Hokkien Man Hokkien Mee

A sous-chef left a three-Michelin-star kitchen for a kopitiam wok. The stock came with him.

Go to Toa Payoh, go early and bring a friend to hold the table. Hokkien Man is Hokkien mee for people who take their prawn stock seriously, cooked by a chef who learned his stocks in a three-Michelin-star kitchen and now works a single wok in a coffee shop at the foot of an HDB block. The compromise is the clock: it runs a short lunch window, shuts on Wednesdays and can sell out, so a late lunch is a gamble.

Xavier Neo spent years as a sous-chef at Les Amis, the three-Michelin-starred French restaurant, before swapping the pass for a kopitiam wok and opening here in 2019, in Sing Hiap Huat Coffee Shop. Look for the bright yellow facade and the photo of Neo himself. The brand was recognised in the 2025 Michelin Guide, and a second outlet opened at Tampines 1's Hawker Street in March 2026, but the Toa Payoh original is the one with the story.

The training shows in the stock, made with French techniques similar to a lobster bisque. That is the reason to come: the noodles are the vehicle and the stock is the point. A plate brings three large prawns, pork belly and plenty of sotong over a mix that leans more bee hoon than yellow noodle, so yellow-noodle partisans should know what they are signing up for.

The sambal is Neo's wife Alice Lai's recipe, adapted from her nasi lemak stall. Taste a little on its own before you stir it all in; chilli is personal, and you can't unstir it.

There are bigger portions and add-ons, baby abalone among them, if the standard plate looks modest; the facts box has the price range. Our order is the standard plate first, so nothing competes with the stock, and the extras another day, if at all.

How to do it well: it is at Block 19, Lorong 7 Toa Payoh. Arrive close to the 10.30am start with a kopi from the coffee shop and someone to talk to, because each plate comes off a single wok and waiting comes with the territory. Avoid Wednesdays and don't leave it to the end of the lunch window. Then watch a classically trained chef work that wok with the focus he once gave a tasting menu.

Good to know Sing Hiap Huat Coffee Shop, Block 19, 19 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh. Closed on Wednesdays; it can sell out early, so check hours before you go.

Hokkien Man Hokkien Mee | Sing Hiap Huat Coffee Shop, 19 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh, Singapore