I have been receiving rave reviews from three colleagues of a wanton noodles stall that used to be stationed in Holland Village so when i received news from another colleague of a cook-for-precisely-20-second wanton noodle stall in the same area, i assumed she was referring to the same stall.
Wrong!
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RedRing Wanton Mee is a different story altogether - it has none of the historical legacy often trumpeted by hawkers as it was set up only in 2012 and the brainchild behind this venture was a young 25-year old Chemistry student from NUS!
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This begets the question; exactly what kind of special recipe does this store have that has enabled it to gain popularity in just one year? Answer: Passion in food with an in-depth knowledge of science and the correct use of technology.
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Visually, things are not as complicated as i have seemingly mentioned in the above paragraph; the wanton mee was as normal as most stalls in the market (i thought the char siew was a bit too pale for my liking though).
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Sorry for breaking your cycle but let's talk about the boiled wantons first. Unimpressive and you might be better off eliminating the wantons in wanton noodles for more slices of char siew.
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The application of chemistry came into picture for the noodles; it was cooked for precisely twenty seconds (nothing more, nothing less) in boiling water using a Japanese-made noodle cooker. The technology adopted ensured that you get that QQ texture and minimal kee (akaline) taste. Personally, i am not that particular when it comes to kee-ness, so long it is not overly excessive!
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Nothing prepared me for their char siew though. They were shockingly..... delicious!!!! Yes, this coming from a man who places charred bits as one criterion necessary in any char siew!
Two things played a part to retain the juiciness and enhance the smokey flavour without the sinfully burnt caramelisation; use of the pig's prized cut and the purchase of yet another equipment. Whatever the case, i would love to get my hands on the machine just so my dad will stop nagging whenever he catches me digging into a plate of nicely caramelised char siew!
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Red Ring actually refers to the moat of thickened red sauce surrounding the noodles served to you. Made of fourteen secret ingredients, it was not as spicy as i expected (you can opt for a spicier level) and i thought it was similar to a tomato and chilli sauce mix. However, don't belittle it; the flavour is indeed one of a kind and goes extremely well with the 20-second noodles!
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Oh, by the way, i am so loving the free flow pork lard!
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Location
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Block 46, Holland Drive
[Chiangs Swallow Coffeshop]
燕群餐室
Price
Minimal S$2.50.
Note: Please go for S$3.00 as the serving for S$2.50 was way way way too pathetic!