well before eating! The stall attendants tend to messily plonk the chilli onto the noodles, making them uneven and in need of a good toss.

The soup comes with three delicious wanton. Although not the biggest nor plumpest, Hong Ji’s wanton was very sweet, albeit a tad powdery, evoking feels of nostalgia. The soup was quite peppery so if you are looking to soothe the fiery burn from the chilli, Hong Ji’s soup will probably worsen it.

I found the char siew rather average. It was too thinly cut and its texture lay oddly in between the sweet and charred types of char siew. Some parts were also too charred and had a strong bitter aftertaste. The few slices of char siew looked measly, and I later found out that for an additional $1, you get a more substantial helping of char siew. Definitely adding that extra dollar next time!

Hong Ji normally puts out a bowl of fried pork lard bits for customers to help themselves to. However, I did not see the fried pork lard during my visit as I went rather late and the stall was closing for the day already.

Overall, Hong Ji’s wanton mee is the kind that you remember from your primary school days. It is not particularly outstanding, but good enough that you would crave the sharp peppery taste of their wantons every once in awhile.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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