Ash Current Charcoal wok stall
Menu
A wok of vegetables and aromatics searing over a high flame at a street food stall

Market hall · East corridor

Fire, broth, and a queue that keeps moving

Ash Current is a four-seat hawker stall built around one charcoal wok, one stockpot and a board short enough to cook properly every single service.

“Cook less, cook it hotter, hand it over fast.”

See today's board Plan a catering order

Open Tuesday to Saturday Walk-up counter, no bookings

The stall

A small counter that does one thing well

We took over a narrow corner unit with a scarred steel counter and a wok ring that had been running for decades. Rather than fill it with a long menu, we kept the board to five dishes and spent the room on stock, charcoal and prep.

Everything is cut and seasoned in the morning, then finished to order in front of you. When a dish runs out we take the card off the board rather than stretch it — which is why the board looks a little different by late afternoon.

  • Charcoal wok

    One ring, one cook, high heat all service. Nothing is held under a lamp.

  • Daily stock

    Bones and aromatics go on before opening and the pot is emptied each night.

  • Short board

    Five plates, a few sides. Small enough to prep properly by hand.

A shared table crowded with small plates and bowls of freshly cooked food

Today's board

What the wok is cooking

Prices are per plate, served at the counter. Chilli comes on the side unless you ask us to stir it through.

  • A plate of wok-fried rice noodles tossed with vegetables, peanuts and lime

    Ash noodles

    $8.50

    Flat rice noodles taken hard over charcoal until the edges char, with garlic chive, bean sprout and a cracked egg folded through at the end.

    Wok-fired
  • A deep bowl of noodle soup with sliced meat, egg and spring onion

    Slow current broth

    $9.00

    The morning stockpot, ladled over noodles with braised shoulder, a soft egg and a spoon of the chilli oil we render on the side of the ring.

    From the pot
  • A bowl of dressed greens, grains and crisp vegetables

    Counter greens

    $6.00

    Whatever leaf came in that morning, blanched and hit with hot oil, fried shallot and a splash of the stall vinegar. Good between two heavier plates.

    Meat-free

Also on the counter

  • Charred spring onion flatbread $4.00
  • Pickled radish & cucumber $3.50
  • Egg in stock, split and salted $2.50
  • Iced barley with citrus peel $3.00

Two plates left on the board after five o'clock? They go out as a counter set for $12.00.

How we cook

Four things that happen before you order

A hawker counter only looks fast. Most of the work is finished hours before the shutter goes up.

  1. 01

    Light the coals

    The ring is lit early and left to settle, so the first plate of the day is cooked on the same heat as the last.

  2. 02

    Set the pot

    Bones, ginger and charred onion go in before opening and simmer through service. What is left at close is not kept.

  3. 03

    Cut for the board

    Every garnish, leaf and portion is cut by hand in the morning and lined up within arm's reach of the wok.

  4. 04

    Cook to order

    Nothing is plated ahead. Each order goes into the wok when you order it, which is why the queue moves in bursts.

Opening hours

When the shutter is up

Tuesday – Thursday
11:00 – 20:00
Friday
11:00 – 21:30
Saturday
10:30 – 21:30
Sunday & Monday
Closed — prep days

Finding us: look for the low red awning and the row of hanging steel ladles at the east end of the market hall, two stalls past the fruit counter.

Before you come

Questions we get at the counter

How long is the wait usually?

Dishes are cooked to order, so expect a short wait at the ring. The quietest stretch is mid-afternoon, and the board is at its fullest right after opening.

Can dishes be made meat-free?

Counter greens and the flatbread are meat-free as they stand, and the ash noodles can be cooked without egg or dried shrimp. The broth is built on bones and cannot be swapped.

Do you take bookings or hold plates?

Not at the stall — it is a walk-up counter, first come first served. For a group order we do need notice, so use the catering form below instead of queuing twice.

Is there anything for a lighter appetite?

Ask for a half plate of noodles with greens on the side. We are happy to split a portion when the queue allows it.

Catering & bulk orders

Feeding more than a counter holds

We cook off-site for small gatherings, office lunches and market events — the same short board, packed hot in trays, or the wok brought to you for larger evenings.

  • Trays of noodles, broth and greens for ten people upward.
  • Meat-free and no-egg versions arranged in advance.
  • A few days' notice lets us hold stock aside for you.

Tell us the date and rough headcount and we will reply with what the board can do.

We only use what you send here to answer your enquiry about the stall.