Ex-Antoinette Chef’s New Hakka Noodle Stall At Xin Tekka Food Court A Winner

Chef Pang was already offering a slice of his Hakka heritage in the form of Pang’s Hakka Delicacies, which served traditional delights such as radish balls and thunder tea rice, as a pop-up concept at the now-defunct Antoinette. He originally planned to juggle the running of the stall at Xin Tekka together with his pastry business. “For the past couple of years, I’ve been doing a lot of research on Hakka food, so I thought it’d be nice to open a Hakka noodle stall ’cos you can’t really find authentic Hakka noodles here. We’ve (he and a silent partner) been planning this since last year”.

Chef Pang attributes his love for noodles to his mum, who used to run a fishball noodle stall in Jurong. “I’ve always loved noodles since I was young and I'd help out at my mum’s stall.” His take on Hakka noodles deviates slightly from tradition, though. “In China, Hakka noodles are usually very plain,” he says. “The main thing you’ll taste is the lard. Their noodles are also thinner. I wanted something a bit different ’cos I love thicker, chewier noodles, and more flavouring. Which is why I made a pork sauce instead of just plain stir-fried minced pork. I also went a step further by combining the Hakka noodles with traditional yong tau foo. Our yong tau foo is different from what you’ll find elsewhere. It contains a mixture of minced fish and pork (unlike only fish). And we use mui heong salted fish from Penang. Only Hakka yong tau foo adds this salted fish — it’s very expensive. First we steam it, remove the bones, then we sieve it to remove all the tinier bones. It’s a lot of work.”

The noodles, which are factory-made, are based on his own recipe and the same ones he sold in the frozen noodle kit he offered via delivery during the circuit breaker. “The noodle maker at the factory went through so many rounds of testing and a lot of bulls*** from me,” he laughs. “I didn’t want any colouring in my noodles ’cos you already eat so much s*** outside, so I wanted it as natural as possible. Alkaline is essential for the texture, but other than that, it’s all-natural wheat noodles. The brownish colour is caused by natural oxidation.”

Many assumed the popular purveyor of fine French cakes and pastries was yet another victim of Covid-19. However, it was high running costs and an astronomical URA levy on his Penhas Road flagship store that eventually did him in. “It was a relief [to close down Antoinette],” he muses. “We did whatever we could. The business just didn’t grow the way we wanted it to. It was easier to close it and start something new instead of trying to correct it. Closing Antoinette gives us something else to look forward to.”

Going from one type of flour-based product to another is a lateral move. Well, sort of. But chef Pang is the first to admit that he’d rather be in a pastry kitchen. “Honestly, opening a pastry shop is easier. This [noodle store] is very much more labour intensive than making pastry,” he says. “At least with pastry, I can sell it for more. It’s perceived value. But if I were to sell a bowl of noodles for $15, no one would come," he adds ruefully.

Located where the Verge mall used to stand, Tekka Place comprises two buildings connected by a bridge. Xin Tekka sits on the ground floor of the annex building alongside the main road. The modern food court (called "food hall" here) has a total of nine stalls and is the brainchild of Andrew Tan, who is also a shareholder of Eat@Seven, a cluster of Japanese eateries in Suntec City. The air-conditioned food court, which looks like a gritty, retro cross between a Bangkok night bazaar and Singaporean hawker centre, seats a total of 180 people. But that number is now down to 130 to meet safe distancing measures. Payment is made at the individual stalls and all orders are self-service.

Barely a week old, Chef Pang’s new venture is already doing blazingly well. His humble stall has a prime spot in the food court and sits right at the entrance opposite drinks stall, Morning Boss, which sells traditional beverages and snacks. By 2.30pm on the Wednesday afternoon we visited him, he had almost sold out of his noodles even though the food court was relatively quiet. “Business is getting better day by day,” says Chef Pang. His plan is to have someone else helm Pang’s Hakka Noodles while he focuses his attention on an upcoming project, which he declines to elaborate on. “The plan is not to be behind the stall ’cos I’m doing something else. I can’t tell you much now, just that it’s a different concept,” he says coyly.

A more refined version of the noodles chef Pang used to sell as a kit at his Hakka pop-up. And it tastes heavenly. We could smell its lardy goodness the minute the bowl was set in front of us. Slathered with aromatic shallot oil and crispy bits of expertly fried lard ("cooked low and slow"), the perfectly chewy noodles are just broad enough to carry all that flavour without being too starchy. The savoury richness from the lard oil pairs well with the sweetness of the minced pork sauce (which takes over an hour of frying with soy sauce, fish sauce and Chinese wine) and is an explosion of flavours in the mouth. So good. The homemade chilli paste is also a winner. Made with two different types of dried shrimp and lots of chilli padi, it’s fragrant and briny with a good spicy kick. The signature set comes with a bowl of YTF and two chicken wings.

The accompanying bowl of yong tau foo (there’s no dry version) acts as a counter balance to the richness of the lard-tossed noodles. The soup, which is boiled with pork bone, chicken bone, carrot, daikon, leek, soy bean, ikan billis, garlic and ginger, is light and sweet. The beancurd squares and thick cuts of bitter gourd are generously stuffed with pork and fish paste — they're rather filling on their own. The paste is smooth yet has a good bite to it, and the fragrant pong of the extra-flavourful salted fish permeating through it is shiok.

These chicken wings marinated in fermented red beancurd are a variation of the traditional Hakka fried pork belly dish. Double fried to give it a nice crispy shell, they’re sadly a bit bland. The aroma of the fermented beans is too light and lacks a good salty punch. We’d say this is a work in progress.

The rice noodles imported from China are slippery and good for soaking up the soup. But the dish is overall too light and bland. Skip this and sin on the far yummier lard-tossed wheat noodles instead.

While Pang’s noodles are a bit pricier than your average food court bowl, its intense flavours alone are worth every cent. The dry wheat noodles (skip the soupy rice noodle version) are magnificently QQ, the lard-strewn sauce irresistible and handmade yong tau food fresh and artisanal. They remind us a little of a cross between bak chor mee and ramen. Go for the full set to get more bang for your buck.

Pang’s Hakka Noodles is at Xin Tekka, Stall 10, 2 Serangoon Rd, #01-55-59 Tekka Place Annex Building, S218227. Open daily. 8am-8pm Mon - Fri; 9am – 8pm Sat & Sun. https://xintekka.sg/

Photos: Aik Chen

All photos cannot be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg