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.
Price
I went with the cheapest option, the Traditional Prawn Noodles (传统虾面) at S$5.20. Here’s what landed in the bowl:
- 2 small-to-medium prawns, sliced into 4 halves
- Fish cake slices
- Crispy pork lard
- Fried onions
- Yellow noodles
The rest of the menu, for reference:
- Traditional Prawn Noodles: S$5.20 / S$6.20 / S$7.20 (the bigger sizes add more prawns)
- Pork Rib Noodles: S$6.00
- Signature Prawn Noodles (prawn, prawn paste, pork rib): S$6.50
- Pork Rib Prawn Noodles: S$6.90
- Three Kings Noodles: S$7.90
- Big Prawn Noodles: S$8.50
- Pig stomach, pig intestine and pig tail noodles: S$5.70 to S$6.30
All come dry or soup. You can pick yellow noodles, bee hoon, kway teow, mee kia or mee pok. Takeaway is an extra S$0.10 to S$0.30.
For S$5.20, two small-to-medium prawns, fish cake and pork lard is somewhat reasonable. But I want more.
Lao San Prawn Mee Review: The Taste
The Soup
This is where Lao San Prawn Mee earns its keep.
The broth is flavourful and very savoury, with not a lot of sweetness. It’s umami, prawny, with all the richness of the sea.
What really got me was how it finishes. All the good notes hit the back of your throat and leave a huge impression. It lingers. Long after each sip, it keeps reminding you of the flavour.
Look at the surface of the soup and you’ll see it’s layered with oil, from both the scallion and the prawns. The zhup from the prawns even forms and sticks around the wall of the bowl. If you’ve eaten enough prawn mee, you know that’s a good sign.
Just a step away from perfection. And I think I know what that step is: rock sugar.
Either they didn’t add any, or they added very little. If the rock sugar were more pronounced, it could elevate the entire bowl to the next level. It sounds counterintuitive, but making the bowl a little sweeter actually brings out more of the savoury. The sweetness rounds out the broth and makes the prawny, umami notes pop even harder.
The Noodles
I went with yellow noodles, and I was glad to find no kee (alkaline) taste at all. If you’ve ever had yellow noodles that taste faintly of soap, you’ll know why I’m pointing this out.
Even better, the noodles absorbed all the goodness of the soup. Every mouthful carried the broth with it.
The Pork Lard
Tasty and crispy. No complaints here. It adds that bit of fatty crunch that a good bowl of prawn mee needs.
The Chilli Powder: Eat It in Two Parts
Here’s my one strong suggestion: eat this bowl in two halves.
Have the first half as it comes, without the chilli powder. That’s how you get to taste the broth in its full, savoury, prawny glory.
Then add the chilli powder for the second half. It reinvents the bowl into another dish: slightly more savoury, with a kick from the chilli.
Pro Tips for Your Bowl
- Split it in two. Plain first, then with chilli powder. Don’t dump the chilli in from the start.
- Drink the soup early. It’s best hot, when the prawn oil is still sitting on top.
- Want more prawns? Size up to S$6.20 or S$7.20 rather than expecting much from the S$5.20 bowl.
- Driving? Aim for the HDB car parks around the blocks, not Simon Road.
The Verdict: Is Lao San Prawn Mee Worth It?
A solid bowl of prawn noodles. Lao San Prawn Mee delivers a broth that a lot of more famous stalls would be happy to have, and there’s no queue. After my forgettable bowl in Bukit Panjang, this Kovan branch was a genuine surprise. Clearly, not every Lao San is made equal.
It actually reminds me of Shiok Hokkien Mee. Both are chains, and with both, your mileage varies depending on which branch you walk into. That’s the thing about branches: they can be inconsistent. The difference, from my experience with both brands, is how much they swing. Shiok is almost a benchmark guarantee. Even when a branch deviates, it’s still okay good. Lao San? The deviation is huge. It can swing from one end of the spectrum to the other, as my Bukit Panjang and Kovan bowls prove.
But here’s the honest bit. It’s a very good bowl of prawn mee, but it’s not addictive. It doesn’t make me crave it days later or plan a trip back for it. Now, Zhup Zhup? That one is addictive. But that’s another post for another day. And for S$5.20, I wish there was a bit more in the bowl. Good, very good, but just a wee bit more to become great.
My Rating
| Criteria | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Soup | 4/5 | Savoury, prawny, lingers. A touch more rock sugar would make it great |
| Noodles | 4/5 | No kee taste, soaks up the broth well |
| Ingredients | 3.5/5 | Somewhat reasonable for S$5.20, but I want more |
| Pork lard | 4/5 | Tasty and crispy |
| Wait time | 5/5 | No queue, even at Saturday lunch peak |
| Value | 4/5 | The broth makes up for the modest toppings |
| Overall | 4.1/5 |
My recommendation:
- If you’re in the Kovan area and craving noodles, go. It’s an easy, reliable pick.
- If you’re planning a special trip just for prawn mee, it’s good, but maybe not cross-island good.
- If you’ve had Lao San elsewhere and weren’t impressed, give the Kovan branch a chance. Just know that with Lao San, the branch matters a lot.
- Whatever you do, eat the first half without the chilli powder.
Will I return? Definitely, if I’m in the area and craving a good bowl of noodles.
Lao San Prawn Mee (Kovan) bk coffee shop, Blk 212 Hougang Street 21, Singapore 530212
As always, taste is subjective. This is my honest take from one visit, paid for out of my own pocket.
