Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee @ Kelantan Lane • Old School Nostalgic Sauce Noodle 亞弟叩叩面

Ko Ko Mee actually isn't a type of noodle dish. It refers to the knocking sound hawkers make when they strike a broad flat strip of bamboo with a bamboo stick. When I was a child in 1960s Singapore, the ko ko sound made by noodle sellers can be heard all day. 

Stall name: Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee 亞弟叩叩面

Address: Blk 27 Jalan Berseh, Gourmet Street coffee shop, Singapore 200027

Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Jalan Besar station

Hours: 5:30am - 1:30pm (Sun off)

The mobile hawkers either carrying two baskets across a bamboo pole or pushing a pushcart, all had a bamboo ko ko set. When you hear the ko ko sound of your favourite noodle seller, it triggers a kind of Pavlovian response in your salivary glands 🤤 (Image credit: screenshot from CNA: On the Red Dot.)

Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee stall was plying around the Sungai Road area since the 1960s. Today, the stall is still in the area but inside a coffee shop and don't use the bamboo ko ko set anymore. Second generation owner Sim Ah Tee (in his 70s now) still serves the same bak chor fishball noodle.

I ordered the smallest $3 serving and was surprised by the generous amount of ingredients - on top of the mound of mee pok noodles and bean sprouts, there were fishballs, fish dumpling (herr kiao), fish cake slices, minced pork, and char siew (something rarely seen I've not seen in bak chor mee). Most of Ah Tee's regulars are low income elderly living in the area.

A quick toss smothered the noodles with sauce - a lot of sauce and I can smell the lard as I rolled and folded the noodles in it.

The sauce was really old school - I mean, so old that I haven't tasted this flavour profile for a very long time though I recognised it the moment it hit my tastebuds.

It was mainly a blend of ketchup, house made sambal, soy sauce, vinegar and lard. This is the sauce blend I remember from my childhood. At that time, I love this sauce as ketchup had some kind of magic hold on my generation (then). As a child, I felt ketchup made everything taste better.

Truth be told, my taste have changed and ketchup doesn't have that allure anymore. I no longer like ketchup in my noodles (or any food, except fries 😜 ). But, it is still special when I tasted Ah Tee's sauce today as I haven't had it for decades already.

If you like to know what old school sauce tastes like, it is here at Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee. I don't know who else makes a robust sauce like this nowadays - tangy sweet ketchup, umami savoury sambal with some heat, umami salty from soy sauce, a bit of zing from vinegar and no holds barred freshly fried pork lard spiked with lard croutons.

The mee pok noodles were done a little soft with a slight springy crunch. The strands were moist and well greased, leaving slick on our lips as we slurped up the noodles. We ended up licking our lips 😋

Going clockwise, the fish dumpling was generic and mildly savoury sweet. The char siew was tender chewy, slightly dry and tasted sweetish. The fishball was nicely gently savoury sweet. The lard crouton was the best - fresh, crisp and saturated with grease which burst flavours when we bite into it.

Savoury sweet pork bone soup with a bit of chye poh for added depth and umami.

If you are looking for old school sauce noodles for nostalgic reasons, Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee has it.

Ah Tee Ko Ko Mee stall is in the same coffee shop as the legendary Sungai Road Laksa.

       

                     

             

             

               

               

             

           

           

           

                         

           

             

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            A post shared by Tony Boey Johor Kaki (@johorkaki)          

       

     

            

Written by Tony Boey on 28 Sep 2021