When Pigs Can Fly ✈️ Bu Jian Tian Char Siew Wanton Noodle in Singapore 🐷

Many wanton noodle enthusiasts are crazy about char siew made with "bu jian tian" or the "armpit" cut of pork. Like other bu jian tian fans, I also prefer this special cut over the usual lean meat / pork belly char siew. Out of hundreds of wanton mee stalls in Singapore, the number serving bu jian tian char siew can be counted with the fingers on one hand.

Bu jian tian char siew is marinated in a sweet savoury sauce (each roaster has their own secret blend) and roasted in a charcoal fired oven till the marinade outside is caramelised. Good char siew doesn't look pretty, but enthusiasts know deliciousness lie just beneath that dark unappealing surface.

Bu jian tian 不见天 literally means "never see the sky". It is that cut of meat in the underside of the pig between the hock and bacon, commonly referred to as "armpit".

Yeah..., it sounds neither elegant nor appetising but it has that unique distribution of fat and soft lean meat. Each hundred kilo pig yields less than two kilo of bu jian tian, hence it is a highly sought after premium cut.

In Hong Kong, this cut is known as "fei kay yok 飞机肉" or "aeroplane meat". Yeah...., it doesn't sound that palatable either. The part where the wing join the fuselage (body) of an aeroplane is like its "armpit". (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

The Spanish call the cut "secreto" or "butcher's secret cut". That sounds a little intriguing and certainly more tantalising 🤤

(Bu jian tian is also referred to as "flap meat", a prosaic, less descriptive term.)

Where to get the elusive bu jian tian char siew wanton mee in Singapore?

Start with my personal favourite for bu jian tian char siew - Fei Fei Roasted.Noodle stall in Yuhua Village Market & Food Centre (in Jurong East).

Juicy bu jian tian char siew with a light sweet marinade and subtle savoury smokey flavour enveloping slender crunchy Hong Kong style egg noodles. The sauce on the springy noodles may look sparse and plain but tastes delectable with a signature blend of lardy savoury flavour and sesame seed oil fragrance.

I don't use chili sauce with Fei Fei's wanton mee because I can't bear to change its exquisite taste profile.

Not as famous as other top wanton mee stalls as it is inconveniently located in Singapore's far west but in this case West is Best, in my humble opinion lah.... . (Very elusive as their bu jian tian char siew fly off the hooks within one hour 😮 This one is really aeroplane meat ✈️ )

Stall name: Fei Fei Roasted.Noodle 肥肥烧腊.云吞麵

Address: Jurong East St 24, stall #01-28 Yuhua Village Market & Food Centre, Blk 254, Singapore 600254

Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Chinese Garden station

Hours: 10:00am - 12:00 noon (Sun off)

Fatty Cheong's bu jian tian looks dark but the marinade is just mildly sweet savoury so we can taste the juicy premium cut's natural sweetness. The generic egg noodles are nicely springy-crunchy and served with a dark drippy savoury sweet sauce with option of sambal chili for added heat. I like Fatty Cheong's sambal chili as it has fried whitebait inside for extra umami and crispy chewy bite.

Stall name: Fatty Cheong 肥仔详烧腊云吞面

Address: 6 Jalan Bukit Merah, stall #01-120, Singapore 150006 (ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre)

Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Queenstown station

Hours: 11:30am - 8:00pm

Zhong Yu Yuan Wei wanton mee in Tiong Bahru food centre serve springy, slender egg noodles in a sweet savoury lardy drippy sauce with a bit of chili heat. Their tender, juicy bu jian tian char siew is also mildly sweet savoury with a slight smokey overlay.

ZYYW's wanton mee is reminiscent of old school wanton noodle from 1960s Singapore such as that outside the old red brick National Library at Stamford Road. The bu jian tian char siew option just up the game on that vintage version (ZYYW also serve "normal" char siew").

Stall name: Zhong Yu Yuan Wei 忠于原味云吞面

Address: 30 Seng Poh Road, stall #02-30, Singapore 168898 (Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre)

Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Outram Park station

Hours: 8:00am - 1:00pm (Mon off)

Wen Kang Ji Wanton Mee serve sweet savoury bu jian tian char siew slices over their soft al dente egg noodles in a sloshy savoury sweet lardy sauce with signature house made chili sauce.

Weng Kang Ji go the extra mile with every element and detail in their bowl of wanton mee - special soupy sauce, signature chili sauce, prawn dumpling (sui kow) and, of course, their bu jian tian char siew. All are good, but in the end, it's their "armpit" char siew that pips everything in the bowl.

Stall name: Weng Kang Ji 文康記

Address: 505 Beach Road, Golden Mile Food Centre, stall #B1-29

Nearest MRT: 10 minutes walk from Lavender station

Hours: 10:00am - 4:00pm

Read more about these bu jian tian wanton mee stalls:

Fei Fei Roasted.Noodle 👈 click

Fatty Cheong 👈 click

Zhong Yu Yuan Wei 👈 click

Wen Kang Ji 👈 click

I missed out your favourite bu jian tian wanton mee? 😮

Don't be mad at me 😱

Let me know your favourite by dropping a comment here.