Vietnamese Hawkers Sell Yummy, Hard-To-Find Crab Noodle Soup From $17

The stall is run by first-time hawkers Nina (left in pic) and fellow Vietnamese, Nga Ngoc, 51, who’s the main cook. Ngoc has been living in Singapore for ten years with her Singaporean husband. Prior to opening the stall, she ran a home-based business selling popular Vietnamese dishes, including bánh canh cua, to the Vietnamese community via Facebook groups. This was also how the partners got to know each other about a year ago.

“I tried her food and really liked it. When I wanted to start my own business, I asked if she wanted to open a stall [together],” shares Nina, who affectionately refers to Ngoc as her “godma”. “She thought about opening a stall before, but didn’t want to do it on her own [as it was more risky]. So when I talked to her about partnering, she said she’ll think about it.”

Nina moved to Singapore three years ago after meeting her Hong Kong-born husband, who works here. She worked as a logistics coordinator in a trading company before quitting a year ago to start her own business. Before settling in Singapore, Nina was a store manager at Lotteria, a Korea-owned fast food chain in Ho Chi Minh for nine years. Her experience proved useful in helping with the operations and marketing of their stall. “It takes a lot of work to prepare the food – godma does all the cooking so I take care of everything else.”

Bánh canh cua is a noodle dish made with thick tapioca noodles known as bánh canh – think a chewier, heftier version of thick laksa bee hoon – in umami-fuelled seafood broth and typically topped with pork and crab meat.

At first glance, the soup resembles chilli crab gravy. Both share a vibrant orange hue and a slippery, cornstarch-thickened texture flecked with beaten egg. But the similarities end here. Ngoc’s crab noodle soup is not spicy at all and gets its colour and mildly peppery taste from annatto powder imported from Vietnam, made from the deep, orange-red seeds of the achiote tree.

The shy cook prepares the soup from scratch every morning. “I use pork, crab and dried shrimp to make the soup. It takes about three hours in total.” She also hand-picks the fresh ingredients, like the pork and Sri Lankan crabs, daily from a wet market in Hougang.

Nina says the real test was winning over her Vietnamese customers, which they have achieved with flying colours so far. “Most of our customers are Vietnamese, who found out about our stall through word-of-mouth and good reviews on Facebook and Whatsapp groups.”

She attributes the success to their insistence on making sure everything is as authentic as possible. “We order the [annatto] powder, fish cake and noodles from Vietnam. We keep the taste the same as [in] Vietnam. We don’t change anything.” The stall sells a total of 50 to 60 bowls of crab noodles a day – sometimes, they’re sold out before their closing time at 8pm.

There are three bánh canh cua options on the menu. The cheapest bowl at $7 does not contain any crab meat. Instead, you get two large prawns. For $17, you’ll get half a Sri Lankan crab (about 165g) with your noodles, and a whole one (about 330g) for $27. The crab meat is removed from its shell only upon order to ensure freshness (or you can request to have the crab served separately).

A deeply flavourful crab-forward broth with an umami boost from hae bee (dried shrimp), fish sauce and other “secret ingredients imported from Vietnam”. While it has a thick consistency, the soup is not too jelak and provides a slurp-worthy base to the chewy tapioca noodles imported from Vietnam. The Sri Lankan crab is fresh, with sweet, plump flesh. Next, you have generous toppings like sliced lean pork, pork rib, pork knuckle, white shimeji mushroom, Vietnamese fish cake and quail egg, garnished with chopped coriander. Enjoy it all with a shiok chilli-lime dip. Very hearty and satisfying.

Besides crab noodles, the stall also offers a Vietnamese version of tom yum noodle soup. We found the broth more subdued compared to the original – it’s a little sweeter and less tangy and spicy than what we’re used to, but still tasty and appetising. The dish comes with rice vermicelli, which has a springy bite and soaks up the soup beautifully. The toppings are great, too – which justifies the slightly high price for kopitiam fare. You get two decent-sized prawns, sotong, sliced beef, white shimeji and a heaping pile of kang kong that adds a good crunch to the bowl.

Tip: Go for the $17 crab noodle option. We think it's good value for money, considering Ngoc handpicks fresh Sri Lankan crabs that are de-shelled to order. Plus you get a generous portion of other toppings like pork, fish cake and mushroom – all luxuriating in a tasty, crab-based soup. With an accomplished Vietnamese cook at the helm, we’re looking forward to trying more lesser-known gems at this unassuming stall as they continue to improve and expand their menu.

Crab Noodles is at 27A Eating House, 517 Geylang Rd, S389473. Tel: 96397261 & 88161916. Open daily except Mon, 1.30pm – 8pm.

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Photos: Kelvin Chia