Buddy dropped by and dropped off Hokkien mee from Toa Payoh's Hokkien Man.
* First of all, a disclaimer: Those little dried shrimps sprinkled on top are not part of Hokkien Man's Hokkien mee. It's buddy's own way of eating this dish ๐คฆ But, it's a good idea worth trying as I shall explain ๐
Hokkien Man Hokkien mee has been well received since the stall opened with much media hype in 2019. This was my first time tasting it. It's ironic that I get to try more famous Singapore food stalls during the pandemic as I get to spend more time at home.
That figure 8 written on the lid presumably means this is the $8 serving ๐ค
Reminder: the little dried shrimps are not part of Hokkien Man's Hokkien mee.
In my opinion, some dishes travel well and even taste better if left in a box or wrapping for a while. Examples are char kway teow, and another is Hokkien mee. Keeping it for a while in a pack, allows the sauces and juices to infuse deeper into the noodles. The tradeoff is soft and wet noodles but for some dishes like Hokkien mee, soft and wet is okay ๐
For Hokkien mee, the best wrap is opeh leaf but that is another story for another post.
Okay, all the essential ingredients were there - prawn, squid, pork belly, egg. All were good in the sense that I can taste their natural sweetness, especially the pork belly which was rather scarce (just a couple of small slices in the box).
No lard croutons but I didn't miss them as they would become soft and soggy when left in the box with the moist noodles.
The Hokkien mee was wet and cakey, so the best way to eat it was with a spoon rather than chopsticks. Warming it up a little by steaming made it taste better. It was a nice blend of mild umami-savouriness, sweetness and egginess. There was some garlic heat and aroma which was nice. No wok hei. The taste of lard was hardly discernible.
Alamak, buddy forgot to pack the sambal. Fortunately, we had some chili padi in the fridge which came in handy. Anyway, many people prefer to eat their Hokkien mee with cut chili than sambal as the latter would change the dish's taste profile by
Forgot calamansi also but you know I don't like sour things, so I don't miss it.
Ah..., those dried shrimps really lift the umami quotient by at least two notches. They instantly add a more robust savoury layer over the milder originally savoury sweet eggy dish.
So, pro-tip: Next time, bring a bag of dried shrimps on your next visit to your favourite Hokkien mee stall and give it a try ๐
Let us know your experience ๐
Oh, that bottle of Hildon Natural Mineral Water, it's from my buddy Sam Wu, Singapore's only certified water sommelier.
Something for the history buff, the origins of Singapore Hokkien mee and its Kuala Lumpur counterpart ๐ click
Written by Tony Boey on 25 Jun 2021
Where do you buy these crispy dry prawn?
ReplyDelete