Restaurant Review: Ebi Bar Perfects the Art of Prawn Noodles in Cuppage Plaza
PUBLISHED May 27th, 2021 06:00 am | UPDATED June 1st, 2021 12:45 pm
Daring and uncompromising, Ebi Bar has really hit the nail on the head with its contemporary take on a local favourite: hae mee, or prawn noodles. One of the most flavourful broths and deliciously complementary flavours are what you get when this dish is Head Chef Jeff Tong’s career-long passion project. This newly-opened noodle bar is now looking to make its mark in the “Little Tokyo” district of Cuppage Plaza.
As its name implies, Signature “Chao Da” Ebi Noodles (S$14.90), the restaurant’s marquee dish served in a dim sum basket, features big juicy prawns and a nice char. The typical starchy yellow noodles have been replaced by springy la mian, and soaks up the rich prawn broth beautifully. The result is a mouthful that packs a punch of flavour on the palate, with slices of pan seared chicken so tender you would mistake it for well-marbled char siu. Umami is really the name of the game here.
The humble dish is then taken to new gastronomic heights with the Soul-Good Luxe Noodles (S$39.90), which includes a lobster in its signature char, as well as fresh scallops. They even throw in a free Broth Booster (from S$1.90). Served in test tube vials, these little doses of flavour should not be underestimated.
Of the trio, our personal favourite has to be the Miso Broth Booster (S$1.90). Though we imagined its strong umami flavour would clash and compete with the prawn broth, it surprisingly elevated and complemented the dish. Its Mala (S$1.90) counterpart has lots of potential to add another dimension of spice and flavour to the dish, but lacked the extra kick of spice that we would personally prefer. The Truffle Booster (S$2.50), although the most popular, drowned out the prawn flavour.
But even when slurped au naturel, the prawn broth is simply stellar. The secret to it? Chef Jeff manually de-shells, fries, and boils the broth for a solid ten hours to extract all of its organic flavours, without the use of any pork. This juice is the base of all noodle dishes here, even the sans-seafood Pan Seared Chicken Noodles (S$10.90), or the Ebi & Vege-Crispy Fritter Noodles (S$12.90).
The sides also pay homage to its Singaporean inspirations while taking them up a notch, like tart Nonya achar topped with jellyfish in Ah Ma’s Achar Gone Fancy (S$4.90). Salted Mackerel Fried Chicken (S$6.90) is a nod to the sinfully pungent har cheong gai, and boasts the same signature crunch but with a more palatable taste. A noodle bar that gets its sides right as well? Yes, please!
Located in a mall that’s known to be a hideout for Japanese expats, Ebi Bar’s modern Singaporean cuisine is definitely a bold move, but what a spectacular job it has done. As hawker prices for good bowls of prawn noodles jack up, this joint is soon to be our go-to for an affordable hae mee fix, with its indulgent broth and “QQ” noodles. We would even go as far as to say that they might’ve just perfected the dish of prawn noodles.
Ebi Bar is located at 5 Koek Rd, #B1-21 Cuppage Plaza, Singapore 228796. Open Tue–Sun from 11am–10.30pm. Closed on Mon.
