Update 2 Mar 2024: Tai Hwa vs Tai Wah Pork Noodle
Bak Chor Mee is the quintessential Singaporean food, similar in status to the Hainanese Chicken Rice, Chilli Crabs and more. When it comes to opinions on which Bak Chor Mee is the best in Singapore, the amount of arguments it generate can span generations.
Which brings us to Tai Hwa Pork Noodles and Tai Wah Pork Noodles. While similar-sounding, Hill Street Tai Hwa at Crawford Lane has earned 1 Michelin star, while High Street Tai Wah at Hong Lim Food Centre earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Earlier this month, the owner issued a statement via a newspaper advertisement to highlight that they are "the one and only" 1-Michelin starred Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, possibly in response to High Street Tai Wah aggressive expansion around Singapore.
Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee: Behind The 100-Year-Old BCM Stall That Inspired Bedok 85 And 511
There’s a bak chor mee stall that resides in a quaint Eunos coffee shop I often frequent, drawing a line of customers who want to get their hands on a warm, soupy bowl of bak chor mee. The signboard above reads ‘Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee’. Though this sort of clued me in on why the queue made sense, little did I know that behind this humble facade lay a long family history of pioneering bak chor mee in Singapore. In fact, it’s one that dates back all the way to the 1920s─about 100 years ago.
The origin of bak chor mee - Some would call famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee one of the original bak chor mee sellers in Singapore. The founding father sold bowls of noodles around the district of Kampong Chai Chee on foot in the ‘20s. Back then, times were simple but tough. There wasn’t a brick-and-mortar stall; just a hardworking street peddler who precariously carried his makeshift portable kitchen on a bamboo pole. The noodles he sold were coined hunchback noodles, because of the literal burden on his shoulders that strained his back to the point that it developed a hunch. That man was the great-great-grandfather of Ler Jie Wei, a 35-year-old millennial who is currently the fifth-generation running the Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee business.
The recipe has been handed down from generation to generation. Jie Wei shared that today, there are actually 10 bak chor mee businesses, apart from Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee, that have descended from the same founder. They’re all somewhat related to each other because of their connection to this core recipe. This includes the popular Bedok 85’s Xing Ji and Bedok 511’s Tian Nan Xing, both run by distant relatives of Jie Wei. Jie Wei is in charge of most of the business─retail, human resource, production, and marketing. Prior to this, he was in the banking industry for a couple of years, before he decided to switch careers and commit to the family business wholeheartedly.
Taiwah Pork Noodle
Tai Wah minced pork noodles came from humble beginnings with a tale of survival of a southern Chinese young man driven by poverty, wars, and hunger to migrate to Nanyang ( South East Asia). In Singapore, to satisfy his desire for the taste of his hometown and to bring the familiar taste of home to his fellow Chinese, and to make a decent living for himself, he started Tai Wah Teochew Minced Pork Noodles in 1939 at Taiwah Coffee Shop at Hill Street, Singapore. His relentless pursue to develop, horn the noodles, cooking to minute precision and the secret concoction recipe of chilli and vinegar. Unfortunate events broke out in 1942, World War II, when the Japanese army invaded Singapore. The situation became very turbulent and food resources became scarce. But with sheer ingenuity and networking under difficult circumstances, the noodle business still carried on with the help of his young children as he wanted to keep them close under such turbulent times.
In the 1960s, Taiwah Pork Noodle opened another stall at a Coffeeshop located at Cecil street. In 1979, Hill Street coffee shop ceased business as to make way for development. To continue with the family business, the second child was relocated to Marina City Food court. Meanwhile, the youngest son, Mr Tang Chai Chye opened another branch in Singapore’s High Street Center. In October 1997, this same outlet by Mr Tang Chai Chye was relocated to Prince Edward Road.In 2003, another stall was set up in the Hong Lim Food Centre located in the Central Business District to cater the demand for office clientele.
Today, with the advent of internet and ease of cross border, Taiwah Minced Pork Noodles has seen increased demand in regional countries. The eldest son of Mr Tang Chye Chai is now at the opportune time to develop the brand and prepare for cross-border expansion to bring its distinctive noodles regionally. An operation system has been developed to ensure Tai Wah’s consistency in standards and quality is being maintained. The brand is currently at the crossroads, in order for everyone to taste the truly Singapore’s Bak Chor Mee, Tai Wah is seeking opportunities to expand regionally.
6 things to know about one Michelin-starred Tai Hwa Pork Noodle
L: Hokkien-style bak chor mee from Seng Hiang at Fengshan Market and Food Centre. R: Teochew-style bak chor mee from Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork noodles. Photos: Andre Hoeden, The New Paper
The Michelin Guide recognised the iconic Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle with one star on Thursday (July 21).
Here are six things about the brand:
- Origins
- Hokkien or Teochew?
- Cheapest Michelin-starred meal, but expect to wait
- Hill Street Tai Hwa? High Street Tai Wah?
- Hill Street Tai Hwa? Lau Dai Hua?
- A blemish on the famous brand
Best Bak Chor Mee in Singapore – Do you prefer the soupy or dry version?
Judging by the long queues generated during and after the lunch hour, I had high expectations for Hong Xing Handmade Fishball. Revolving around their specialities of fishballs and meatballs, these come in a variety of noodles and soups.
The fishball kway teow mee ($3) comes in both the dry and soup versions, with the former accompanied by a side bowl of soup. I ordered the dry version, where the noodles are springy to the touch. The taste is unfortunately a little bland, albeit with a good acidity from the vinegar.
The bowl of soup is a little salty, containing four fishballs and – to my surprise – two meatballs as well. The fishballs and meatballs are lovingly handmade every morning, which shows through the irregular and inconsistent size of each fish or meat ball – something that’s a far cry from the uniformity of machine-made ingredients. The fishballs are incredibly soft and have a fine consistency. They also have a good bounce to them! The meatballs contain bits of dried sole fish, which add an interesting texture. A big portion of noodles plus four fishballs and two meatballs for just $3? It’s great value that just can’t be beat.
The ultimate guide to the best Bak Chor Mee stalls in Singapore
Bak Chor Mee, or minced meat noodles for the anglicised reader, is a popular hawker noodle dish that is found almost exclusively in Singapore, Malaysia and several regions in the Guangdong province in China. The origins of the humble bowl likely stemmed from the Teochew community, and stripped to its bare minimum, it is quite literally bak chor (minced meat) and mee (noodles). The dish is a little different depending on which country you’re dining in, but in Singapore, bak chor mee can be categorised into two versions: soup or dry.
The soup variant is a test of the chef’s skill in broth-making: the clear, light-tasting soup is littered with a cloudy mix of minced pork and fats, the perfect accompaniment to the thin eggy yellow noodles. Meatballs and a healthy scoop of chopped chilli slices garnish the noodles for a warm, spicy bowl that’s great for chilly, rainy days. As for dry bak chor mee, the secret ingredient lies in the chilli-vinegar sauce. Thick, wavy mee pok noodles are tossed this special sauce, laying the foundation for juicy slices of stewed mushroom, minced pork and glorious pieces of deep-fried lard. Other additional ingredients like pork liver, wontons, and fish balls vary from stall to stall.
8 places for the best bak chor mee in Singapore:
- Xing Ji Rou Cuo Mian
- Soon Heng Pork Noodles
- Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle
- Tai Wah Pork Noodle
- 58 Minced Meat Noodle Taman Jurong
- Seng Kee Bak Chor Mee
- Lai Heng Mushroom Minced Meat Noodles
- Macpherson Minced Meat Noodles
7 places for delicious Bak Chor Mee in Singapore
You may have read that our humble bak chor mee has landed on top of a list of the best street food around the world. Not just any bak chor mee, but the famed Hill Street Tai Wah Bak Chor Mee at Crawford Lane.
Its popularity is undisputed, evidenced in the snaking queues of 90 minutes, give or take. With this latest accolade, we anticipate that queues may get even longer, so if you're too hungry to wait, here are some alternative places to check out for a quick BCM fix. The stalls are not just run-of-the-mill, but have loyal fan bases of their own and come up regularly on published lists of well-loved minced pork noodle bowls.
7 other places for delicious Bak Chor Mee:
- Macpherson Minced Meat Noodles
- Seng Kee Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle
- Ming Fa Fishball (Upper Thomson Road)
- Seng Hiang Bak Chor Mee & Xing Ji Rou Cuo Mian
- Lai Heng Mushroom Minced Meat Mee
- Ding Ji
- Ah Hoe Mee Pok
8 best bak chor mee soup in SG for a souper good time
There’s a spot in my heart that is specially reserved for bak chor mee soup. I’ve grown up my whole life indulging in my ultimate favourite bowl of noodles from 58 Minced Meat Mee at Bedok 58 and it baffles me how the dish is so under-the-radar.
Of course, when it comes to bak chor mee soup, a few familiar names come to mind. Whether it’s the popular supper spots at Bedok 85 or the up and coming Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee, one thing is for sure—bak chor mee soup is here to stay. Bring on the minced meat goodness, meatballs, fresh egg noodles and pork dumplings.
List of 8 best bak chor mee soup in Singapore for a souper good time:
- 58 Minced Meat Mee
- Ah poh Minced Meat Noodle
- Chai Chee Bak Choy Mee
- Famous Eunos Bak Choy Mee
- Li Fa Minced Meat Noodle
- Seng Hiang Bak Choy Mee
- Soon Heng Pork Noodles
- Xing Ji Rou Mian
10 Best Bak Chor Mee 肉 脞 面 aka Minced Pork Noodles In Singapore
Best Bak Chor Mee in Singapore? Super debatable. With that said, Singapore’s Bak Chor Mee 肉脞面 is a hawker dish we can be proud of – with a Michelin star in the bag, and once listed as the top world street food by World Street Food Congress.
Also known as Minced Pork Noodles or Minced Meat Noodles, the noodles (typically called mee kia) dish is included with minced pork, pork slices, pork liver, stewed mushrooms and pork lard, tossed in vinegar, chilli and other sauces (depending on the stall). This is one of my go-to hawker food, though how good a stall is sometimes depends on who’s doing the cooking and even time of the day. Consistency, consistency.
Here are 10 places you can find good Bak Chor Mee in Singapore:
- Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles 大 华 猪 肉 粿 条 面
- Macpherson Minced Meat Noodles
- Li Yuan Mee Pok
- Sixties Chaozhou Traditional Minced Pork Noodles
- Tai Wah Pork Noodle
- Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee 亚 九 正 庄 香 菇 肉 脞 面
- Seng Kee Bak Chor Mee
- 58 Minced Meat Noodle
- Lai Heng Mushroom Minced Meat Noodles
- Ah Seng Bak Chor Mee 亚 成 潮 州 肉 脞 面
Best bak chor mee in Singapore
Like every other best-of endeavour that one would set upon, hunting down the best bak chor mee in Singapore was not an easy task. What’s best in my opinion may not necessarily be the best in yours. Intangibles including the sentimental value linked to a particular stall, convenience and proximity to where one stays, and such will always play a big part in determining what we feel is ‘best’.
That aside, this ubiquitous bowl of noodles can be found in almost every hawker centre and food court. Some, more than others, have made a name for themselves—Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles being the best example of this. There are also two general bak chor mee camps: soup, a la the famous Bedok 85 BCM stalls, and dry, which is what this list focuses on.
To level the playing field, we picked popular and heritage bak chor mee stalls across the island that do it the traditional way. We also visited the stalls anonymously, ordering the $5 bowl as far as possible: mee pok dry, with chilli.
10 Best Bak Chor Mee In Singapore Ranked:
- Lai Heng Mushroom Minced Meat Noodles
- Seng Kee Bak Chor Mee
- Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee
- Jin Xi Lai (Mui Siong) Minced Meat Noodle
- Macpherson Minced Meat Noodles
- Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee
- 58 Minced Meat Noodle
- Ru Ji Kitchen
- Tai Wah Pork Noodle
- Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle
12 Best Bak Chor Mee In Singapore To Satisfy Your Tastebuds
A direct Teochew translation of “minced meat and noodles”, Bak Chor Mee 肉 脞 面 is a uniquely Singaporean dish that typically comprises of mee pok or mee kia, minced pork, pork slices, stewed mushrooms, liver and pork lard.
The highlight of the dish; however, has got to be the chilli-vinegar sauce that is used to toss the noodles and give it that signature salty and tangy flavour. A highly underrated dish as compared to Chicken Rice or Chilli Crab, the best bak chor mee in Singapore is highly debatable amongst foodies—but we have here 12 spots that have passed our test (and might just pass yours!)
12 Best Bak Chor Mee In Singapore:
- My Father’s Minced Meat Noodles
- Li Yuan Mee Pok
- 58 Minced Meat Mee
- Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle
- Seng Huat Bak Chor Mee
- Soon Heng Pork Noodles
- Da Sheng Minced Noodle
- Teo Kee Mushroon Minced Pork Noodle
- The Milky Way
- Tiong Bahru Bak Chor Mee
- Deli Bak Chor Mee
- Chun Seng Noodle House
