I enjoy local noodles for breakfast.

Recently, after a bowl of bak chor mee which left me unsatisfied - the soup was characterless and overly salty, and there wasn't enough punch in the chilli - I found myself making my way to a coffee shop in Bishan for a second breakfast.

A friend recommended the wonton noodles from Cai Ji Wanton Mee at Block 112 Bishan Street 12 and I had been meaning to try it. The noodles there are tossed in a mix of chilli and ketchup - no dark soya sauce and oil mixture are included.

My friend said to order wonton mee pok with chilli but without ketchup.

For comparison, I order his version as well as the stall's usual offering of mee kia with chilli and ketchup.

Each plate ($3 a serving) comes with noodles topped with lean, nothing-to-shout-about char siew, leafy greens and a bowl of soup with three small but plump wontons.

The wonton mee here is old-school and simple.

I like that it is no-frills, the roundness of the combination of chilli and ketchup, and how each springy strand of mee kia is coated with sauce.

It is a well-executed plate of comfort that hits the spot.

And after trying the two versions, I recommend you stick to the original, but opt for mee pok if you prefer the thicker noodles.

The soup is far tastier than the one that had come with my bak chor mee. The minced pork in the wontons here is soft and well-seasoned, unlike the tasteless, stodgy wontons in my bowl of bak chor mee.

The texture of the noodles is springier too.

It is unlikely that this plate of noodles will knock your socks off. But you may leave feeling more ready to face the day's challenges. And for me, that feeling is priceless.

• Follow Rebecca Lynne Tan on Twitter @STrebeccatan