Review: Zhup Zhup by One Prawn & Co continues to serve premium prawn noodles

It’s funny how pao fan has become such a trend in the last few years — it seems to have crept up from nowhere, but today, there is no shortage of stalls selling the broth-soaked rice dish in hawker centres and coffeeshops around Singapore. 

The comforting Teochew dish, which translates to “poached rice”, typically comes with toppings such as fried fish, jumbo prawns, seafood balls, and clams. But the most popular iteration recently features lobster — because there’s nothing quite like flashing your high-SES status through your food choices, am I right? 

It’s no surprise then that one of the city’s more trendy prawn noodle spots, One Prawn & Co, has come up with a new lobster pao fan dish in line with its new rebranding as Zhup Zhup.

The backstory

One Prawn Noodle first made its rounds around social media in 2019 when it opened at Golden Mile Food Centre. It was started by two enterprising young hawkers — one of whom was fresh from a stint at the Michelin-starred Burnt Ends — who bet it all on their hearty and robust Penang-style prawn broth. 

They later moved to its current MacPherson Road location as One Prawn & Co, serving up the same claypot prawn mee that we see today at Zhup Zhup. 

The rebranding, which took place just last month, sees Zhup Zhup with a cool new logo, artistically-designed menu and a couple of new dishes, with more slated to come in coming months.

Our verdict

If you love prawn noodles and are willing to pay a premium for an elevated version of it, then Zhup Zhup is the place for you. 

This is a welcoming space that, while not air-conditioned, is very comfortable with decent service. The round tables are spaced apart such that seating is a bit limited, but queues still move relatively fast. 

The prawn broth is one of the best in Singapore and everything else on the menu, such as its ngoh hiang and prawn paste chicken, is plenty delicious as well.

What it’s good for

This is the one you’re probably most curious about — the lobster pao fan is pricey at S$58, but those negative feelings should (mostly) dissipate with your first sip. The broth is a decadent yellow-orange and comes to the table still bubbling. 

It’s complex with a strong seafoody umami richness and served with the lobster head still inside. All the flesh, more firm and meatier than what you might be used to with prawns,  is already minced up within the soup, though. 

There are also chewy and mildly briny clams inside, along with several prawns that add more sweetness to the soup. Everything is crowned with a sprinkling of egg floss and crispy rice that makes the dish more interesting texturally. 

The rice, despite soaking in the broth, still retains its individual grain texture, and is light yet flavourful.

The hokkien prawn mee (S$14) has a similarly flavourful seafood stock (though not as rich), and comes in a claypot loaded with prawns and clams. 

It’s a little drier than the hokkien mee I usually prefer, but Zhup Zhup’s version more than makes up for it with a lingering wok hei savouriness. 

Like the pao fan, you get whole prawns and plenty of clams, along with crisp pork lard that amps up the fragrance. The springy noodles soak up all that seafood goodness, and believe me, there’s a lot of it.

On to the classic. The dry supreme prawn noodles ($20) come with two bowls — the soup and the noodles. With the broth, there’s several pork rib chunks, two prawn balls, clams, three medium prawns, and some thin pork belly slices cooked shabu-shabu style. 

The broth is powerful and indulgent, but doesn’t feel heavy at all. It has that strong crustacean flavour that you can only get from prawns — lots of it. Plus points for the pre-shelled prawns, which are sweet and fresh with a firm bite, that make them a breeze to eat.

The tobiko prawn balls are small but mighty, with dots of fish roe inside, and the tender pork pieces add an additional depth of flavour.

In another bowl, yellow noodles and kway teow are mixed with an intense chilli and adorned with crispy pork lard, bean sprouts and kang kong — a great complement to the soup.

It’s a tale as old as time. Like at Beach Road Prawn Noodles and many other prawn mee places, prawn noodles go hand in hand with a selection of freshly, and should I say very well-done, fried fritters. 

The tasting platter (S$8.50), large enough to feed my party of three, sees delicious morsels such as a bouncy handmade fish cake, fried beancurd, a crispy seafood roll that’s soft and full of umami flavour. 

The crisp ngoh hiang, full of five-spice flavour, is particularly good, as is the crispy prawn cracker that’s light and airy with a light shrimp flavour.

If you’re gunning for more protein for the table, there’s its prawn paste wings. For $9, you get five pieces of excellent har cheong gai (S$9) midwings with a really crispy umami-packed crust that smells amazing. 

Inside, the meat is well-marinated — juicy and with fermented shrimp paste — that tastes faintly umami, sweet and tangy all at once. No greasy wings here, just really well-fried ones.

With how much sodium you’re eating, some refreshing drinks are in order. There are drinks such as the amber-hued sour plum (S$3), deliciously fruity, slightly tart, refreshing, and the ultimate thirst quencher in this heat. 

The water chestnut (S$3) drink is just mildly sweet with a gentle herbal nuttiness.

What it could improve on

Let’s face it: Zhup Zhup is pretty expensive. I have never paid this much for prawn noodles before, but I can see myself visiting from time to time just to enjoy their signature broth again. 

Between how tasty the food is, the good service, and the comfortable ambience, I think the price is mostly justified, though I wouldn’t complain if the owners decided to drop prices to pander to a more price-conscious crowd.

Our quick takes

Is it conducive to conversation? Yes, the tables are spaced well-apart and the ambience is comfy.

Is a reservation necessary? Good to have, but the queue moves relatively quickly.

How to get there? Zhup Zhup is a 13-minute walk from both Mattar and Tai Seng MRT stations.

HungryGoWhere paid for its meal at this restaurant for this review.

Hungry for more stories? Read our take on the newest openings in town: Mashi No Mashi, a 100% Wagyu restaurant and Sam Leong St. Chicken Rice, that’s recently moved to a new premises. 

Zhup Zhup by One Prawn & Co is on the GrabFood delivery service and offers free delivery (up to S$3 off) with GrabUnlimited.

Do explore the GrabFood Dine-in for awesome deals.

Book a ride to Zhup Zhup by One Prawn & Co.