You Fu Ban Mian & Pao Fan 有福板面泡饭 at Punggol Coast Hawker Centre has become my go-to spot for pao fan. Ever since this hawker centre opened, my husband and I have been making our way through the stalls. This one’s had me coming back multiple times now.
Decoding the Menu
Right off the bat, their menu needs some work. The dish names are overly fancy and long-winded. Makes ordering more complicated than it should be. Here’s what you need to know: the pao fan and ramen share the same broth. What changes are the toppings. We skipped the you mian and ban mian options, so can’t comment on those.
One weird thing though – when we ordered the ramen, it wasn’t even ramen noodles. More on that later.
What We Ordered
Signature Prawn & Fish King Prawn King Soup Pao Fan ($7.80)
My first order at You Fu Ban Mian & Pao Fan was this. The bowl came loaded with three lala, three fish balls, and two prawn balls. The soup hit differently. Really rich, intense seafood flavour that wasn’t fake or MSG-heavy.
They topped it with fried egg floss and rice puffs, which added interesting textures.
The balls deserve special mention. Zero fishy taste. The fish balls had this subtle ginger flavour – probably ginger juice to kill any fishiness. Texture-wise, they’re bouncy. Reminded me of the prawn paste (虾滑) you get at hotpot places. Quality stuff.
Rice stayed firm despite swimming in soup. Not soggy at all. Everything about this dish worked. I could eat this every day. It’s that comforting.
Braised Beef Brisket Prawn King Soup Ramen ($7.80)
My husband’s a meat person, so he went for the beef brisket ramen. Big chunks of beef, mostly tender except for some sinewy bits. Same seafood broth as the pao fan, but the braising sauce from the beef changed the flavour profile slightly. Still good, just different.
Here’s the disappointing part: the “ramen” was actually you mian noodles. My husband expected proper ramen noodles. Felt like false advertising. Should’ve just called it Braised Beef Brisket You Mian instead.
Takeaway Experience
We ordered pao fan for takeaway on another visit. They packed the fried egg floss and rice puffs separately, which was smart. I requested rice packed separately too since we weren’t eating immediately. They obliged.
Scallop King Prawn King Soup Pao Fan ($6)
Swap fish balls and prawn balls for scallops and lala. Same excellent broth.
Signature Yuan Yang Fish King Pao Fan ($8.80)
This one came with fried fish and sliced fish. The sliced fish basically disintegrated into bits. Fried fish stayed intact. No fishy taste at all. Pretty sure it’s toman fish (snakehead).
Both pao fan came with the same broth base, so we combined them in one pot for easy reheating at home.
Dine-In vs Takeaway
Eating there beats takeaway hands down. When dining in, you get more soup. The takeaway version had less soup after heating – rice absorbed most of it. Making it less enjoyable.
My Honest Take
If you’re in Punggol and haven’t tried seafood pao fan before, give this place a shot.
Prices are reasonable for what you’re getting. The seafood broth is genuinely flavourful. I finished all the soup and didn’t feel thirsty after, which says something about the quality. No MSG overload here. Our only gripe is the ramen-that’s-not-ramen situation, haha.