YouFu Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle – 21-Year-Old Young Chap Opens Hawker Stall Selling Hokkien Mee

In my opinion, one of the most difficult hawker dishes to cook is Hokkien Mee. You need an intensely rich prawn broth and the noodles need to possess that smoky charred flavour (aka wok hei). You can’t just pick up the skill in a day.

Recently, we found a pretty good Hokkien Mee stall in Golden Mile Food Centre. The owner, Andre Ong, is only 21 years old. Andre started helping out at his father’s hokkien mee stall in Toa Payoh when he was in secondary school. Now, his father and him run YouFu Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodle.

For a 21-year-old to serve such a plate of Hokkien Mee, I am impressed. I feel this is better than some that has been around for decades.

YouFu serves the dry version of Hokkien Mee. One thing worth noting is that you can choose to fry the noodles with thick or thin vermicelli. I would say go for the thin bee hoon and let it soak up the savoury prawn broth. Andre takes his time to fry the noodles and let the noodles capture the breath of the wok. You are guaranteed to get a rich and intense smoky flavour in every mouthful. For $5, the portion is substantial with squid and prawns buried underneath the noodles.

If you can, order the takeaway packet at $6 where the noodles are wrapped in opeh leaf which elevates the dish. There is nothing much to shout about Youfu’s sambal chilli for now. I hope Andre continues to work on the broth and chilli sauce, and I believe he will be better in no time!