Our Eng’s Wanton Mee & Claypot Rice Review
The Eng’s Wanton Mee & Claypot Rice over at East Village (Simpang Bedok) was an eating outlet where you could find the popular Eng’s Wanton Mee (this outlet was a franchise off the original ones at Tanjong Katong) and the Ah Ching Claypot Rice which had a long history (you can read about it on the wall). Both brands operated under Jia Yuan which serves Zi Char dishes as well as other Noodle and Claypot variations like Prawn Noodles, Braised Fish / Eggplant / Braised Pork Ribs / Braised Fish / Braised Duck Claypot.
We visited them on a weekday evening and we got our seats near the entrance where one of them was just below the Display TV (no one was hurt on that day, heng ah!).
Initially we thought we had to join (long) queue to make our order (and pay) at the cashier counter but luckily one of the staffs saw us and helped to take the order.
We ordered their Claypot Rice, Regular ($13), Wanton Mee, Dry (Large) ($5.50), a Iced Lime Juice ($1.50) and a Iced Luohanguo ($1.50). We asked for no garnishes and luckily she took note. We were told to wait at least 30 minutes for the Claypot Rice.
We also found that another popular choice among the customers was their Soups.
One thing that we did not liked were the pesky houseflies which started flying around us after the first dish was served and we had to keep swinging our hands around, throughout the whole meal, to shoo them away. Another thing was that our clothes were soaked with a smoky smell after we left the place.
— Wanton Mee, Dry (Large) ($5.50)
This bowl of Char Siew Wanton Noodle was served first, together with a bowl of Wanton Soup and it came like 5 minutes after our order.
We liked that the Large size came with everything upsized (vegetables, noodles and char siew).
On first taste, the noodle was a special kind of Egg Noodle (slightly thicker than Mee Kia but thinner than yellow noodle) which was more springy / tangy. The Char Siew came with some fats and a layer of sweet taste on the outer skin. There was a layer of sweet sauce and fried pork lards at the bottom as well. We only found the pork lards later and they were already a bit soggy and lost a fair bit of the crunchiness but still tasted quite good after soaking in the sweet sauce.
Another thing we liked was that the noodle still tasted good and springy while we ate between the two meals.
Most of the time, we would ask for green chili to eat with our wanton noodles but we did not have to with this bowl.
The soup was a rather small bowl for two and it came with four Wantons. The soup tasted thick with wanton taste and the wanton was all filled with ground meat (no signs of greens in it). The wanton skin had a slippery texture as well.
— Spicy Chilli Sauce
On each table was this bottle of Chili Sauce. We gave it a try with our noodles and wanton and it was really spicy. The tip of our tongues even got bit numbed. We found out that this chili sauce was one of their special item and known to be devilish-hot.
— Claypot Rice, Regular ($13)
This was served less than 5 minutes after the Char Siew Wanton Noodle was served. We had to ask the staff a few times to confirm that it was ours. The female staff explained they would serve what they had prepared beforehand for those who had reserved their seats but yet to arrive. Another couple sitting next to us were also asking the staff the same thing as us.
One thing we liked (and were surprised) was that they provided an extra service by helping to stir and mix the rice. We had the choice of mixing the rice together/separately with the Salted Fish as well as whether we wanted extra dark sauce.
The rice also came with sambal chili so we could eat with this or the spicy chili sauce. We chose none as the dark sauce was good enough. We had earlier asked for no garnishes but some still managed to sneak in.
This Claypot Rice also came with Chinese Sausage which was not that salty and bits of vegetables. The Key Ingredient was their tender, springy chicken thigh chunks. Overall, it was a good mix of (smoky) taste (rice + dark sauce + salted fish + chinese sausage + chicken thigh meat).
We tried to finish the whole pot but there was too much of charred / burnt crust at the bottom. The amount could easily filled a bowl.
— Payment
We were given the payment slip during the meal and we made our payment over at the cashier counter after our meal. They accept PayNow (UEN: 201926256H / Salivating Goodness Pte Ltd) and Cash only. They do not charge any GST and Service Charge.
How To Get To Eng’s Wanton Mee & Claypot Rice?
- Address: 430 Upper Changi Rd, #01-09 East Village, Singapore 487048 (Google Maps)
- Opening Hours:
- Daily: 8am – 10pm
- Contacts for Reservations, Orders and Pick-ups:
- 8723 5099
- 6214 3182
- 9868 0934