Ponggol Noodles serve a different kind of bak chor mee or minced pork noodle which many come to love. The popular stall at Hougang's Hainanese Village Centre (market & food centre) is transiting into the third generation now, from grandfather to father (in 1995), and now to daughter. I love their slurpy noodles, special sweet savoury sauce and handmade pork balls.
Ponggol Noodles is tucked away in a corner of Hainanese Village Centre in Hougang but it is easy to spot as there is always a line at the stall. Sometimes short, often long.
I like the vibes and warmth at Hainanese Village Centre. Families, neighbours, friends etc congregate in this medium size food centre with around 50 stalls. The centre is clean and well kept.
I opted for mee pok dry which came sitting in a pool of drippy sauce, topped with blanched minced pork, two handmade pork balls, fish cake slices, stewed mushroom and some token choy sum greens.
This is the cheapest $3.50 version.
There's enough drippy sauce to envelope each slurpy strand of noodle with sweet savoury flavours. It's a blend of savoury sauce, mushroom sauce, stewing sauce (of pork intestine), and chili sauce.
I like the broad mee pok noodles which were done soft-tender (not al dente) and love the sweet savoury spicy sauce which I felt was very delicious.
The signature handmade pork balls were tender-soft, moist inside. The pork tasted sweet-savoury with fragrance from embedded spring onion and umami from bits of tee poh.
The signature handmade pork balls were tender-soft, moist inside. The pork tasted sweet-savoury with fragrance from embedded spring onion and umami from bits of tee poh.
What is that magical ingredient tee poh? ๐ click
The soup that came with the noodles was a simple pork broth. I tossed in a bit of tung chai (preserved cabbage) which added a trace of savoury-saltiness to the slightly sweet savoury soup. Not much more to say - it's there to complete the dish.
I enjoyed Ponggol Noodles a lot and feel the urge to go back for more, especially for the sauce on the soft slurpy mee pok noodles.
Next time, I want to try their braised pig intestine noodles with a bowl of meatball soup at the side.
The awe inspiring story of Ponggol Noodles boss Yee Meng Yong who lost his master right hand to a cement mixer in an industrial accident in 1984. Spunky Mr Yee overcame all odds, and now serves one of the best loved bak chor mee in Singapore.
Sprightly and jovial Mr Yee cheekily calls himself the "one-arm noodle man", alluding to the famous movie hero "one-arm swordsman ็ฌ่ๅ็". Mr Yee is now assisted by daughter Yee Ling Ru who intends to take over the business when her dad retires.
You may also like to try out other top choices at Hainanese Village Centre ๐ click
Written by Tony Boey on 15 Apr 2021
Punggol noodles used to be run by one eye Goh Che in the 70s. His stall is diagonally opposite St Anne’s church. He’s usually assisted by his little daughter Ah Noi, future wife of Mr Yee. Ah Noi took over and moves to Hougang for many years before she pass away. Personally I rate their mee pok tah as the best in SG, far better than even Tai Hwa. I have not tried it since Mr Yee took over but I heard from friends it’s still just as good.
ReplyDeletewow! Thank you for the interesting insight. I believe very few people know this. Appreciate much :-)
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