Yvonne Lim Has A Hack To ‘Zhng’ Her Favourite Beach Road Prawn Noodles

Jumbo Prawn Mee, $13.50

Yvonne really loves hae mee and though she seeks out new stalls, her fave is still the one at Beach Road. She says she loves its robust, umami broth and roe-filled tiger prawns. Most intriguing is the fact that she has a unique way of enjoying the hae mee here – something she's been doing since she was 18.

“I will order the dry version with thick bee hoon which comes with their house-made chilli sauce, and request for a second extra bowl of soup on the side (on top of the one free small bowl, which Yvonne saves to sip on its own). Then I add the soup into the dry noodles, mix it up and eat. The noodles, when tossed in the flavourful chilli sauce, is already very tasty, but adding soup to it levels it up,” she gushes. 

“When you compare this soup to the original prawn broth, you will realise it’s a different taste altogether.” 

Sounds a little like Yvonne has concocted a DIY spicy Penang-style prawn mee soup (which has sambal stirred into the broth). 

Sin Nee was impressed after trying Yvonne’s method of eating prawn mee. “The sauce and soup are very rich and but they don't overpower each other. You can taste many different flavours in one dish,” she says. 

“The boss is going to start rejecting requests for extra soup when this interview goes out.” 

 “I hope he will still give me my extra bowl of soup,” says a worried Yvonne.

Beach Road's second-gen boss Justin Lee later clarified with 8days.sg that they do not give extra bowls of soup, but make an exception for Yvonne as she is an "old friend". Customers, however, can ask for free refills.

Good food must share

It was Yvonne’s friend who introduced her to this unusual way of enjoying prawn mee and she has never looked back. She’s tried it with hae mee from other hawker stalls but “it’s just not the same”.

The self-professed “ambassador of hawker food” is so proud of her hack, she shares it with foreign friends when she brings them to the eatery. 

“Most people will try laksa or Hainanese chicken rice, or even fried Hokkien mee when they visit Singapore, but rarely prawn noodles. I feel it’s very underrated [so] I bring my friends here. I have brought (Hong Kong star) Eric Suen here and he ate the prawn mee my way and really liked it,” says Yvonne.

Yvonne’s tip to beat the queue

However, since relocating to Taipei with hubby Alex Tien, 44, and their two kids, AJ, nine, and Alexa, eight, in 2015, her visits have been less frequent as she says it’s very difficult to get a table at the popular eatery.

“I usually have my kids with me and I don’t want to have to wait. I don’t enjoy any perks [as a longtime customer]. I queue just like everyone,” she tells 8days.sg.

To avoid the queue, she recommends going there early in the morning or after 2pm when they are about to close.

Despite her love for prawn noodles, it’s not a dish that Yvonne, who is known for her culinary skills, would want to make herself. 

“I tried cooking it, but to make a good broth, you need to shell a lot of prawns to get the heads and shells. It’s just too much work,” she laughs.

Beach Road Prawn Mee is at 370 East Coast Rd, S428981. Open daily except Tue, 7am – 4pm. 

Photos: JustSwipeLah

Watch #JustSwipeLah for more on Yvonne Lim's hawker recommendations: