We've never heard of Ipoh Prawn noodles until we saw a Facebook post raving about Ipoh Zai Prawn Noodles, a two-month old stall at Tanjong Pagar Plaza Market Food Centre, and its handsome towkay. What is a unique prawn mee cooked by a dishy hawker? When we meet the boss, Ipoh-born chef-turned-hawker Ng Kie Cheong, 41, he tells 8 days.sg that Ipoh prawn noodles are similar to the Penang version, which is spicy and has a richer soup than hae mee found locally.
He says that the toppings are the main difference. Penang prawn mee is served with the standard toppings of fish cake, hard-boiled egg, and beansprouts, while some places in Ipoh add different toppings like char siew, he shares.
Is he handsome? He bears a slight resemblance to Mediacorp host Bryan Wong at certain angles.
Since moving to Singapore more than two decades ago, Ng has worked as a kitchen assistant and chef at various hawker stalls and restaurants. He wouldn't elaborate on details, but he said he has worked as a roast meat chef in a couple of casual Chinese restaurants for 15 years.
When the Pandemic hit in 2020, he left his job as a kitchen manager and returned to Ipoh. After he returned to Singapore later that year, he took part-time gigs at various stalls and eateries before investing S $15,000 to start his prawn noodle business at Tanglin Halt Market in March 2022. He moved his stall to Tanjong Pagar in January due to poor business.