Whether you know Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles for its giant, wild-caught prawns and rich soup or its notoriously sharp-tongued hawker auntie, regulars of the longtime Pek Kio Market And Food Centre stall might have noticed something unusual – its shutters have remained down since February.
But after a three-month closure that sparked speculation about whether the elderly hawkers have retired for good, second-generation owners Lau Fook Wah, 84, and Tham Lay Mon, 81, told 8days that their Michelin-recognised stall is expected to reopen in June.
Set up in 1951 by Lau’s parents, Wah Kee has spent over seven decades building a loyal following for its rich, umami broth topped with fragrant prawn oil and wild-caught sea prawns. The family once expanded the business to outlets at Esplanade and Beach Road, though only the original Cambridge Road stall remains today.
The famed stall has also become almost equally well-known for Tham’s blunt manner, with reviews over the years describing the veteran hawker as “fierce”, “grumpy” and “rude”, especially towards customers ordering the cheaper bowls.
Yet, during 8days’ interview with Tham over the phone, the hawker aunty many netizens fear getting scolded by turned out to be surprisingly warm and chatty. Perhaps the break did her good.
Tham told 8days that the stall’s closure became longer than expected after she underwent cataract surgery. Doctors had advised her to avoid steam for at least a month while recovering.
“After the surgery, I cannot be near hot water or steam due to cooking the noodles, so we had to wait,” she explained.
Her husband and main cook Lau, 84, also recently underwent medical check-ups. “It also depends on my husband’s health,” she added. “We will see how he feels.”
The elderly couple run the stall on their own with Lau serving as the main cook, while Tham assists with both cooking and ordering duties.
(Photo: Google Maps/Ronny Tan Yong Hui)
According to Tham, the stall had initially stopped operations before Chinese New Year due to disruptions involving their seafood suppliers during the festive season, especially since Chinese New Year and Hari Raya fell unusually close together this year. Suppliers typically allow their workers to return to their home countries during the festive period, resulting in manpower shortages and supply disruptions.
The stall had initially hoped to reopen around Apr 6 but Tham’s lengthy surgery recovery pushed the reopening back further.
During the three-month closure, the couple relied on their savings to get by – something Tham said was only possible because they had spent decades carefully setting money aside from the business.
“You think hawker [work is] so easy to do? Must earn a bit, save a bit. Cannot spend a lot,” Tham told 8days candidly.
The couple have three children, though none are currently involved in the trade. While one of their sons used to help out back when their business was in expansion mode, Tham shared that he now has his own career, and only occasionally helps them communicate with suppliers.
(Photo: Google Maps/Serena Tiong)
“Even if we have children, [it’s] not to say they won’t support you but they also have responsibilities and their own families. Nowadays, life is very hard,” she said, with a hint of resignation.
When asked what led to Wah Kee’s initial ambitious expansion plan eventually scaling back to a single stall, Tham said it was her son’s friend who initiated the expansion years ago but declined to elaborate and brushed off further questions.
Wah Kee’s menu consists solely of prawn noodles priced from S$5 to S$25. Tham said all the stall’s prawns are premium, wild-caught sea prawns, including those served in the cheaper bowls.
However, for the S$5 and S$10 portions, smaller prawns are typically halved and de-shelled, with the heads reserved for the broth. From S$15 onwards, customers get progressively larger whole prawns with the flavourful heads intact. Some regulars are also known to order off-menu bowls costing over S$30, even up to a whopping S$45.
The stall’s soup is also different from pork bone-heavy prawn broths commonly found elsewhere. Instead, Wah Kee serves a lighter soup topped with a layer of orange-red prawn oil. Fans praise its clean seafood sweetness and concentrated crustacean flavour, while some detractors have criticised it for tasting too oily or diluted.
(Photo: Google Maps/Javier Lee)
Wah Kee’s pricing and service style have also become frequent talking points. One Google reviewer complained that the S$5 portion was “tiny” and alleged that Tham became annoyed when she asked for change for a S$10 note after ordering the cheapest bowl.
Other reviews have similarly claimed that customers ordering lower-priced bowls were treated more curtly than those splurging on the stall’s pricier prawn noodles.
But some diners have defended the hawkers online, arguing that Wah Kee offers an increasingly rare style of old-school prawn noodles that prioritises premium seafood over heavier pork-based broths. One reviewer described the soup as “pure unadulterated prawn flavour”.
(Photo: Google Maps/Flo Yeow)
Even with rising costs, Tham said they have no plans to compromise on quality by switching to cheaper farmed prawns. Instead, they intend to continue using imported wild sea prawns from Indonesia and Malaysia.
“In Singapore, I can confidently tell you, most people cannot find this type of prawn noodle anymore,” she said. “Mostly they use farmed prawns, not sea prawns like mine. The farmed ones are not as sweet.”
Tham acknowledged that using premium seafood has made Wah Kee’s noodles pricier than most other prawn mee stalls, which she believes may partly explain why business has slowed in recent years.
“Actually our prawn noodles are already quite expensive,” she admitted.
Still, she hoped that upcoming BTO developments around the Cambridge Road area may eventually bring more customers to the stall when it reopens.
Though Wah Kee has long been a polarising hawker institution, Tham said loyal regulars have continued calling her throughout its closure to ask when her stall will reopen.
“All my regulars keep calling me, ‘You got open or not, auntie?’” she laughed. “Some even tell me, ‘Aunty, you cannot retire!’”
(Photo: Google Maps/Flo Yeow)
In 2024, radio DJ Chen Ning visited Wah Kee for a TikTok review with 8days, where she ended up ordering an off-menu S$35 bowl after asking for the same bowl as a regular customer nearby.
“There isn’t even a S$35 option on the menu!” she remarked in the video before Tham replied that the oversized portion was a “special” for regulars. Chen Ning later joked that the hawker auntie “smiled the brightest” after receiving payment for the pricey bowl. While she found the broth “nice though not overly flavourful”, she praised the giant prawns, calling them “really good”.
Tham acknowledged that the stall has developed a divisive reputation online over the years.
“On the internet, people say my stall [is] not very good because maybe I’m rude. But they don’t understand what we go through. I give you the food to eat, I tell you the price and I don’t cheat you. That is enough for me,” she said unapologetically.
She elaborated that customers often underestimate how physically demanding hawker work can be, especially at their age.
“People think cooking is easy? Sometimes [it is] hot, sometimes we are sick. All the customers want us to be fast but how can we be fast when we are old?” she lamented.
The veteran hawker appeared emotional when reflecting on the future of traditional prawn noodles in Singapore.
“We are so old already. We can still sell it now but in future, where are you going to find this type of noodles? No more already,” Tham reflected wistfully.
When asked if the couple’s children might eventually take over the business, Tham replied quietly: “I don’t know whether they want to take over the business. It depends on them".
Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles is located at #01-15 Pek Kio Market And Food Centre, 41A Cambridge Rd. The stall is expected in June. Tel: 9688 3633.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...
But after a three-month closure that sparked speculation about whether the elderly hawkers have retired for good, second-generation owners Lau Fook Wah, 84, and Tham Lay Mon, 81, told 8days that their Michelin-recognised stall is expected to reopen in June.
Set up in 1951 by Lau’s parents, Wah Kee has spent over seven decades building a loyal following for its rich, umami broth topped with fragrant prawn oil and wild-caught sea prawns. The family once expanded the business to outlets at Esplanade and Beach Road, though only the original Cambridge Road stall remains today.
The famed stall has also become almost equally well-known for Tham’s blunt manner, with reviews over the years describing the veteran hawker as “fierce”, “grumpy” and “rude”, especially towards customers ordering the cheaper bowls.
Yet, during 8days’ interview with Tham over the phone, the hawker aunty many netizens fear getting scolded by turned out to be surprisingly warm and chatty. Perhaps the break did her good.
HAWKER UNDERWENT CATARACT SURGERY
Tham told 8days that the stall’s closure became longer than expected after she underwent cataract surgery. Doctors had advised her to avoid steam for at least a month while recovering.
“After the surgery, I cannot be near hot water or steam due to cooking the noodles, so we had to wait,” she explained.
Her husband and main cook Lau, 84, also recently underwent medical check-ups. “It also depends on my husband’s health,” she added. “We will see how he feels.”
The elderly couple run the stall on their own with Lau serving as the main cook, while Tham assists with both cooking and ordering duties.
(Photo: Google Maps/Ronny Tan Yong Hui)
According to Tham, the stall had initially stopped operations before Chinese New Year due to disruptions involving their seafood suppliers during the festive season, especially since Chinese New Year and Hari Raya fell unusually close together this year. Suppliers typically allow their workers to return to their home countries during the festive period, resulting in manpower shortages and supply disruptions.
The stall had initially hoped to reopen around Apr 6 but Tham’s lengthy surgery recovery pushed the reopening back further.
“YOU THINK HAWKER [WORK IS] SO EASY TO DO?”
During the three-month closure, the couple relied on their savings to get by – something Tham said was only possible because they had spent decades carefully setting money aside from the business.
“You think hawker [work is] so easy to do? Must earn a bit, save a bit. Cannot spend a lot,” Tham told 8days candidly.
The couple have three children, though none are currently involved in the trade. While one of their sons used to help out back when their business was in expansion mode, Tham shared that he now has his own career, and only occasionally helps them communicate with suppliers.
(Photo: Google Maps/Serena Tiong)
“Even if we have children, [it’s] not to say they won’t support you but they also have responsibilities and their own families. Nowadays, life is very hard,” she said, with a hint of resignation.
When asked what led to Wah Kee’s initial ambitious expansion plan eventually scaling back to a single stall, Tham said it was her son’s friend who initiated the expansion years ago but declined to elaborate and brushed off further questions.
TINY S$5 BOWL VS S$25 BOWL WITH GIANT PRAWNS
Wah Kee’s menu consists solely of prawn noodles priced from S$5 to S$25. Tham said all the stall’s prawns are premium, wild-caught sea prawns, including those served in the cheaper bowls.
However, for the S$5 and S$10 portions, smaller prawns are typically halved and de-shelled, with the heads reserved for the broth. From S$15 onwards, customers get progressively larger whole prawns with the flavourful heads intact. Some regulars are also known to order off-menu bowls costing over S$30, even up to a whopping S$45.
The stall’s soup is also different from pork bone-heavy prawn broths commonly found elsewhere. Instead, Wah Kee serves a lighter soup topped with a layer of orange-red prawn oil. Fans praise its clean seafood sweetness and concentrated crustacean flavour, while some detractors have criticised it for tasting too oily or diluted.
(Photo: Google Maps/Javier Lee)
KNOWN TO SNAP AT THOSE WHO ORDER THE CHEAPEST S$5 BOWL
Wah Kee’s pricing and service style have also become frequent talking points. One Google reviewer complained that the S$5 portion was “tiny” and alleged that Tham became annoyed when she asked for change for a S$10 note after ordering the cheapest bowl.
Other reviews have similarly claimed that customers ordering lower-priced bowls were treated more curtly than those splurging on the stall’s pricier prawn noodles.
But some diners have defended the hawkers online, arguing that Wah Kee offers an increasingly rare style of old-school prawn noodles that prioritises premium seafood over heavier pork-based broths. One reviewer described the soup as “pure unadulterated prawn flavour”.
(Photo: Google Maps/Flo Yeow)
WILD SEA-CAUGHT PRAWNS INSTEAD OF CHEAPER FARMED ONES
Even with rising costs, Tham said they have no plans to compromise on quality by switching to cheaper farmed prawns. Instead, they intend to continue using imported wild sea prawns from Indonesia and Malaysia.
“In Singapore, I can confidently tell you, most people cannot find this type of prawn noodle anymore,” she said. “Mostly they use farmed prawns, not sea prawns like mine. The farmed ones are not as sweet.”
Tham acknowledged that using premium seafood has made Wah Kee’s noodles pricier than most other prawn mee stalls, which she believes may partly explain why business has slowed in recent years.
“Actually our prawn noodles are already quite expensive,” she admitted.
Still, she hoped that upcoming BTO developments around the Cambridge Road area may eventually bring more customers to the stall when it reopens.
“YOU CANNOT RETIRE!”
Though Wah Kee has long been a polarising hawker institution, Tham said loyal regulars have continued calling her throughout its closure to ask when her stall will reopen.
“All my regulars keep calling me, ‘You got open or not, auntie?’” she laughed. “Some even tell me, ‘Aunty, you cannot retire!’”
(Photo: Google Maps/Flo Yeow)
In 2024, radio DJ Chen Ning visited Wah Kee for a TikTok review with 8days, where she ended up ordering an off-menu S$35 bowl after asking for the same bowl as a regular customer nearby.
“There isn’t even a S$35 option on the menu!” she remarked in the video before Tham replied that the oversized portion was a “special” for regulars. Chen Ning later joked that the hawker auntie “smiled the brightest” after receiving payment for the pricey bowl. While she found the broth “nice though not overly flavourful”, she praised the giant prawns, calling them “really good”.
Tham acknowledged that the stall has developed a divisive reputation online over the years.
“On the internet, people say my stall [is] not very good because maybe I’m rude. But they don’t understand what we go through. I give you the food to eat, I tell you the price and I don’t cheat you. That is enough for me,” she said unapologetically.
She elaborated that customers often underestimate how physically demanding hawker work can be, especially at their age.
“People think cooking is easy? Sometimes [it is] hot, sometimes we are sick. All the customers want us to be fast but how can we be fast when we are old?” she lamented.
The veteran hawker appeared emotional when reflecting on the future of traditional prawn noodles in Singapore.
“We are so old already. We can still sell it now but in future, where are you going to find this type of noodles? No more already,” Tham reflected wistfully.
When asked if the couple’s children might eventually take over the business, Tham replied quietly: “I don’t know whether they want to take over the business. It depends on them".
Wah Kee Big Prawn Noodles is located at #01-15 Pek Kio Market And Food Centre, 41A Cambridge Rd. The stall is expected in June. Tel: 9688 3633.
This story was originally published in 8Days.
For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/
Continue reading...