The new Lau Lim shop at 248 & 250 Tanjong Katong Road is modern, clean, neat, simply furnished, but offers air conditioned comfort.
I found out today that the many shops bearing the Jalan Tua Kong and Lim names are not all related. Jalan Tua Kong Lau Lim shops are at 306 & 308 Bedok Road (Bedok Shopping Centre), Simpang Bedok since 2004 (relocating to Bedok Marketplace), and here at Tanjong Katong Road. They also have an outlet in Ruko Cordoba, Jakarta.
Straits Times has more on the Mee Pok Wars, if you are interested.
Lau Lim first learned his trade working for the popular Hong Xing Fishball Meatball Noodle stall at Hong Lim when he was a teen. After marrying, Lau Lim started the Jalan Tua Kong stall with wife Linda in 1993.
I teased Lau Lim that he is eating his own noodles. Lau Lim said he does that everyday at his shops for decades to make sure that the noodles are just right for the day, everyday. (I've met a few other top hawkers who do this.)
Actually, Lau Lim where got lau.... (old).
The latest outlet at Tanjong Katong Road is run by Lau Lim and Linda's daughter Lu Yi. Lu Yi was born around the same time as Lau Lim's Jalan Tua Kong stall, so the stall was like another baby in the family which was lovingly tended to and carefully nurtured.
The menu at Tanjong Katong is pretty straightforward like at a hawker centre stall. The senior Lims wanted to stick closely to the traditions which are the foundation of the Jalan Tua Kong Lau Lim brand.
They have fried carrot cake, and traditional Nanyang coffee, kaya toast, French toast and soft boiled eggs like in the parent shop.
I took a peek at the kitchen. Lu Yi is determined that her baby is a success which means rolling up her sleeves, labouring over the hot wok daily to master the intricate art of heat control.
At the kitchen I spotted a little "trade secret" - the shallots and pork lard are fried together and they are mixed into the sauce and noodles for that alluring winning layers of flavour and fragrance 💪 Freshly fried shallot and pork lard together, win already lo....
Mound of noodles in sauce, topped with blanched minced pork, fishball, fish cake slices, pork ball, prawn and scallion.
It's not a fanciful mee pok.
When I asked why no pork liver, towkay neo (lady boss) said that they are serving fishball noodle not bak chor mee (minced pork noodle).
The flat ribbon noodles were done soft tender, subtly crunchy and were smothered with a robust umami savoury, spicy, lardy sauce. There's a zesty hint of ketchup (?) but no vinegar (which is optional in self service bottles).
Lau Lim's main arsenal in his sauce are his twin barrels of belacan laced sambal, and his shallot-lard oil blend. This is the way I like my noodles with robust tasting sauce and flavoursome oils. I also like the aromas - I can smell the lard and shallot from the next table when they tossed their noodles 💪👍
I like Lau Lim's house made fishballs hand made with yellowtail fish. The fishballs were springy and pops gently to the bite, releasing a soft gush of savoury briny natural fish flavours. Yeah, it's got the Hong Xing Hong Lim DNA.
The pork balls also hand made in house with a blend of fish and pork were nice too.
I enjoyed the prawns too. Size of my little finger and shelled, so it is easy to enjoy the meat's soft crunch and subtle crustacean sweetness.
A simple fishball noodle done well is enough reason for me to come back to Jalan Tua Kong Lau Lim.
At Tanjong Katong Road, they upped their game with Linda's style of fried carrot cake.
Lau Lim's fried carrot cake is lightly crisped, browned outside while inside it was soft tender and moist. There was a slight egginess, savoury saltiness from fish sauce and bits of chye poh, and slight sweetness from the carrot (radish) cake.
Served with umami savoury spicy sambal specifically created by Linda to pair with the carrot cake.
Stayed back to chat a while after the main course, so the kopi (coffee), teh (tea), eggs, kaya toast and French toast came in handy.
Not too bad, the toast.
Pleasant coffee. My kopi O kosong wasn't too bitter, and actually quite enjoyable. I think I am going to graduate to kopi O kosong now so that I cut out the trans fat in kopi C from the "milk".
Good place to hang out for breakfast or snacks / light meal anytime before 8pm. Comfortable and got everything we want - comfort dishes and good coffee - for chilling out.
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