This is the other popular noodle stall at Crawford Lane - the well loved one without the Michelin Star.
Everything is generic here - noodles, fish balls, fish cake (they have
the red one), pork ball etc but their sambal is the winner that conquers
all. It's a unique blend of savoury, spicy, tangy, sweet in a lardy
slick that is indescribably addictive - holding its own with its own
long queue even with the Michelin star bak chor mee 5 minutes walk
away.
This little stall has its own loyal following. Sixty years in the business and its signboard simply states what it sells - "Teochew fish ball noodle". Without a stall name, it's variously known as "Blk 462 bak chor mee" or "Wiseng bak chor mee". Singaporeans often refer to Teochew noodles as "bak chor mee" or minced pork noodles.
This popular noodle stall is at Wiseng Food Place at Blk 462, Crawford Lane. (The famous one with the Michelin Star, Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle is 50+ paces away at Blk 466.)
The wait can be quite long here (20 - 30 minutes) as some customers have long take away lists and they have very customised orders.... more chili, less vinegar, no taugeh (bean sprouts), etc, etc.
Mr Ng who does all the cooking and mixing of sauces obliges all the customer's requests ๐ many of whom are regulars.
I just have the normal SGD4 one lah. I never ever ask for special orders one ๐
The noodles, fish balls, fish cake slices (they have the old school red one), pork balls etc were all generic, factory supplied.
There were a few slices of fresh lean pork and some minced pork with nice porcine flavour. Then, there was a dollop of fried garlic with lard and crackling (bak pok).
Mr Ng is generous with his house blended sauce. There is enough of it to fully coat every strand of mee pok with a gooey greasy slick. (I had wanted the slender mee kia which would pick up the sauce better but it was already sold out at 11:00am when I reached the front of the queue.)
The noodles were done half a notch less than al dente. The strands were wet, almost dripping wet with the heavy oily sauce which is loaded with a harmonised savoury-spicy-tangy-sweet blend. It's a very tasty sauce with a nice toasty, spicy tingle. As I slurped up the noodles, the heavy slick greased my lips and a couple of stray oily droplets flicked onto my white t-shirt ๐
I can't think of a "dry" noodle sauce I like better than this (except perhaps for this - Macpherson BCM during its heyday).
I like Uncle Ng's clear soup as it has the natural sweetness of fresh pork.
๐ Love Mr Ng's delicious sauce a lot. It's not too robust and quite a complex blend of flavours from spicy to savoury, tangy, lardy and sweet all well balanced. I struggled a bit to hold myself back from an immediate second round as I was on my way to another lunch. It's that addictive ๐
I am adding this stall to my best fish ball noodle list even though their fish balls are factory supplied because their sauce is simply outstanding.
What is the secret in their sambal? ๐ค
Uncle Ng started this stall at the coffeeshop outside Rex cinema which holds many memories for many of us. (Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.)
We joined the crush to watch the movie "Earthquake" in 1974. (Courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.)
Newspapers said the cups in the kopitiams around Rex shook and rattled when the movie was playing. Bluff one lah...., media hype is an old stock of trade ๐
Restaurant name: Teochew Fish Ball Noodle
Address: Wiseng Food Place, Blk 462, Crawford Lane, Singapore (near Lavender MRT station)
GPS: 1°18'16.2"N 103°51'39.2"E | 1.304488, 103.860879
Hours: 8:00am to 3:00pm (Sundays off)
Non Halal
Written by Tony Boey
on 17 Dec 2016, updated 2 Mar 2021 updated 1 Jul 2021
Soup version better.
ReplyDeleteDaniel Wong Sylvia Bau said in Can Eat! Hawker Food Facebook Group:
ReplyDelete"This no name Teochew noodle is not in the limelight as compared to its nearby rival Tai Wah but it is our family 's favourite stall .
Have been patronising this Teochew stall for more than 40 yrs . Followed them from Rex corner coffee shop in the 70's when this "auntie" was just a helper working for " uncle" but finally she became his wife .
Then in the 90's they shifted to French road for 14 yrs and finally here since 2012 at Blk 462 Crawford Lane #01-29 Wiseng Food Place .
They have their regular clientele like us and " auntie" remembers the tiny details like " no vinegar , less oil, more chilli etc....."