800 Bowls – Delicious Chinese La Mian & Handmade Dumplings Hidden in Capitol Singapore!

Tucked away in the basement of Capitol Singapore, 800 Bowls is the place to go to for affordable tasty bowls of traditional Chinese noodles and handmade dumplings. You can expect to be treated to handmade noodles, rich flavourful broths that have seen long hours of cooking and freshly-made dumplings. It does get a crowd come lunchtime so be sure to pop by early enough! 

The eatery is helmed by Chef Kok, who has 30 years of culinary expertise under his belt and had spent three whole years honing his skills in making noodles from scratch. His ultimate goal is to be able to sell 800 bowls of ramen a day (ambitious!) Hence he decided to name his eatery as such. 

Scarf down classic Chinese appetisers such as Braised Spice Tofu ($3) and Black Fungus Salad ($3) before moving on to the handmade dumplings such as Chinese Chive Dumplings ($6.80 for eight pieces) and Prawn Dumplings in Hot Chilli with Vinegar ($8.80 for six pieces). 

There are ten different types of ramen to choose from, ranging from soupy bowls such as Sichuan Ramen with Peppery Sauce ($6) and Ramen with Minced Meat and Crab ($10.80) to dry variations like Ramen with Pork Dumplings in Hot Chilli Sauce & Vinegar ($7.50). 

I asked the staff for recommendations and was directed right to the Ramen with Minced Meat ($6). Give the bowl of dry noodles a good toss in the meat sauce and veggies, and viola! The perfectly-cooked noods were wonderfully chewy and paired well with the sweet and slightly earthy meat sauce. 

The braised minced meat and mushrooms were also seasoned well and made me wish there was more of it to go around. As for the soup on the side, it was very flavorful and aromatic to the point where it got rather addictive. 

I also had the Ramen with Beef ($9), where the springy noodles were of the same good and consistent quality. The broth here was on the lighter side compared to the accompanying soup from before but it definitely got more fragrant with every sip. 

The beef was fall-off-the-bone tender and had both a good amount of meat and fat. It also had all of the beefy flavours but not overwhelmingly in any way, making this quite a pleasant dish. Pair it with their complimentary smoky chilli for a new switch in flavours! 

The Pork Dumplings in Hot Chilli with Vinegar ($6.80 for six pieces) was definitely a favourite of mine. The plump dumplings were super meaty and tender, with a meat filling that was seasoned minimally yet ridiculously tasty at the same time. Perhaps it was so that the flavours wouldn’t clash too much with the tangy and tingly sauce. The dumplings were further topped with fried garlic bits for that extra hit of aroma. 

800 Bowls is indeed a fantastic find in Capitol Singapore and it well explains why it’s so popular with the lunch crowd in the area!

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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