Shantou Lao Hia Kway Teow Mee 汕头老哑粿条面

When I travel, especially to places where many Singapore / Malaysia pioneers came from, I scan for dishes found in Singapore / Malaysia so that I can learn about the origins of these dishes.

Teochew kway teow shops are common in Shantou 汕头 (Swatow). They are also common in Johor Bahru (though less so in Singapore).

Lao Hia Kway Teow Mee 汕头老哑粿条面 is just outside Golden Gulf hotel, hence Lao Hia is often visited by hotel guests.

At the shop, I noticed that Lao Hia had to explain his dishes more to guests from north China. Lao Hia said that most guests from Malaysia and Singapore were already familiar with the dish.

Lao Hia had pork offal, seafood, with kway teow, soupy or dry versions. Basic servings start at RMB20 (SGD4) with extra charge for add-ons.

I got a sense of deja vu as Lao Hia's layout was just like those in Johor Bahru - steamy cooking station and fresh ingredients all laid out neatly in front.

There were lean pork slices, liver, kidney, heart, pork blood curd, fish slices, oysters, prawns, mussels, fish dumplings (herr kiao), etc.

Everything was so fresh.

Inside Lao Hia's shop, the furnishings were basic but clean and comfortable. Not so different from traditional kway teow mee shops in Johor Bahru.

This looks so, so familiar doesn't it?

Price RMB20 or SGD4.

The pork bone soup was slightly cloudy, light bodied, clean tasting, savoury sweet, not oily but milder flavoured than those in Johor Bahru.

The kway teow (rice noodles) were smooth, thicker, softer and sweeter than their Johor Bahru counterpart. I love it.

From top left (clockwise), there's fresh plump oyster, lean pork slice, pork intestine, leafy green, and liver slices.

Everything was impeccably fresh and clean, and done just right. Such a homely, comforting bowl of hot soup and noodles.

Chili sauce, chili oil, white pepper, vinegar and soy sauce to tune up the flavours in the bowl. At Lao Hia, the intensity was lower than in Johor Bahru, which in turn many Singaporeans felt is mild tasting.

There was also freshly fried diced garlic which add a subtle bitter umami spicy note as well as aroma to the kway teow soup.

Teochew kway teow mee is about 90% similar between Shantou and Johor Bahru (which is also known as Little Swatow because many Teochew settled here since the mid-1800s to work on pepper and gambier plantations).

Next time in Shantou, the dry version and also beef kway teow mee (other shops).