In Hong Kong, wanton noodle is a simple dish filled with shrimp dumplings and served with chewy egg noodles in a savory broth. But simplicity doesn’t mean every stall can do it well. If you were to visit the stalls, you will realize that each stall has a different touch in terms of flavor and texture.

Mak’s Noodle is one of the top 10 wanton noodle stalls in Hong Kong. Even though it looks like every other mom-and-pop noodle shop in Hong Kong, it continuously attracts endless stream of customers in a day. And it even has its own Wikipedia page! How power is that! If you have been a fan of Mak’s Noodle, now you don’t have to travel all the way to Hong Kong because they have just opened their first outlet in Singapore! *pops champagne*

Mak’s Noodle has its roots in a Guangzhou eatery established before World War II by Mak Woon-chi. Its founder had served this dish to the former president of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek. Mak Woon Chi’s son, Mak An, succeeded his father’s business as the second generation of Mak’s Noodle. Mak An managed to create Mak’s Noodle to be a household name for wonton noodle in Hong Kong. He then handed the business over to his son-in-law, Tony.

Tony brought Mak’s Noodle to greater heights. From a small eatery, Mak’s Noodle expanded to a chain of 6 eateries all over Hong Kong (The Peak, Tsium Sha Tsai, Causeway bay, Jordon, Tin Hau, including the original eatery in Central). Mak’s Noodle was also branded to be the “Best Wonton Noodle in Hong Kong”. With Tony ensuring to follow the exact recipe being handed down to him from the founder of Mak’s Noodle, its taste remains unchanged for almost 100 years. Together with Asia Gourmet, Mak’s son-in-law Tony Yung brought the brand to Singapore and opened their first outlet in Centrepoint.

You either love Mak’s or hate them. Because their wantons are not the biggest and for the price you are paying, you get a relatively small bowl of noodles. But hey, what you are paying is good quality wanton, so why not?

In Hong Kong, a bowl of noodles is priced at HK$36 (approx S$6.25) and in Singapore, it will cost $6.90. The noodles and wonton skin are specially imported from Hong Kong. To ensure smooth operations, the 70-year-old chef from the flagship Wellington Street outlet in Hong Kong will be based in Singapore for two years.

The wantons are stuffed full of juicy nuggets of pork and shrimp, folded into little round wrinkled parcels. I loved how slippery and salty the skins would get. As you bite through the thin skins, you get the crunch from the shrimps. Quite shiok! If noodles is not your cup of tea, go for their Wonton soup ($6.90). The broth has a clean and thin in texture, but deeply flavored with dried flounder and yellow chives, giving it a slight ocean-y aroma and savoriness. The soup has a hint of the lye-water (jian shui) aftertaste but not too overpowering.

We also try their Tossed noodles with shrimp roe and oyster sauce ($8.30). Do eat it while it’s hot. The roes are not very salty and compliment the noodles very well. In fact, I won’t know it was roe if not for the menu. Personally, I prefer the soup version than dried noodles. The oyster sauce and chilli sauce are quite lack lustre.

Beef brisket and tendon ($16.50) is definitely part of the menu in all wanton noodle stalls in Hong Kong. It is stewed in traditional Cantonese style with turnip and star anise. It takes a long cooking process for the brisket to break down the fats and turn tender. This is good, the brisket is soft and tender, juicy and beefy, with a nice mouth feel from the tendon!

I am not a wanton specialist but personally, I think Mak’s Wanton Noodle Soup ($6.90) is good enough to eat like a meal for ladies. Yes the bowl is petite and you should eat it while it’s hot to prevent the noodles from absorbing the soup and turn soggy. Most of us on the table preferred the soup version rather than the dry ones as the noodles was firm, al dente to the bite, and had a distinct kee taste. It was chewy and quite slurp-able! It did absorb some of the wonderful piping hot broth.

P/S Fans living in the west, good news for you! They are opening their second outlet at Jurong Westgate!

Mak’s Noodle Singapore

Address: 176 Orchard Road, Centrepoint #01-63/64 Singapore 238843
Tel: 6235 5778
Opening Hours: 11am to 10pm daily

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