I am not a big fan of Bak Chor Mee (or BCM; a common abbreviation used in local food forums) but mom was craving for a bowl that day at Hong Lim Food Centre! =(
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As a filial son and also as a curious foodie, i joined the queue at one of Singapore Hawker Legends; Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee to see what the fuss was all about for it to have one of the longest queue at the hawker centre.
Actually, my preferred brunch was supposed to be the nearby Ji Ji Wanton Mee and the decision to switch abruptly to the famous BCM rest entirely on one factor; the availability of free flow deep fried pork lard at Ah Kow.
Six types of noodle choices and i am in a dilemma on which one to select! Eventually, my selection was based simply on the BCM picture on the signboard; mee pok.
Most customers ahead of me in the queue appeared to order an extra Teochew Dumpling soup and i thought it would be better for us to have that as well!
Teochew Dumpling Soup
潮州饺汤
Despite its delicious outlook with a semi cloudy broth (which i always attribute to a more flavourful taste), please don't expect too much from this bowl of soup.
The generous ingredients didn't justify for the surprising blandness we had. I did enjoy the dumplings very much although they had a harder texture that would benefit with the inclusion of more Chinese chestnuts.
Mushroom Minced Pork Noodles
香菇肉脞麺
With almost seventy years of history (since 1945), Ah Kow was well known for serving traditional BCM coupled with its special chilli sauce and a type of vinegar specially imported from China.
There were a few other things worth noting; the freshness of ingredients (the braised mushrooms were amazing), pieces of dried flatfish and slices of pork that were much softer than those of its competitors!
"Slurp, Slurp, Slurp...." - Japanese would enjoy eating the noodles!
Taste wise, it would satisfy diners who prefer more vinegar in their BCM. For me, it has a unique aftertaste that was likely the smelly effect of dried flatfish even though for BCM, it was really not as impressionable as i expected (kindly note my opening statement).
As much as i worship pork lard, even their existence failed to better my opinion of Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee.
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Location
531A, Upper Cross Street,
#02-42, Hong Lim Food Centre
Price
Teochew Dumpling Soup - S$4.00
Minced Pork Noodles - S$3.50
Operating Hours
8.00am to 5.00pm
[Closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday!]