58 Minced Meat Noodles in Bedok South

Every now and again I come across a dish which rewrites my impressions of what it used to be. Mee Pok Tar, or Bak Chor Mee and its variants are a unique dish to Singapore. And indeed there are many variants. I enjoy them all, from the Jalan Tua Kong styled ones, to the traditional Teochew styled ones and the Tai Hwa variants. But the subject of today's review, 58 Minced Meat Noodles, changes the game altogether.

I realise this is not a new stall, but only one which I discovered personally recently. I have gone back to taste the dish several times, and each time, consistently it is superb.

Everything is right about this bowl of noodles...safe the long-ish waiting time. 

First the stock is superb, a bit thick, almost a light gelatin texture, very similar to the soup of a great ramen. And liberally sprinkled with the gorgrous minced meat with delicious pork lard crisps and dried flounder. The soup is power packed with umami, and extremely satisfying to drink up. I crave this every once a while, but its a 20km ride or drive to get to Bedok South from where I live. Cest la vie.

Next the noodles are done just right. In Italian terms, it would be just a little soft of el dente. But this is not an Italian dish, and just soft of el dente is just right. Brilliant springy noodles. 

The wanton is a work of art on its own. The large portion, only $3 (and they call Singapore the most expensive city in the world), comes with 4 wantons. Each with a tender, soft skin, wrapping a precious cargo of minced meat, and dried flounder. Each bite delivers a jolt of umami, and intense taste which triggers off all the pleasure centers in the brain. Superb. 

Maybe its just the way I am wired, but this is hands down the best bak chor mee (literally minced meat noodle) I have eaten...not the most elegant, certainly, nor the with the best ingredients, but most satisfying. Bar none. 

58 Minced Meat Noodles
#01-151,  58 New Upper Changi Road

Chia Keng Kway Teow Mee at Ang Mo Kio

I have blogged about the ubiquitious bak chor mee, and mee pok tar and other variants for a while. While I remain quite "addicted" to Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, and Lorong Tua Kong Bak Chor Mee, I recently re-discovered Chia Keng.

The stall is called Kway Teow Mee...but I truly love their mee pok tar.

The above is the $5 version. Ladden with two large, fresh prawns, two hand made fishballs, a few slices of fish cakes, slices of mushroom and lean pork, and two slices of abalone. The noodles were cooked perfectly, al dente, and the sauce was absolutely wonderful. Packing full of umami, flavourful, and the chilli. The chilli is a killer. Not that it is powerful with heat, but powerful with flavour. Almost like some of the XO sauce made by famous chefs...I can taste generous dried prawns simmered in a concoction with fish sauce, oyster sauce, a touch of scallops, a bit of ground deep fried flounder. Superb. 

The prawns were fresh, crunchy type, and very sweet with a wonderful aroma of the sea. And the fishballs and fishcake are handmade each day, and totally satisfying. The two slices of abalone were sweet and very tender, and testament to high quality.

The accompanying soup was totally satisfying as well. Very nice flavours. Very well balanced.

They serve a budget $3.50 version without the goodies, and $7-$15 versions with whole abalones. Might be tempted to try next time if I am not again drawn to the reasonably priced $5 version above.

Definitely highly recommended.

Chia Keng Kway Teow Mee

Blk 453A Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, 

#01-11 Chong Boon Food Centre 

Singapore 561453

Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee at Ang Mo Kio

As many readers following this blog know, I do have a soft spot for wanton mee. Especially the KL style ones with black sauce, no tomato or chilli sauce, thick, springy eggy noodles and laden with lard crisps, and succulent wantons. But although I have a soft spot for those, I do love all kinds of wanton mee. The wiry, aromatic little bowls served in Hong Kong are special. As are the traditional Singapore styled ones with chilli sauce like those made by Dajie and Eng's.

But when in Bangkok, the curious Thai style is popular, and even though this stall has been around for a while in Ang Mo Kio, I just recently came across some blogs buzzing about it. So I went to try it for myself.

I ordered the cheapest bowl, and it was quite impressive in serving size and the amount of ingredients. The chilli and lard crisps I added on my own. They also offer granulated cane sugar, like they do in Thailand, but I am not one for a sweet noodle, so I declined.

Laden with a deep fried wanton, charsiew and lots of greens. The noodles itself was nice, and springy...cooked el dente. And was served with no sauce...ok, perhaps a touch of pork lard sufficient to coat the noodle strands to impart some flavour. But mixed with the dried chilli flakes and lard crisps, it did pack a powerful flavour. Very nice. The deep fried wanton was very flavourful, and crisp to the palate. As were the greens, they were also cooked well, and was fresh.

The serving came with a bowl of very nicely rich stock soup with two wantons. Beautiful soup, umami rich, and the wantons were reasonably sized with very soft skin and within minced pork with perhaps a hint of prawns. Lovely.

I was told that on peak hours, the queue could be up to an hour long. I was there about 11am and there was no queue. The small portion I ordered was $3.50, and for $4, more noodles can be had. And for $5 more ingredients. I will be back to try the $5 version soon.

Highly recommended. 

Soi 19 Thai Wanton Mee (十九街雲吞麵)
Address: Blk 151, Ang Mo Kio Ave 5, Coffee Shop
Opening Hours: 7.30am to 3pm