I did not set out to eat Lao San Prawn Mee. I set out to eat rosti.

The plan was simple. Drive to Kovan, park, walk over, eat rosti. We parked, we walked, we hunted around… and then realised the shop had moved. To Simon Road. Damn!

Now, the car was already parked. The whole family was already out and about. Moving meant getting everyone back in the car and hunting for a new lot, and anyone who has tried to park along Simon Road knows it’s a nightmare. No thanks. So we did the sensible thing: stay put and eat whatever was around.

That’s how I chanced upon Lao San Prawn Mee at the 212 Hougang coffee shop in Kovan. No research, no TikTok hype. Just a hungry family and a stall with no queue. Will a bowl picked purely out of convenience turn out to be any good?

Short answer: yes, very good. Long answer below.

Where It Is

Lao San Prawn Mee is inside the bk coffee shop at Blk 212 Hougang Street 21, a short walk from Kovan MRT and the Simon Road stretch. It’s a chain, and the signs on both sides of the stall proudly announce this is their 9th branch.

Which, to be honest, made me a little wary. I’ve actually had Lao San before, at their Bukit Panjang branch (Blk 259 Bukit Panjang Ring Road), and it wasn’t great at all. So I went in with low expectations. Would this branch be any different?

Parking and Queue

We were already parked nearby, so getting here was easy for us. If you’re driving in, try the HDB car parks around the blocks, and whatever you do, don’t count on finding a lot along Simon Road.

The queue, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise. We were there on a Saturday, right at the lunch peak, and there wasn’t one. I walked up, ordered, and got my bowl without the usual “is this worth the wait” mental calculation.