At 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles, stall #01-326 at Tekka Food Centre, the person behind the counter is Li Ruifang. She is a third-generation hawker who gave up a corporate job to carry on her family’s prawn noodle recipe.
In the interview that first introduced her, she was 31. Friends called her hei mee soh, Hokkien for “prawn mee auntie”. She was selling hundreds of bowls a day.
A family recipe, three generations deep
Ruifang traced the business back through her family. In that interview she said her grandfather cooked and sold prawn noodles around Whampoa in the 1950s. Her father took over in the 1970s, and she took over in 2014.
Michelin Guide Singapore puts the stall’s origins earlier, saying it dates back to the 1920s. Accounts of the family history differ on the exact start, but all agree on three generations.
She also grew up around the stall. She said she had been helping out since primary school, which meant a lot of prawn noodles in her childhood.
Why she walked away from the MNC
Her reason was simple. She felt it would be a pity for the recipe and the business to end with her father’s generation.
She had also watched favourite food stalls disappear over the years because nobody took them over. She did not want the same to happen to her family’s stall.
The hours behind every bowl
She was candid that the work was hard. She was up at 3am every day, washing prawns, slicing and cooking pork, brewing broth and pre-cooking vermicelli. All of it had to be done before the stall opened at 6.30am.
After the stall closed, between 1pm and 3pm, came the cleaning. Preparing ingredients for the next day took about two more hours.
The painful parts, she said, were scalds from hot water and soup, and cuts to her fingers from peeling prawns. She also joked that she smelled of prawns constantly.
That effort shows in the bowl. The Michelin Guide describes dry noodles dressed in sambal sauce, topped with bean sprouts, prawns and pork, and served with umami-laden prawn soup. Diners can also choose the soup version, and add fried shallots and lard.
Where the stall stands now
Twelve years after she took over in 2014 (2026 – 2014 = 12), the stall is still at the same unit. It appears in the 2026 Michelin Guide Singapore, which lists hours of 7am to 1.30pm from Monday to Friday, closed on Saturday and Sunday. Opening times are worth checking before a visit, since hawker stalls often close for breaks or sell out.
FAQ
Where can I find 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles?
The stall is at Tekka Centre, #01-326, 665 Buffalo Road, Singapore 210665, according to the Michelin Guide.
Does the family also run a stall at Whampoa?
According to profiles of Ruifang, a separate family stall at Whampoa Market was run by her aunts, while she looked after the Tekka outlet. Her profile in the Michelin Guide does not mention the Whampoa stall.