✍️ 24 Oct 2023. Ah Hor near Mustafa mall is an old school type of dry bak chor mee stall that is well loved but has a low profile in Singapore foodie radar.
For a long time in Verdun House, Ah Hor is now in Big City Coffee House at Kitchener Road.
Ah Hor is tucked in a corner of the coffee shop with a trickle of customers looking for a simple, affordable gut filler.
I ordered the smallest $4 serving and was rather pleased with what I received.
There were fish ball, fish cake, pork ball, stewed mushroom, lean pork, and rather surprisingly at this price point, fried dried sole fish or tee poh. The definitive ingredient of Teochew noodles.
The sauce is savoury, lardy, spicy, tangy. Flavours slightly mild, though the smell of vinegar was fleetingly assertive. I prefer my noodle sauce to pack a bigger punch and a kick. I could ask for more sambal next time.
The fish cake was quite sweet. The mushroom was spongy and well infused with savoury sweet taste. The pork ball was alright. If it has to be generic, pork balls are better than fish balls.
There were no herr kiao or fish dumplings. But, unless they are handmade, I don't miss them.
Ah Hor is still one of the better bak chor mee stalls in Singapore.
Written by Tony Boey on 24 Oct 2023
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✍ 3 May 2016. I was excited by Wai Kuan's Facebook post declaring that Ah Ho is her favourite mee pok tah. Her photo of the noodles looked so irresistibly delicious 😄 So I couldn't wait to check it out when I was in Singapore. Ah Ho Teochew noodle stall is at Kim San Leng kopitiam, Verdun Road - a lively part of Singapore I like visiting. Thank you Wai Kuan for the share 😄
(Note: They have shifted steps away to Big City Coffee Shop along Kitchener Road.)
It was not yet 11:00 am but I had to stand in line for about 15 minutes. A guy ahead of me was taking away 5 or 6 packets for his family.
I ordered the largest serving at SG$4.50 (2016 price). Mee pok tah - the dry broad yellow ribbon noodles is my usual way of eating this dish.
Ah Ho's mee pok tah has everything, plus some.
The usual suspects - lean pork slices, fish cake slices, braised mushroom, fish ball, minced pork in the soup, a huge mound of noodles, and then there were fish dumplings (her giao) and fried tik poh (dried sole fish 扁鱼乾). A slice of pork liver would have made it perfect for me (there was none) 😄
The sambal chili has gently layered savouriness, and was mildly spicy sweet. It is housemade and tasted fresh - I enjoyed eating it on it's own 😄
The tossing sauce heavy on lard and sambal chili was slick, thick and savoury spicy but lacked vinegar, so you may find it missing something, if your idea of definitive bak chor mee/ mee pok tah must include a bit of vinegar tanginess. It was also slightly dry, so you have to splash in some soup, if you like it wetter.
I enjoyed this good bowl of mee pok tah. The noodles have a soft gummy spring. The sauce was just right for me in flavours and intensity. And, the plus ingredients like tik poh and fish dumplings took it to the next level, into the top band of mee pok tah for me.
The fish dumplings (2 pieces) were flavoursome and the skin was QQ springy. Ah Ho is one of the few places in Singapore that still serve this old Teochew classic.
I love Ah Ho's fish cake slices as they were springy tender and have a nice gentle fish flavour. Next time, I shall make a side order for more fish cake.
However, the fish balls seemed generic, factory made.
The braised mushroom was tenderly spongy and wet with savoury sweet braising sauce which complemented the subtle earthly flavour of mushrooms.
The fried tik poh was slightly chewy stiff though still crispy and mildly savoury salty. I was afraid that it might be overly salty but it was just nice.
Free flow of pork lard crackling which added a nice crunchy texture and flavour to the bowl of noodles. Win liao lo... like that... .
The pork bone broth was clear, light bodied, sweetened by fatty minced pork suspended in the soup which was not overly oily.
There was no chance for me to get to know the stall holders better as they were so busy. I lingered a while but the queue only grew longer as lunch time approached. I shall come back another time for that.
👉 Ah Ho Teochew noodle counts among my favorite mee pok tah / bak chor mee in Singapore.
Now they are at 165 Kitchener road Coffee shop
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