Bak Chor Mee Wars - Minced Pork Noodles
What is the secret to a perfect Minced Pork Noodles @ Bak Chor Mee? First and foremost, there are two variants out there, with or without Vinegar. Traditionally, most prefer the one with the vinegar. I believe that the most essential factors are: the Noodles, the Minced Pork, the Lean Pork and Liver, and the Sauce.
Updated May 2017
Ah Kow's Minced Pork Noodles
Bukit Batok St 31
He was my favourite second to Tai Hwa since his days in Hong Lim Food Centre. With the same consistency and texture in their noodles. Not the translucent thin noodles, but the thick full bite al dente kind. So far only a handful of them does it. Tai Hwa uses a more premium fried Flatfish but the outcome is fairly similar too - to produce a slight bitterness to complement the braised Mushrooms. Ah Kow's dumplings are OLD SCHOOL. If you know that taste, it is finely minced steamed pork with a hint of salted fish. Nostalgic. He now operates it with his wife at a coffeeshop opposite Bukit Gombak MRT. You do not need to queue at a Michelin Star stall for quality noodles.
Noodles: Thick & Full Bite
Ingredients: Lots of Minced Pork & Mushrooms. Good Dumplings.
Sauce: Lightly Vinegared, Balanced
Go For: Noodles and Dumplings
Tai Hwa Hill Street
Crawford Lane
The most accredited, as the best of all BCMs. The One Star Michelin. This is the heavily vinegared one and acquired taste. The flavour of the taste is enhanced by dried Flatfish instead of the usual Pork Lard. Their noodles, or Mee Pok is firmer and slightly thicker than average, giving it more bite.
Noodles: Thick & Full Bite
Ingredients: Medium Pork Liver. Lean Pork.
Sauce: Heavily Vinegared, Chilli paste with dash of Soup.
Go For: Michelin experience.
Da Lian Traditional Noodles
Syed Alwi Road
What I really like about Da Lian is its unique choice to use Chilli Oil in its sauce (Visible from the picture). Makes the noodles so fragrant with each bite. Minced pork and Mushrooms are average, but with the fishballs, meatballs and fish dumpling - generous. Noodles still factory made though.
Noodles: Translucent but Al dente.
Ingredients: Fishball and Fishcakes.
Sauce: Fragrant and Flavourful.
Go For: Chilli Oil base. 24 Hours.
Seng Huat Minced Pork Noodles
North Bridge Road
Opened till late, this one is opposite Bugis Junction. A favourite haunt for those who party around the area of Middle Road and Golden Mile. They offer the non-Vinegar version. The meatballs are firm and tasty, with a proper balance between the meat condiments. They ensure that it is not too wet, with a good serving of their sambal paste.
Noodles: Medium Thickness and Bite.
Ingredients: Pork Liver and Meatballs.
Sauce: Flavourful with Chilli Paste.
Go For: Chilli paste. Opens late.
Kim's Bak Chor Mee (Replacement)
558 Balestier Road
I had came all the way down to try Mr Ng's noodles but he had since retire. The stall is still running with the same name. Perhaps the coffeeshop owner hired a replacement. But it is actually not that bad. I really like this stall. Plenty of flavours in each bite, sauces from the Mushrooms and Fried Shallots and Garlic. The Pork is juicy and the Livers are medium rare. The noodles are thicker than the ones at Noi's, but can't be compared to Tai Hwa's.
Noodles: Thick & Full Bite
Ingredients: Balanced Mix.
Sauce: Flavourful from Braised Mushroom sauce.
Go For: Noodles.
Puay Heng Bak Chor Mee
Bugis Junction Food Fare
And in the Food Court of Bugis Junction itself, you find a franchise of the famous Puay Heng noodles that used to be in China Square, originating from the former Capitol building. You have a generous mix of ingredients, ranging from Scallop, fried Wanton, Minced Pork and chunky Mushrooms. They serve it with a tinge of vinegar.
Noodles: Medium Thickness & Bite
Ingredients: Dried Scallop and Fried Dumpling.
Sauce: Medium Vinegared, Dash of Soup.
Go For: Viengared base and Noodles.
Ming Fa Noodles
246 Upp Thomson Rd
Still a favourite of many, I feel that since they've renovated, the standard has dropped slightly. The sambal tossed in its factory made noodles is not bad, but keeps them out of the top contention of quality noodles.
Noodles: Average.
Ingredients: Pork Liver and Meatball. Springy Minced Pork.
Sauce: Lightly Vinegared, Balanced
Go For: Chilli base.
Teochew Fishball Noodles
Golden Shoe Food Market
Updated May 2017
Ah Kow's Minced Pork Noodles
Bukit Batok St 31
He was my favourite second to Tai Hwa since his days in Hong Lim Food Centre. With the same consistency and texture in their noodles. Not the translucent thin noodles, but the thick full bite al dente kind. So far only a handful of them does it. Tai Hwa uses a more premium fried Flatfish but the outcome is fairly similar too - to produce a slight bitterness to complement the braised Mushrooms. Ah Kow's dumplings are OLD SCHOOL. If you know that taste, it is finely minced steamed pork with a hint of salted fish. Nostalgic. He now operates it with his wife at a coffeeshop opposite Bukit Gombak MRT. You do not need to queue at a Michelin Star stall for quality noodles.
Noodles: Thick & Full Bite
Ingredients: Lots of Minced Pork & Mushrooms. Good Dumplings.
Sauce: Lightly Vinegared, Balanced
Go For: Noodles and Dumplings
Tai Hwa Hill Street
Crawford Lane
The most accredited, as the best of all BCMs. The One Star Michelin. This is the heavily vinegared one and acquired taste. The flavour of the taste is enhanced by dried Flatfish instead of the usual Pork Lard. Their noodles, or Mee Pok is firmer and slightly thicker than average, giving it more bite.
Noodles: Thick & Full Bite
Ingredients: Medium Pork Liver. Lean Pork.
Sauce: Heavily Vinegared, Chilli paste with dash of Soup.
Go For: Michelin experience.
Da Lian Traditional Noodles
Syed Alwi Road
What I really like about Da Lian is its unique choice to use Chilli Oil in its sauce (Visible from the picture). Makes the noodles so fragrant with each bite. Minced pork and Mushrooms are average, but with the fishballs, meatballs and fish dumpling - generous. Noodles still factory made though.
Noodles: Translucent but Al dente.
Ingredients: Fishball and Fishcakes.
Sauce: Fragrant and Flavourful.
Go For: Chilli Oil base. 24 Hours.
Seng Huat Minced Pork Noodles
North Bridge Road
Opened till late, this one is opposite Bugis Junction. A favourite haunt for those who party around the area of Middle Road and Golden Mile. They offer the non-Vinegar version. The meatballs are firm and tasty, with a proper balance between the meat condiments. They ensure that it is not too wet, with a good serving of their sambal paste.
Noodles: Medium Thickness and Bite.
Ingredients: Pork Liver and Meatballs.
Sauce: Flavourful with Chilli Paste.
Go For: Chilli paste. Opens late.
Kim's Bak Chor Mee (Replacement)
558 Balestier Road
I had came all the way down to try Mr Ng's noodles but he had since retire. The stall is still running with the same name. Perhaps the coffeeshop owner hired a replacement. But it is actually not that bad. I really like this stall. Plenty of flavours in each bite, sauces from the Mushrooms and Fried Shallots and Garlic. The Pork is juicy and the Livers are medium rare. The noodles are thicker than the ones at Noi's, but can't be compared to Tai Hwa's.
Noodles: Thick & Full Bite
Ingredients: Balanced Mix.
Sauce: Flavourful from Braised Mushroom sauce.
Go For: Noodles.
Puay Heng Bak Chor Mee
Bugis Junction Food Fare
And in the Food Court of Bugis Junction itself, you find a franchise of the famous Puay Heng noodles that used to be in China Square, originating from the former Capitol building. You have a generous mix of ingredients, ranging from Scallop, fried Wanton, Minced Pork and chunky Mushrooms. They serve it with a tinge of vinegar.
Noodles: Medium Thickness & Bite
Ingredients: Dried Scallop and Fried Dumpling.
Sauce: Medium Vinegared, Dash of Soup.
Go For: Viengared base and Noodles.
Ming Fa Noodles
246 Upp Thomson Rd
Still a favourite of many, I feel that since they've renovated, the standard has dropped slightly. The sambal tossed in its factory made noodles is not bad, but keeps them out of the top contention of quality noodles.
Noodles: Average.
Ingredients: Pork Liver and Meatball. Springy Minced Pork.
Sauce: Lightly Vinegared, Balanced
Go For: Chilli base.
Teochew Fishball Noodles
Golden Shoe Food Market
Has to be one of the most simple yet savoury noodles I have had. I would liken this to a "mini wok" without the pot. I'd call this the all-in-one: Dry Mee Pok, Soup Bak Chor. Fishballs, Wantons and Mushrooms. It is no wonder that they sell out by 1pm at lunch time!
On the noodles, they are done al dente and firm, with a smooth tinge of black vinegar, the rich bitterness from the dried flatfish, sweetness from the braised black mushrooms and sambal chilli.
The soup, you can tell there's no MSG that sharpness in taste. Its sweetness comes from boiling its pork bones over a long time, blended well with the residual seafood sweetness from the fish in the fishballs and fishcakes and the dash of minced pork they strain over and over again.
On the noodles, they are done al dente and firm, with a smooth tinge of black vinegar, the rich bitterness from the dried flatfish, sweetness from the braised black mushrooms and sambal chilli.
The soup, you can tell there's no MSG that sharpness in taste. Its sweetness comes from boiling its pork bones over a long time, blended well with the residual seafood sweetness from the fish in the fishballs and fishcakes and the dash of minced pork they strain over and over again.
Sen Ji Bak Chor Mee (Closed)
May Hua Food Court (Golden Shoe)
Two brothers run this corner stall in May Hua Coffeeshop below Golden Shoe Carpark. Extremely humbled and seasoned by life, they aim to continually better than BCM offering. I heard they are shifting elsewhere soon, with the rent hike. If you do get a chance to try this, do it for the perfectly balanced sauce, the tender and springy pork, and fragrant mushrooms. Add a $2 fishcake while you're at it.
Noodles: Medium Thickness & Bite
Ingredients: Lots of Minced Pork & Mushrooms. Meatballs.
Sauce: Flavourful
Go For: Chilli base and Meatballs.
Noi's Minced Pork Noodles
588 Balestier Road
I had read of the 558 vs 588 Balestier battle and decided to judge for myself. Unfortunately, I found that Noi's is nowhere close to the standards of Kim's at 558 Balestier.
Noodles: Average.
Ingredients: Prawns...
Sauce: Average.
Go For: Average.
Jalan Tua Kong Noodles
Two brothers run this corner stall in May Hua Coffeeshop below Golden Shoe Carpark. Extremely humbled and seasoned by life, they aim to continually better than BCM offering. I heard they are shifting elsewhere soon, with the rent hike. If you do get a chance to try this, do it for the perfectly balanced sauce, the tender and springy pork, and fragrant mushrooms. Add a $2 fishcake while you're at it.
Noodles: Medium Thickness & Bite
Ingredients: Lots of Minced Pork & Mushrooms. Meatballs.
Sauce: Flavourful
Go For: Chilli base and Meatballs.
Noi's Minced Pork Noodles
588 Balestier Road
I had read of the 558 vs 588 Balestier battle and decided to judge for myself. Unfortunately, I found that Noi's is nowhere close to the standards of Kim's at 558 Balestier.
Noodles: Average.
Ingredients: Prawns...
Sauce: Average.
Go For: Average.
Jalan Tua Kong Noodles
Good Good Coffeeshop - Sixth Ave
Many flock here for their BCM fix, but I was ghastly disappointed. Firstly their rude and indifferent service. The noodles used are almost translucent - lifeless. And their ingredients, seems confused. With Fishballs, Fishcakes, Minced Pork, and a Prawn...
Noodles: Thin and lacked Bite.
Ingredients: Prawn.
Sauce: Average.
Go For: Average.
Many flock here for their BCM fix, but I was ghastly disappointed. Firstly their rude and indifferent service. The noodles used are almost translucent - lifeless. And their ingredients, seems confused. With Fishballs, Fishcakes, Minced Pork, and a Prawn...
Noodles: Thin and lacked Bite.
Ingredients: Prawn.
Sauce: Average.
Go For: Average.
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