Best Original Wonton Noodles

HANDMADE "WANTON" GOODNESS

Affable Uncle Koh (in red) Greets Customers Regularly 

It is not a post erratum when I use the word wanton instead of the usual wonton for the traditional dumpling noodles, because that is how good the noodles and wontons are at Uncle Koh's - it's better than you know what!

We have been regulars at this shop for as long as we remember first discovering it years back.  Housed in a non-descript row of shophouses along the back streets of Tun Aminah, it is easy to miss this gem of a find when you are not consciously seeking it out.

We stumbled upon it when we were lost once looking for a morning bite in the area.  It was fortuitously serendipitous when we settled on Uncle Koh's and we have never looked back since.  Uncle Koh and I are now fast friends - and he speaks perfect English - which makes me look forward to my visit there even more to catch up with him.

I can see many locals also return to his eatery because of his traditional unflappable hospitality which is fast disappearing in our world of hustle and bustle.  That aside, no one could come close to his traditional dish of wonton mee, especially when paired with the condiments of home-made beancurd and bittergoud stuffed with fragrant minced meat.  The stuffed complements are something I usually stay away from because they are generally nasty tasting in my opinion.  But the ones at Uncle Koh's are not factory churned-outs and you could taste the homemade goodness in every bite.  So every time we are there, my partner and I will always order one each of the beancurd and bittergoud (photo below) for ourselves to go with the delectably homespun no-coloring and no-preservatives wonton noodles.



Most Fragrant & Tasty Homemade Beancurd & Bittergoud Stuffing



Perhaps this stall is not for the generations X or Y who probably has no memory of how the traditional wonton noodles were once prepared.  The younger generation is probably more familiar with the wonton noodles of today doused in ketchup or black sweet sauce.

It is certainly not how I remembered the dish to be served when I first docked in Singapore decades ago.  I remembered either dried egg noodles from Hong Kong or fresh spun ones were then blanched in hot water and served in a sauce/oil that was both light and fragrant.

And that is exactly how good old Uncle Koh does it himself and has taught his staff to do the same (see video below) if he is not manning the stall.  On a lucky day, you may even see the miester himself flipping the blanched noodles sky high before they flop pricisely back into his strainer - a trick nobody does anymore in our streetfood scene of young hawkers.



Our Usual MR17 / S$6 Breafkast Spread At Uncle Koh's

As I mentioned, if Uncle Koh is not moiling around his shop, he would be milling with the customers, taking orders or just simply catching up with the regulars.  And that is what I miss most in today's street food scene - the good-old-days hospitality and casual banter between customers and hawkers.

Nowadays, everybody is either too busy on the phone or adopt an eat-and-go attitude so much so that the kampung atmosphere of camaraderie is a rarity.  I am glad I still find the kampung spirit palpable here at Uncle Koh's.  It is surely a place to bring your age-old parents or elderly relatives who may be yearning for a piece of yesteryears' great tasting traditional wonton mee.



No Coloring No Preservatives Handmade Noodles

On Uncle Koh's business card, it states that all his ingredients and flour-based products bear no coloring nor preservatives - from noodles, wonton skin, dumpling skin to even pepper and soya sauce.  The veggies are freshly blanched and crunchy, and the char siew is lean - just how I prefer.  Now where today can we find traditional street food with such wholesome ingredients?

Dollops Of "Wanton" Goodness





UNCLE KOH WONTON NOODLES

No 106 Jalan Pahlawan 2, Taman Ungku

Tun Aminah, Skudai, Johor.

Tel: +6012 727 2509

Uncle Koh opens from 7am until food sells out in the early afternoon