Teochew Street Bak Chor Mee - Authentic or Bland?

I love bak chor mee (肉脞面), the modern variation with the vinegar, chilli, pork slices and liver. Thankfully, I have access to decent bak chor mee nearby to satisfy my cravings. Shortly after the Smith Street Market and Food Centre (more commonly known as Chinatown Market) reopened after a two-year renovation and upgrading, I read of this very popular bak chor mee stall that commanded a queue at all times of the day.

Indeed, during my initial few visits to the food centre, I saw, to my dismay, the long queue at the stall, Teochew Street Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle (潮州街香菇肉脞面). During one visit, however, I set my heart on trying the noodles, queue or no queue. The problem was not with the number of people, in fact, there were only about ten people in the queue. The problem was the time and effort the stall owner took to cook each and every bowl of noodles, which resulted in an over 30-minute wait. Since I had spent all that time waiting, I went for the $4 bowl.

Bak Chor Mee (肉脞面) - $4

Closer view of the soup

It sure looked delicious and substantial. There was a lot of ingredients: minced pork, dumplings, fish and meat balls, a big prawn and a generous serving of lard. Taste-wise, however, it was, well, disappointing. I always believe that the chilli is important to a good bowl of bak chor mee. But this bowl of noodles tasted bland and muted. Perhaps this is indeed authentic Teochew noodles, because Teochew cuisine is lightly seasoned to bring out the quality and freshness of the ingredients. This, I certainly do not deny. The ingredients were definitely good, and the prawn was fresh.

As authentic as it may be, the bak chor mee from Teochew Street Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle is definitely not my cup of tea. I prefer more "oomph" to my bak chor mee, and this is the complete opposite. Perhaps this would be a healthier alternative, if you can be bothered queuing for it.

Teochew Street Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle (潮州街香菇肉脞面)
Blk 335 Smith Street
#02-023 (Yellow Zone)
Smith Street Market and Food Centre (map)
Singapore 050335

Boon Kee Prawn Dumpling Noodles: Cheap & Good

Between wonton mee (云吞面) and shui gao mee (prawn dumpling noodles/水饺面), I actually prefer the latter. I prefer the meatier and crunchy shui gao to the aneroxic wanton. But good shui gao is hard to come by. Some food hawkers cut costs by putting more vegetables (chestnuts?) or flour, or mincing up the prawn. But once in a while, I come across a good shui gao, with a meaty bite, the right amount of crunch, and that delicious chunk of prawn inside.

Boon Kee serves the local-style noodles with the dark sauce. The shui gao mee looks deceptively plain and ordinary - a plate of noodles in dark red sauce and some vegetables on top, and a bowl of soup with the shui gao and some spring onions sprinkled over.

Shui gao mee (Prawn dumpling noodles/水饺面) - $3.00

I ordered the larger, $3 portion, and it came with a generous portion of noodles, and five shui gaos. The noodles were cooked perfectly, and the sauce went well with the noodles, although I would have prefered more chilli. The shui gaos were a good size, and tasted pretty good, and yes, there was a chunk of prawn in each one. The soup, too, was delicious, and not MSG-delicious.

I really enjoyed the shui gao mee here, and, yes, it's true. You can get cheap and good together.

Boon Kee
Blk 448 Clementi Ave 3
#01-36
Clementi Market & Food Centre (map)
Singapore 120448

Underrated Wanton Mee and Fish Head

After the disappointing outing for Singapore's "best" wanton mee, it was time to return to a presently underrated wanton mee stall at Dunman Road Food Centre. There were two rather famous wanton mee stalls at this food centre: Eng's and Seng's. Now, there is only one stall left, called Dunman Road Char Siew Wan Ton Mee (德明叉烧云吞面). It is at the stall location of Eng's, so perhaps this might be Eng's, though regulars might want to verify that.

Wanton Mee (云吞面) - $2.50

The wanton mee here is unlike any other wanton mee. This is definitely classified as Singapore-style, but it isn't like any Singapore-style wanton mee you might have eaten. The highlight of this stall's wanton mee is the fiery chilli. Yes, fiery. Now, I am what you would call a "chilli person" - I take lots of chilli padi with my bak chor mee. But the chilli here is hot. The first thing that hits is the raw-ness of the chilli sauce, followed by the burning sensation. But if you are not a chilli person, take heart. The chilli has definitely been toned down quite a bit, and doesn't leave a fiery sensation in the mouth. I expect some would find the chilli too hot, but I thought the chilli went well with the noodles. The friendly stall owner lady even tells every customer to help themselves to the chilli sauce if they want more.

Chilli aside, I liked the noodles as well, which started off a little hard, but shortly became the perfect consistency. For $2.50, there was a generous portion of char siew (叉烧), though they tasted pretty average, and a few small wantons. I thought the portion was actually pretty decent for the price.

Next to the wanton mee stall was one selling steamed dishes, called OK! 蒸好味. This stall's steamed fish head was recommended to me by a relative, so we decided to give it a go. We ordered several dishes from the friendly stall owner.

Mushroom Chicken - $6

I thought this dish of Mushroom Chicken was alright. Taste-wise, there wasn't anything particularly outstanding, so perhaps more mushrooms would have made it a more memorable dish.

Soya Sauce Pork Rib - $6

The Soya Sauce Pork Rib dish was a disappointment. I love pork ribs, but these were bony and tough. The soya sauce seasoning was something different for steamed pork ribs and I would have enjoyed it more were it not for the tough meat.

Soya Sauce Fish Head - $13

The Soya Sauce Fish Head was the star. The name, though, is somewhat of a misnomer, since it is actually steamed with tau cheow (fermented soya bean paste; 豆酱) and tau see (fermented black soya beans; 豆豉). I thought the fish head was steamed just right, and the flesh was soft and, I don't know if this is the right word, silky. It was too bad the fish had a slight "fishy" taste to it that day (I had just gone a few weeks before and it didn't have that taste). I'm no food connoisseur, but I think the added tau see gave an extra "oomph" to the seasoning - well, that and the spicy chilli padi too. The seasoning was a little salty for my taste, but I think it would go well drizzled over a bowl of rice. If you want something different from the steamed fish head available at Chinatown Market (to be precise, Smith Street Market and Food Centre), you should consider this.

I really enjoyed myself that day. The wanton mee from Dunman Road Char Siew Wan Ton Mee more than made up for that disappointing meal at Fei Fei Wanton Mee. I am not really a fan of the Singapore-style wanton mee, but if I really had to have it, this would be it. OK! 蒸好味 offers several steamed dishes, but the highlight is definitely the steamed Soya Sauce Fish Head. Note that the stalls only operate from 3pm.

Dunman Road Char Siew Wan Ton Mee (德明叉烧云吞面)
#02-19
Closed Mondays and Thursdays

OK! 蒸好味
Blk 271 Onan Road
#02-20
Dunman Road Food Centre (map)
Singapore 424768

Paper hot pot noodles and red bean dessert

Buangkok. This place will always remind me of the White Elephant Incident. Step out of the Buangkok MRT Station now, and you will be faced with Kopitiam City (well, unless you got off at the other exit, then all you will see is an empty field). Kopitiam City can be considered a mini-town centre, and is managed by Kopitiam Group, which own the Kopitiam chain of food courts around Singapore. There are two food courts there (one non-air conditioned), as well as two restaurants and several retail shops.

I'd originally wanted to try the mee rebus at the non-air conditioned Kopitiam, but the stall was shut. My dining partner then suggested the air-conditioned Kopi Food Court. The place definitely looked a little classier than the average food court. And I liked that it felt pretty spacious too (a vast difference from the non-air conditioned one just several steps away). After surveying the food stalls, I decided to go with the popular vote, and ordered from the noodle stall called 唐人街 Noodle House. I had the Hot Pot Noodles (唐人锅面) for the novelty of it. Unlike mini pot noodles (小锅面), this was served in a paper hot pot, like the Japanese kaminabe.

Hot Pot Noodles (唐人锅面) - $4.50

There was quite a variety of ingredients, including a dumpling and a slice of abalone(?), as well as the usual sliced pork, minced meat and pork liver among others.

The noodles was served with a fried dumpling and a strip of pork chop.

Unfortunately, I think my noodles had too much chilli paste. After stirring my noodles, they looked a very dark brown colour (whereas my dining partner's noodles was not that dark). I can stand spiciness, but not saltiness, and the saltiness was the problem for me. It was a waste, really, because it could have been a good bowl of noodles if the amount of chilli paste was cut down.

The novelty of the paper hot pot, and the ingredients used differentiate this from the usual mini pot noodles. And at $4.50, it is no more expensive than mini pot noodles sold in food courts. I'd like to return to the stall again some day to try the other dishes. And hopefully with the right amount of chilli in my noodles.

For dessert, I ordered a bowl of Red Bean Milk Ice (红豆奶冰).

Red Bean Milk Ice (红豆奶冰) - $1.90

It didn't really look like what was shown on the signboard, but, wow. I absolutely loved it. The red beans were soft, but not overly so. And they tasted great, not like the tasteless mush or overly-sweetened type that some dessert stalls use. The shaved ice was drenched in evaporated milk, and went perfectly well with the red beans. This is such a simple dessert, yet just so delicious. I can't believe I've never eaten this before! I have a new favourite dessert!

This was my second trip to Buangkok, and it was certainly a worthwhile trip. The Hot Pot Noodles was an interesting alternative to the usual mini pot noodles, and I suspect my overly-salty noodles was a genuine mistake and not the norm. But I'll definitely be back for the Red Bean Milk Ice, which, at $1.90, is actually rather good value.

唐人街 Noodle House

The Dessert Shop
Blk 277C Compassvale Link
#01-13 (map)
Kopi Food Court
Singapore 543277

Hougang Fried Oyster: The hidden pearl

This stall in Hougang is perhaps one of the hidden gems of Singapore hawkers. In my opinion, this husband and wife pair serve one of the best orh luah (fried oyster omelette; 蚝煎) around. It has everything that makes orh luat so sinful, yet delightful, to eat - crispy bits of starch as well as chewy parts, generous portions of eggs and of course, the most important ingredients, the big, juicy oysters. The only real problem I have with this stall is the consistency.

Orh luah (Fried oyster omelette) - $3

Thankfully, I went on a good day, with the large, juicy oysters and crispy portions of starch. The garlic & chilli mix was a perfect mix of sweet and sour.

The char kway teow here is fried local style, which is a wetter, sweeter version with dark soy sauce.

Char kway teow (Fried kway teow) - $2.50

The char kway teow was not as good as the previous times that I've eaten. It was a little on the bland side, and there wasn't that nice burnt taste (called wok hei). Still, it was a generous portion, and better than the average char kway teow around.

This is still my favourite stall for orh luah. And since I'm there already, I'll order the char kway teow as well, making it a very, very unhealthy meal. But very, very satisfying indeed.

Please note that the stall will be closed from mid-October, and will reopen from 1st November at Blk 435A Hougang Avenue 8 (map).

Hougang Fried Oyster (后港蠔煎)
Blk 9 Hougang Avenue 7 (map)
Singapore 530009