Keow Teow Kia - Wine Fragrance Noodle Soup @ Blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road

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Foodclique and Happy Hawker are two longtime coffee shops at blk 132 Jurong Gateway Road. Located side by side, both have been there for as long as I can remember.

A week ago, after having my Hakka yong tau foo at Foodclique, I went over next door to check out Happy Hawker which has changed hands earlier this year. It is currently known as 咖啡仔来了.

Other than the popular braised duck stall at the corner, the remaining stalls at this coffee shop are all new.

Among them is this stall named Keow Teow Kia which specializes in Malaysian-style noodles.

Keow teow refers to kway teow but I wonder why is it spelled as such instead of koay teow like they usually do in Malaysia?

Anyway, on the menu are:

keow teow soup ($4.50),
dry noodle soup ($4.50),
wine fragrance noodle soup ($4.80),
bitter gourd minced meat soup with rice/noodle ($5.50),
signature soup with rice/noodle ($5.50),
salted fish mee tai mak soup ($5), and
fish ball soup ($3.80)

Among the options available, the wine fragrance noodle soup and salted fish mee tai mak soup stood out for its uniqueness. I was undecided between the two but after some debating, I picked the former.

As its name implies, this is basically a bowl of noodle soup with the addition of Shaoxing cooking wine.

Ingredients included minced pork, sliced pork, fried fish fritters, fish cake, fish balls and a leaf of lettuce.

The Shaoxing wine is served separately in a spoon-like saucer which you can add according to your preference. I poured everything into the bowl of soup.

There are already three pieces of fried fish fritters in the bowl but I topped up a dollar for additional eight pieces more.

These saltish and chewy flavor bombs are wrapped in crispy tau kee skin. The texture reminded me a little of ikan lekor.

As for the soup, it is clear and not cloudy with pork essences.

Upon my first sip, I find it rather light and clean tasting. However, a faint umami flavor soon spread across my tongue, tingling my tastebuds. Although the umaminess is not too pronounced, there is just enough to give the soup some body.

It may be light but it is not bland at all. In fact, I cannot stop drinking it.

The addition of Shaoxing wine gives the dish a nice aroma.

The keow teow kia is not as slippery smooth as I had expected but the portion is surprisingly generous for its price point. If you are sick of the usual MSG-heavy choices, this bowl of keow teow kia th'ng is worth a try.