Monday, August 27, 2012

Tai Hwa Bak Chor Mee

A quick one for today...one of Singapore's favourites...bak chor mee.

Quite unique to Singapore. A rich broth, boiled for hours, perhaps with pork bones and other delicious additions. An al dente mee pok, a flat, egg noodle. On this, the rich tapestry of top quality black vinegar, a dollop of chilli paste, and condiments like rare pig liver, pork, pork balls, and sometimes fish balls, sometimes a piece of deep fried crispy flat fish. And the obligatory pork lard crisps.

This particular stall, Hill Street Tai Hwa, is extremely popular. Long queues form at the store from opening time to closing. To eat here, typically one has to wait in line for some 30 minutes. Next door is the almost as famous Happy Chef, which I will feature in another writeup soon.

So is the queuing worth it?

In my view, a qualified yes. This is the best traditional bak chor mee I have eaten. Everything is right. The ingredients are traditional...lean minced pork, white pork slices, wanton, pork balls, and pork liver. The doneness of the liver, the doneness and sweetness of the pork. The al dente noodles. The magnificent, magnificent sauce. Everything perfect.

So why qualified? Well, only because I prefer the more robust taste of the less traditional offering at Good Good Coffee Shop...there they add a succulent prawn, though the bowl is very small, and the wait almost just as long.

Tai Hwa Pork Noodle
Block 466 Crawford Lane #01-12
Singapore 190465
www.taihwa.com.sg

2 comments:

FoodieFC said...

totally agree with you.

To me this is one of the best BCM in Singapore. Love the sauce with the vinegar! Shiok!

Anonymous said...

I still rem their old venue at north bridge rd(situated at the now high street centre) long long ago, where the BCM is cooked by their dad, really sedap! My dad use to bring us there, n the longest wait was 2hrs!