Bak Chor Mee

This is a post from 2009, and I've just realised I forgot to publish it. It was meant to be a comparison between various bak chor mee places, and maybe one or two of them have already moved - I know for a fact that the one at Prince Edward Rd is no longer there, and I'm not sure what's happened since the renovations at Bedok Blk 85. Anyway, here goes. 

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First up - the bak chor mee at Bedok. They're open only at night, which was perfect for me after coming back from a work trip around 10plus at night. There are 2 stalls side by side (I didn't know that until I got there), so I took a chance and ordered from Xing Ji Rou Cuo Mian on the left, which apparently is the "original" one (or so I was told later) - whatever that means.

Apparently they only have soup noodles. Nice, but...well...eating soup noodles isn't really any fun.

Next stop: Tai Hwa Bak Chor Mee at Crawford Lane. This had an insane queue, which is always a good sign. All you need is patience and time.

We also ordered a serve of dumplings with soup on the side. Too much tur kwa but we never told the uncle not to put tur kwa, so we couldn't ask him why he gave us tur kwa.

It was like heaven in a bowl - by some stroke of magic (or more likely years of sweat, toil and pain to perfect his skills) - the uncle behind the counter whipped up a pure work of genius with pork lard, salted sole, chilli and vinegar. The husband had mee kia.

I had mee pok. Both just as good.

Thirdly, Tai Wah at Bestway Building at Prince Edward Road - this was very crowded at lunch time.

It looked similar to the Crawford Lane version, and while it was a decent bowl admittedly, it was nowhere near as outstanding as Crawford Lane's.

And frankly, those tur kwa pieces just look unwell. Ugh. But to be fair, I did go back again a few times to fulfill my lunchtime bak chor mee cravings. They're just not the best though.

Hill Street Tai Hwa Bak Chor Mee

I've resisted posting about this stall for a while because it's crowded enough and certainly doesn't need a larger following (which equals longer queues). But I've come to realise that good food is worth sharing about, and so reluctantly I've decided to post this.

Side thought - why are all the BEST (my vote for best Char Kway Teow and best Bak Chor Mee) stalls from Hill Street? It must have been one heck of a foodie paradise in its heyday. I remember my dad buying braised duck from the hawker centre that was pretty damn good.

Back to the Bak Chor Mee. The erractically long queue (but always long). Normal waiting time is about half an hour on average.

And after all those excruciating moments lining up, this is what you get. Lard-laden, vinegar-splashed, salt-fish laced Heaven in a bowl. Words are not enough to describe how amazing this bak chor mee is. The perfect combination of salty, sour and meaty on top of al dente noodles.
We normally order a side bowl of wantons and pork balls to share. The normal serve is not enough.
No address supplied. Don't compete with me in the queue. Go figure it out yourself.

A Weekend Tale of Two Bak Chor Mees

I had bak chor mee for breakfast over the weekend on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday morning, I decided to head to River Valley after dropping the husband off at work.

Loon Seng Coffeeshop at the junction of River Valley Road and Kellock Road has been around for a long time. I used to go there to eat bak chor mee with my father during school holidays in secondary school, junior college, university and after I started work, even on the alternate Saturday mornings on. They have 3 stalls: one hor fun stall, one roasted meats stall, and one bak chor mee stall. The roasted meats stall only opens at 12pm, and I used to love their char siew. Nowadays, I'm not so sure about it because the service is poor, prices have increased and portions have decreased.

The picture below looks deceptively empty. When I arrived at the coffeeshop at 8.45am, the place was completely full, and the only seat I could get was at the smoking corner, which I usually try to avoid. When I placed my order, the first thing the bak chor mee uncle said was “你能等吗？要等很久。” - can you wait? It's going to take a very long time. He was right. I waited 35 minutes!

This shop separates their noodles from their meat, which is placed in the soup bowl. The mushrooms come on top of the noodles, while the minced pork, pork slices and seaweed go into the soup. I recall he used to serve liver as well, but has stopped that in recent years. Each bowl costs $3.50.
The soup is rather bland, but it's comforting to know that it hasn't been over-salted.

The noodles come with bits of salted fish that add to the depth of flavour. There aren't the usual pork lard bits, and the amount of vinegar and chilli added is just right.
I didn't manage to get a photo of the stall (or the name) because I was sitting alone sharing a table with strangers, and when I left the place, there were too many people standing around the stall. Will photograph it next time. The next day on Sunday morning before church, I met friends at my next favourite bak chor mee off Short Street. It's at Selegie House, shown in the picture below. I've been going there for about 5 years now.

The bak chor mee stall is in a 2-unit coffeeshop and is the only one open in the morning. It's run by an older lady and a younger man, presumably a mother-and-son pair. Incidentally, the drinks stall is managed by a part-time TCS actor. I don't know his name, but he's usually featured in the drama serials about Chinese mythology.

The bak chor mee here is quite different - it's mostly lard based, and you can taste the pork oil in the noodles. The chilli paste is made in-house, and the auntie doesn't add ketchup (I personally think that adding tomato ketchup to bak chor mee is just wrong) which is a great thing. Each bowl costs $3.

Each bowl comes with minced pork, 3 fishballs, 1 prawn and slices of fish cake. And smatterings of fried pork lard : )

You can also add more chilli, spring onions and pork lard if you want.

Literally translated, the name of the stall is Jin Xing Teochew Fishball Noodles Soup. The auntie posed quite happily for me when she heard I really liked her noodles and was going to write about her.

Loon Seng Coffeeshop

429 River Valley Road

Coupon parking available along Kellock Road

Thye San Eating House

Blk 9 Selegie House

#01-19&20

Illegal parking available just outside the coffeeshop :p