Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee – Wanton Mee With A Twist

Probably not an exaggeration here, but I admit that I’ve been to Thailand far too many times than the average person, mainly for family visits during my formative years. With Thai food ranking at 17th place in the list of 100 best cuisines in the world, I personally think it should rank higher if people are more open-minded. Having eaten plenty of Thai food (and not just tom yum) during my time in Thailand, I have to say that my standards have been set rather high that it’s difficult to settle for anything less.

One of my introduction to Thai food was their wanton noodles. Its similarities with the wanton noodles more commonly eaten in Singapore stops here, where the char siew leans more towards the savory side than sweet. Hence, that’s what I’m going to find out today with Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee and their outlet at Raffles Hospital (Bugis).

Brief History

Named after a street in Bangkok known for a popular store that is located there called “Sabx2 Pratunum Wanton Mee”, which has now relocated to Soi 15. I’ll probably give that place a visit on my next trip to Bangkok, but based on online reviews, its reputation has been on a decline for years now with customers disappointed with their declining standards of their food.

Apparently Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee was started by a Singaporean who fell in love with the dish and wanted to bring it to Singapore after learning how to cook and perfect the dish in Thailand, so massive props for trying. Aside from the store at Raffles Hospital, there are multiple Soi 19 outlets across Singapore so it shouldn’t be too challenging to find an outlet near you.

Experience

I just so happen to stumble across Raffles Hospital at North Bridge Road and saw Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee, its neon sign still shining brightly one evening. Not many customers around as I entered the stall, with only a group of elderly people around. Despite its name, they also served other non-noodle Thai delicacies such as Thai Basil Pork Rice and Thai Pig Trotter Rice, but their wanton mee is all I’m concerned about so Thai Wanton Mee it is.

With a few exceptions, my experience with Thai food in Singapore is that finding decent quality Thai food can be a challenge. Either they are priced too high or the bar isn’t set very high…

Taste Test (Original Thai Wanton Mee – $6.80)

Noodles were quite palatable without it feeling too mushy, sauce is minimal but is of the right portion of not being overly oily Would have appreciated a bit more garlic bits in the dish. not just merely saying this as a garlic lover, but I wished that it could pack a little more punch. Garlic became more pronounced at the end but by then it was a little too late. Despite everything, the portions were reasonable for their price point.

The sweet sausage (Goon Chiang) was sweet as it’s supposed to be. I was never fond of them growing up but after tasting the goon chiang here, it wasn’t too bad and its sweetness not too saccharine, albeit it tasted a little dry.

The fried wanton does show some promise, but muddled after taking my first bite. It was on the colder and tougher side, most likely prepared way before I made this order. An improvement to the fried wanton would be heating them up a bit before serving, or fry them right the order has been made. I don’t mind waiting a few more minutes if all I receive is a delicious bowl of wanton noodles.

The char siew has a good blend of fat and meat, meat wasn’t too dry as I feared in initial impressions if anyone tries thai wanton mee expecting to be similar to singapore’s wanton mee, then there’s one thing that you wont be seeing too much here, which is the dressing/sauce because there’s hardly any here since the oil/sauce has already been absorbed by the noodles.

If there’s one part of the dish that was a total letdown, it would most definitely be the soup. As a person who can tolerate soups that most people would find too salty, I’m not going to sugarcoat anything to say the soup’s way too salty even for my standards.

Simply put, this is the biggest flaw of Original Thai Wanton Mee that brought my rating of this otherwise respectable dish down a notch or two. It’s the only part of the dish of taking one or two sips before setting it aside, and left untouched for the rest of the meal.

Final Thoughts

To be frank, my expectations were heavily tampered and telling myself that it won’t be reaching the standards as the dish in Thailand, but after my experience with Soi 19, I can say for sure that their wanton mee was decent both at its economical price point (as affordable as you can get in Singapore, that is) and taste. Salty soup aside, I grew a soft spot for the goon chiang and while the fried wanton can be served a little warmer to match the temperature of the other ingredients, it didn’t took me away from my overall enjoyment of the dish.

Address & Opening Hours

Address

Raffles Hospital
585 North Bridge Rd, #01-04, Singapore 188770

Opening Hours

Mon to Sun, 10am to 8.30pm
Nearest MRT Station: Bugis (DT14|EW12)