Stalking Toa Payoh Lor 4 today. I know this area well as I grew up in Toa Payoh in the 1960s to 70s and my childhood friends live in blocks 96 and 98. A lot have changed since then, so I have to rely on buddy Wei on the current good eats here.
There are two bak chor mee (minced pork noodle) stalls in this area. 麦波申潮州肉脞面 Macpherson Teochew Bak Chor Mee is the quieter one.
Had I came here on my own today, I would have settled for the stall with the longer queue. But, Wei suggested Macpherson Teochew Bak Chor Mee instead.
Truth be told, I was a little skeptical at first and obliged by ordering just one bowl of noodle for three of us to share. This was the signature bowl for SGD5. (Three of us were going to share this, so we came prepared with our own utensils 😬 )
The mound of noodle and sauce was blanketed by toppings of fried wanton skin, stewed mushroom, blanched minced pork, two pork balls, liver, leafy lettuce and a piece of ti poh (dried sole fish).
The first thing that struck me was this large piece of ti poh. I am one of those, have ti poh = good, no ti poh = bad kind of bak chor mee fan.
I am also the have pork lard = good, no pork lard = bad type 😬
A quick but vigorous toss greased the noodles with a slick of sauce and lard. We like its robust savoury lardy tangy spicy blend of flavours. There's a certain sweetish zing in the black vinegar they use which I like. The mee pok ribbon noodles were done a little soft but for bak chor mee, it is about right for me.
Uncle is skilful with the liver as even though they were sliced thin, the liver was tender, smooth-grainy, felt and tasted like pâté upon chewing.
The pork balls were a surprise because they were the Hock Chew type i.e. with a little juicy ball of seasoned minced pork inside (like a wanton). Another surprise was it tasted delightfully savoury sweet and felt nicely tender in the mouth. I mean, most Hock Chew pork ball come factory made while this felt handmade.
We like the cloudy soup's mild porcine savoury sweet taste with underlying umami savouriness from ti poh.
We enjoyed this bak chor mee 😄
Pleased with the bak chor mee, we proceeded with the bak tng or meat soup. This is the SGD5 bowl.
In the crowded bowl, there were Hock Chew pork ball, fishball, pork liver, minced pork, pork slices, ti poh, pork lard, and lettuce.
The soup and everything inside was nice except for the generic factory fishballs. One of the best things inside was the fresh lean pork slices which were soft-tender and naturally sweet. Do note that the soup here though tasty is the light body type (different from the thick, full body soup of the other more famous Macpherson minced pork noodle).
We chatted with Uncle Tan briefly after our meal. Uncle Tan ran Macpherson Teochew Bak Chor Mee at Tai Thong Crescent area for twenty years before selling off his business 10 years ago. Five years ago, Uncle Tan started this stall in Toa Payoh.
Uncle Tan is very proud of his ti poh which he spend a substantial amount of money on every month. Asked why he invested so much in ti poh, Uncle Tan simply replied "We are Teochew".
Nuff said.
Duh.
Then, why the Hock Chew fishballs leh?
"My wife is Hock Chew."
That explains everything.
The corner coffee shop at Blk 95, Toa Payoh holds a lot of memories for me. We used to play soccer right behind the coffee shop and used its toilet 😬 Boys at that time were soccer mad.
There was a movie poster posted outside the coffeeshop toilet that I will never forget. That was how I got to know about the legendary Bruce Lee and his 1971 movie, The Big Boss 唐山大兄. I was 11 years old then.
Facebook buddy David Tan shared that the late Mat Noh lived in Blk 95. I didn't know that until now. Cool and handsome Mat Noh was one of Singapore's soccer heroes during our soccer heyday in the 1970s. He was famous for his elegant dribbles. I remember he was always smiley and calm on the pitch, no matter what the pressure.
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| Queen Elizabeth II on the roof of Blk 53 Toa Payoh in 1972 |
Queen Elizabeth II visited Toa Payoh fifty years ago in 1972. She passed away last night on 8 Sep 2022 at age 96 after a reign of 70 years, the longest of any British monarch. May Her Majesty Rest in Peace. Image courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.
The other Macpherson Minced Meat Noodle (Bak Chor Mee)
Address: 47 Tai Thong Crescent, Singapore 347867 (inside Sin Keng Seng coffeeshop)
Hours: 7:00am - 1:00pm (Tues off)
David Wong said on Johor Kaki Facebook:
ReplyDelete"This is really a hidden gem 👍👍 I discovered this stall two weeks ago. Super value for $ (only $4) n well flavor with generous serving of variety of ingredients including teochew dry fish. IMHO, this is far Better than some established brands that excessively overpriced n overly rated.
I will return to enjoy the BCM n support this local stall owner💪👍👌. Highly recommend for those who will like a taste of old school BCM."