Singapore Hokkien mee and Kuala Lumpur Hokkien mee have the same name and the same roots, but they are as different as black and white. And, both Hokkien mee cannot be found in Fujian, China. How come?
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| Image credit: National Archives Singapore |
While in British Malaya, these Chinese immigrants developed dishes and a cuisine that has Chinese roots but with Nanyang 南洋characteristics. One of the unique dishes is fried Hokkien mee of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
KL Hokkien Mee
Wong Kian Lee (alias Ong Kim Lian) came to Kuala Lumpur in 1905 and first settled in Kampung Bahru.
At first, Wong Kian Lee sold a common pale looking soupy stir fried noodle dish from his Fujian hometown, Anxi 安溪. When more people sold fried noodles and competition got stiffer, Wong developed his own style of noodles.
He used thick fat noodles, put in lots of dark soy sauce and lard, stewed and fried it with exceptional wok hei. His creation soon caught on and when asked what is the name of his signature noodles, he simply called it "Hokkien mee" as he came from Fujian.
In 1927, he moved to Chinatown (Petaling Street) and founded Kim Lian Kee.
Kim Lian Kee is still there at Petaling Street. Run by the third generation with mostly Myanmar workers at the wok now. But, this is still my favourite place for KL black Hokkien mee. Though dingy and run down, I actually find this historic place charming and prefer to eat here than Kim Lian Kee's more upscale outlets 😄
Kim Lian Kee's Hokkien mee is widely emulated and the dish is one of Kuala Lumpur's food icons now. It is thick wheat noodles (like udon) stir fried in a super heated charcoal fired wok.
The thick noodles are stewed and stir fried in a porky stock with dried sole fish and dark soy sauce till it is almost dry and all the flavours are infused into the strands. Lard oil is liberally used. Pig / chicken liver, chicken gizzard, squid, prawn, pork slices, cabbage, lots of lard croutons add flavour and textures to the robustly savoury noodles with caramelised toasty smokey tones from wok hei.
Margaret Chan interviewed Yeo Siew Keng for her article "Dish that has its roots in Singapore" The Straits Times, 9 September 1984, Page 4.
In this article by Jimmy Lee "Mee Sellers can earn $20 a night!" which appeared in the Malaya Tribune, 3 January 1948, Page 6 mentioned that lard played a key role in the fried Hokkien mee dish.
By the 1940s, fried Hokkien mee hawkers were already doing a thriving business, and perhaps looked upon with envy. Yeo Siew Keng, one of the fried Hokkien mee pioneers bought a bungalow in Hougang for a princely $500 from his earnings.
The area around Rochor Road and Bugis Street was the original party headquarters of Singapore.
In this article by 联合晚报 (Lianhe Wanbao), 8 June 1999, Page 10, the signature stock of Ng Seng's fried Hokkien mee in the 1950s was made with pork bone, dried anchovies, prawn head, prawn shell, mussel. The noodles were fried with lard, soy sauce, and garlic. The fried noodles were garnished with squid and prawn. The key was the mastery of wok hei so the fried Hokkien mee noodles were neither soggy nor mushed up.
By the 1960s, there were already several Rochor mee stalls and there were long queues for them. Ng Seng 黄成 at Rochor Road, his younger brother, Ng Tong 黄铜 in front of Tong Ji Medical Hall (同济前) near Eu Tong Seng Road. Ng Hock Wah, 黄福华 was Ng Tong's assistant. And, Ng Seng's fourth son Ng Hock Chuan 黄福泉 at Chomp Chomp (Serangoon Garden). (Image Source: National Archives of Singapore.)
According to Dawn and Jean Yip whose parents ran a shop at Bugis Street in the 1950s, Ng Seng's Hokkien mee stall was very popular. Hokkien mee was a slightly premium hawker dish - it was sold at $1 when wanton mee went for 30 cents i.e. it was three times as expensive. $1 was a princely sum in 1950/60s Singapore 😱
The stall owner Ng Seng was already an old man in the 1950s. It was known then as "Rochor mee". The noodles were stir fried and stewed in rich stock over charcoal fire until it was nearly all dried up and all its flavours infused in the wet noodles. The stock was made with pork bones and prawn shells. There's squid, prawns, pork belly, and lard cracklings in the noodles. So the defining trinity of ingredients for traditional Singapore fried Hokkien mee are pork, squid and prawn.
Fried Hokkien mee was served in opeh leaf (betel nut leaf sheath) which imparted additional flavour and aroma to the hot noodles.
Rochor mee was then widely emulated throughout Singapore (but somehow never made it across the Causeway). Jean and Dawn Yip said that the ones at Laguna Park and Toa Payoh were the closest to the original Rochor mee but both have already closed. (Source: National Archives of Singapore)
Jean and Dawn Yip's account was corroborated by Vincent Gabriel's description of 1960s Bugis Street. Gabriel said that the hawkers got discarded bits of pork from the Bugis Market and used these to make pork lard and also blanched pork which they used liberally in Rochor mee. Hearing this alone makes me salivate 😋 Like that win already lor 😄
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| Image credit: Wikipedia |
At first, Wong Kian Lee sold a common pale looking soupy stir fried noodle dish from his Fujian hometown, Anxi 安溪. When more people sold fried noodles and competition got stiffer, Wong developed his own style of noodles.
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| Seven Best KL Hokkien Mee |
In 1927, he moved to Chinatown (Petaling Street) and founded Kim Lian Kee.
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| Kim Lian Kee Petaling Street |
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| Sea Park Ah Wah Hokkien Mee |
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| KL Hokkien Mee |
Singapore Hokkien Mee
In Singapore, Hokkien mee has the same roots but evolved differently.
Instead of going black, it went white.
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| Geylang Lor 29 Swee Guan Hokkien Mee |
Instead of going black, it went white.
But, the Singapore fried Hokkien mee story is slightly more complicated as there are at several anecdotal, oral accounts (with differing timelines).
Yeo Siew Keng & the Teochew Brotherhood of Four
Yeo Siew Keng said Singapore fried Hokkien mee first appeared around the 1880s and was known as Rochor mee as it was first sold there.
The creator, an immigrant from Fujian had a young assistant who soon set up his own fried Hokkien mee business at Rochor Road. This assistant later taught four of his friends (gambling kaki kaki or buddies) the craft, and they went on to open four fried Hokkien mee stalls in Katong (at Roxy cinema), Balestier Road, Tanglin and New World Amusement Park (Kallang). The brotherhood of four friends (all Teochew) rotated between these four locations so that they all had an equal share of the earnings.
Yeo Siew Keng born 1910 was one of these four fried Hokkien mee friends. After 12 years with the Brotherhood of Four, Yeo struck out on his own to open his own stall in Hougang.
Yeo's fried Hokkien mee was made with round yellow noodles and thin bee hoon (rice vermicelli) stir fried with chives, pork belly, prawn, squid, and eggs. Crushed garlic was first stir fried with lard in the wok to release their flavours before yellow noodles and bee hoon were added. Lard was used liberally to fry the noodles and bee hoon.
The soul of the dish - the pork bone, anchovy and dried prawn stock was boiled for at least four hours. The stock was added to the ingredients in the wok, covered with a heavy wooden lid and allowed to simmer, infusing the noodles with its umami savoury sweet flavour. This cover-and-simmer step was repeated a few times to ensure thorough infusion of stock flavours into the noodles and bee hoon.
In the completed dish, the noodles were done soft but not mushy. The dish was wet with stock but was neither soggy nor dry. The dish had a rounded aftertaste from lard.
Fried Hokkien mee was a relatively luxurious dish at 10 cents per serving during Yeo's time. So, a segment of his clients who came in cars were Eurasians, Europeans and Peranakan. At that time, most people could only afford Teochew fried kway teow which cost just 2 cents per serving.
Raw red chili was the original accompaniment, then pickled green chili before today's sambal belacan. Lime was also used to cut through the lard.
Yeo Siew Keng taught his brother-in-law the trade, who opened his stall at Hougang 5th milestone 后港五條石. Yeo's son did not take up the trade when he retired in the 1960s.
Ng Hock Wah & Ng Seng
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| Ng Hock Wah at the wok at age 17 |
A different anecdotal account.
From ieatiehootipost, Leslie Tay's interview with Ng Hock Wah, his uncle Ng Seng came to Singapore from Xiamen in the 1940s. Ng Seng was a coolie at an iron workshop and at night he would fry noodles as a pastime, throwing in whatever ingredients he could get. Mostly scraps of pork, sometimes squid and prawns. When his concoction became popular, he quit his coolie job and started a hawker stall below The 7th Storey Hotel in the 1950s.
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| Image credit: National Archives of Singapore |
Ng Seng's first stall that sold Singapore fried Hokkien mee was at the five foot way of The 7th Storey Hotel (demolished in 2009 to make way for Bugis MRT station) at Rochor Road, hence the name "Rochor mee" according to this account.
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| Image credit: National Archives of Singapore |
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| Image credit: National Archives of Singapore |
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| Toa Payoh Come Daily Hokkien Mee |
The stall owner Ng Seng was already an old man in the 1950s. It was known then as "Rochor mee". The noodles were stir fried and stewed in rich stock over charcoal fire until it was nearly all dried up and all its flavours infused in the wet noodles. The stock was made with pork bones and prawn shells. There's squid, prawns, pork belly, and lard cracklings in the noodles. So the defining trinity of ingredients for traditional Singapore fried Hokkien mee are pork, squid and prawn.
Fried Hokkien mee was served in opeh leaf (betel nut leaf sheath) which imparted additional flavour and aroma to the hot noodles.
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| Tiong Bahru ABC Market Hokkien Mee |
Jean and Dawn Yip's account was corroborated by Vincent Gabriel's description of 1960s Bugis Street. Gabriel said that the hawkers got discarded bits of pork from the Bugis Market and used these to make pork lard and also blanched pork which they used liberally in Rochor mee. Hearing this alone makes me salivate 😋 Like that win already lor 😄
Today, both ebony (KL black Hokkien mee) and ivory (Singapore Hokkien mee) are popular and ubiquitous in Malaysia and Singapore respectively. I love both black and white, and have them whenever I have the opportunity.
Please share with us your memories of KL Hokkien mee and Rochor mee.
Date: 18 May 2020 | Revised 4 Oct 2024
Not sure why the name "Rochor mee" disappeared and the dish was renamed "Hokkien mee" instead. Perhaps when stalls selling "Rochor mee" proliferated, the stalls not located in the Rochor area wanted to use a different name for the dish. But, that doesn't explain why it is called "Hokkien mee".
Perhaps, the Brotherhood of Four who were Teochew called the dish Hokkien in deference to their Hokkien sifu 師父 or master who created the dish in the 1880s, according to Yeo Siew Keng's account. In the old days, one's sifu is revered as the teacher - father.
In the 1960s, there was already a dish called Hokkien mee - it referred to what we know today as "prawn mee". Today, when you go to Penang and ask for Hokkien mee, you will be served "prawn mee".
Any insights to share?
Any insights to share?
Please share with us your memories of KL Hokkien mee and Rochor mee.
Date: 18 May 2020 | Revised 4 Oct 2024
where to get the ebony black hokkien mee here in singapore please?
ReplyDeleteAs always, thanks for this. Always informative, as factual as possible, and always impartial while giving your own preferences & opinion without being too patronising.
ReplyDeleteI’ve spent some time in different parts of fujian, and there isnt anything between xiamen and 福鼎 that resembles the singapore fried hkm. The closest is the seafood stock braised卤面 from 闽东/莆田。 does anyone have any recommendations in china?
ReplyDeleteI first heard of Rochor Mee thru my Eurasian friends who learnt the term frm their parents and they still use that term to refer to “Singapore hokkien mee”.
ReplyDeleteFor my family, we call it “Char hae mee”. Perhaps not wanting to confuse with the less popular blackish fried hokkien mee (normally the flat fettucine-like “lor mee” type is used) that is offered by tze char stalls.
Also, the other thing i’ve been wanting to figure out is - was it the medium-sized diameter bee hoon (the type used for “fish head bee hoon - not as thick, smooth or glossy as the type used for laksa and not as skinny as the thin type bee hoon) that is first used with “sek mee” . And thin bee hoon is now more prevalent due to majority preference.
i’m quite sure that is true - cos thats how i remember my fave char hae mee - back at Tanglin Halt “square” hawker centre, when we lived at c’wealth dr.
Also, both noodles share the same diameter width - which i think it’s best.
Excellent blog entry.
ReplyDeleteToo often we have this whole talking point of who does is better, who started it first and this chase
of authenticity and heritage. It’s really pedantic. Glad you talk about roots. How many younger ones would readily admit their forefathers were immigrants and have suffered immensely in the past ? That their origins were is some part of ulu or remote part of China ?
How many still speak dailect or can manage to speak Mandarin well ?
You are spot on in emphasising the creativeness, the creation of so many dishes because our ancestors have to adapt, cope and do their best to thrive.
I remember the "FHKM" I had in the 50's were wrapped in opeh leaf and there were these sweet and tasty "agemaki" like razor clam that I love so much. I don't see this type clam in the market anymore.
ReplyDeleteLooking back, it seems that the Heng Hua style of lor mee or bee hoon with all the seafood goodies may have its root in the origin of what we now call FHKM. It was how my family would cook them and our root were from Xiamen.
yes yes, i recall those with razor type clams and it was cooked wiwth dark sauce. was available both in KL and Singapore till around the 1980s and disappeared around the 90s. it was actually my own preferred type of hkm because of the smell and taste of those clams. it was also called Hokkien mee, at that time. I am told the particular type of clams went extinct. need more research on this particular variant.
DeleteThis is really a work of passion!
ReplyDeleteWell done!! I always thought there was a Heng hua influence and it's not really Hokkien per se
As far as the Malaysian Black Hokkien mee description is concerned, its fairly accurate. FYI Ong Kim Lian is my wife's grandfather. The present operators are relatives but as far as I know, strictly speaking, not 3rd generation. When the senior Mr Ong wanted to pass on the business, his only son (my late father in law) was not interested as he already had his own successful business. So Ong Kim Lian passed the business on to his brother in law who in turn passed it on to his son who still runs the business today, though he is now getting on in years....so the business is strictly speaking, not operated by Mr Ong's direct descendents, but through his late sister's family. The families though remain fairly close till today. Thank you for the time and effort tracing the history of the product and the business.
ReplyDeleteThe otigins of the sg hokkien mee dish is Teochew.long story. If anyone credits it to Hokkien hawkers thats a huge error even if the internet tells you so lol
ReplyDelete