A spicy noodle story

LARD, QQ and sambal. The three magic words a bowl of noodles needs to make history. Or at least multiple reorders. Three very basic qualities that most noodles somehow don't quite get, thinking they can get by on a combination of vegetable oil, ketchup, token chilli sauce and low customer expectations. That's even though the formula stares them right in their water-flour ratio: A bit of spring in each bite; some lard for smoothness and rich fragrance; and a good dollop of savoury heat to kick it up a notch.

This brings to mind two new chef-driven hawker outfits which have nothing in common but the way they use their noodles - making them worthy contenders should a patriotic craving for local food strike this National Day weekend.

At Pang's Hakka Noodles, the focus is more on traditional yong tau foo than noodles but both deserve equal play in chef Pang Kok Keong's mission to make Hakka food great again. Even though we order it as a takeaway, the noodles stay resilient and relatively tossable, thanks to a protective sheen of shallot-infused lard and sautéed minced pork mixture. While perfectly chewy and lightly seasoned on its own, a good blob of medium-spicy homemade taucheo-flecked sambal takes it from girl-next-door to femme fatale status in a nanosecond.

If you're hard put to divert your attention to the real star of the show - the yong tau foo - make the effort because this is what Chef Pang puts all his heart into. There isn't much by way of variety but it's the quality that counts here. It's mainly taukwa, taupok and bitter gourd stuffed with a magic mixture of minced pork and yellowtail fish - with enough fat in the pork to add bounce - given a savoury briny touch of minced salted fish. Slivers of pig skin, quenelle-shaped fish paste and slippery spinach-like mani vegetables are bonus touches in the clear broth.

If you want something to get your teeth into, the chicken wings (part of the signature noodle set at S$9.50 or ala carte) are a riff on Hakka fried pork belly which is marinated in fermented bean curd and double fried for a crunch that stays even when the chicken is cold. After a bland start when the stall first opened, the wings are now well-marinated so there's no more reason to mistake them for har cheong kai.

Wash it down with homemade sour plum "soup" (S$2) - a refreshing, floral-scented brew that's got a basket of cooling ingredients including roselle, osmanthus, hawthorne and smoked plum that's best when it's icy cold.

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If you're looking for variety or the oomph of the Mosque Street yong tau foo of yore, you won't find it here, but you will get earnest, quality cooking that has its own appeal. And the fact that it sells out fast (get there before 3pm) is proof of this pudding.

At Laifabar, its modern wine bar surroundings in Scarlet Hotel belies its hawker heart. With Covid-19 dealing it a hard blow in its original form, chef-owner Royce Lee pivoted to serving wonton noodles, which his grandmother used to sell when she was a hawker during the 1970s.

It's best to eat them in the restaurant itself, although it does offer a delivery service which we decided to order from instead.

Granted, eating at home does not do the noodles justice, but the zing in the sambal-based chilli sauce and the presence of crispy lard bits compensate for the slightly squishy noodles that dropped their Q's during delivery.

A generous portion of meaty char siew in our S$7 noodles is a mix of tender and dry, although an ala carte version (S$10.50) fares better with marbled pork and addictive caramelised charred edges. There's also roast pork (S$10.50) with a decent layer of fat and thin crackly skin. The wonton soup (S$7) features juicy little pork parcels that are best ordered ala carte if you're having it delivered.

On the other hand, the fried dumplings (S$8.50) stay crisp-skinned even with delivery, while the minced pork and prawn stuffing stays moist with a cushioning of fatty bits.

Chef Lee, incidentally seems to have an obsession with chilli sauce. Not just the one that he dresses the noodles with, but a killer, bright orange version that comes with its own warning label to sample with care. It's a scary colour and no wonder, since it blitzes your tastebuds before you know what hits you. Risk the burn and add it to the noodles because it really does bring it to a different level.

Also, for a noodle joint, Laifabar offers an eclectic menu that includes some decent ngoh hiang (S$7.50) - the skinny rolls that you usually find in hawker stalls selling it with a variety of fried fritters and pink pork sausage. Chef Lee doesn't offer the pink sausage but he does have pretty decent egg slices (S$7.50) cut from firm, pressed egg "loaf", salty pork stuffed fried taupok, and crunchy prawn fritters (S$3.50) which is the only item not made inhouse. There's even a competent pork belly satay (S$15.50) with authentic peanut sauce.

Laifabar is still a work in progress but with such digestible pricing in cool, trendy surroundings, it deserves a visit just to taste Chef Lee's hawker renditions on his own turf.

Pang's Hakka Noodles, Xin Tekka, Tekka Place, 2 Serangoon Road, Singapore 218227. Tel: 9021 7507

Laifabar, 33 Erskine Rd, The Scarlet Hotel, Singapore 069333. Tel: 8439 2104. For delivery, go to laifabar.com