Tai Hwa vs Tai Wah, the Bak Chor Mee showdown
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.
Food Feuds: Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle vs Tai Wah Pork Noodle
Six dollars for a Michelin-starred meal? Take it with a pinch of salt: The award is not all that matters in Singapore, where high quality chow — that one might even call ‘artisanal’ in other ahem, fancy Western countries — are all over the place in hawker centres and kopitiams around the island. However, it’s a fact that one stall, Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, still holds that honour. Its winning formula? The iconic combination of springy egg noodles, minced meat, wontons, and a savoury chilli sauce spiked with black vinegar that creates the now-iconic bak chor mee.
I say feud, but it’s really a sort of healthy competition (don’t get me started on a literal blood-sprinkled rivalry between two murtabak joints — that’ll come in a later article) between family members. The history behind Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Singapore goes back to 1939, when Southern Chinese immigrant Tang Joon Teo started Tai Wah Teochew Minced Pork Noodles at the Taiwah Coffee Shop on Hill Street. Together with his two sons, he was recognised as the first to create what we know now as the Teochew bak chor mee, marked by his signature vinegar sauce. Essentially, they moved several times over the course of the war and for decades after — to a coffee shop on Cecil Street in the 60s and later, Marina City Food Court, in 1979. The older child, Tang Chay Seng, took over the stall while the younger son, Tang Chai Chye, opened another branch on High Street Centre, which later moved to its present location at Hong Lim Food Centre in 2003. It’s all a bit convoluted, but essentially, both brands come from the same family and inherited the same recipe from the late Mr Tang, and you can expect similarities in their recipe and offerings, with a few tweaks here and there.
Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, which has been situated at Tai Hwa Eating House on Crawford Lane since 2004, is by far the more popular of the two, mostly thanks to the One Michelin star that it first received in 2016. While both Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle and Tai Wah Pork Noodle dish up an above-average bowl of bak chor mee, the win goes to Tai Hwa in terms of overall execution. There’s a reason why it has been able to hold its Michelin star for years, after all. The well-cooked noodles, toppings, sauce, and soup all come together harmoniously for a mostly mouthwatering noodle-slurping experience, even if the combination of sauces was not as balanced during my latest visit. As for Tai Wah Pork Noodle, while I love its springy noodles more for its better bite, layered sauce, as well as the chonky wontons, it doesn’t quite make up for the tough pork slices and liver, and a slightly lacklustre soup. Then again, it might just be a matter of preference — I know many who still prefer Tai Wah’s rendition of bak chor mee.
Owner Of Tai Hwa Pork Noodle Clarifies It’s The OG Stall With Michelin Star In Lavender
Here in Singapore, we often see multiple food stalls with the same famous names like ‘328 Katong Laksa’ or ‘Punggol Nasi Lemak’, all claiming to be the OG stall.
Most recently, there was confusion amongst customers who wanted to patronise the award-winning Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle stall. Many reportedly visited another stall called Tai Wah Pork Noodle instead, thinking it was the award-winning one. Since then, the owner of Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle along Crawford Lane came out to clarify that they are the authentic stall.
After a media outlet apparently made a mistake, customers who intended to visit Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle stall ended up at the wrong stall. According to Lianhe Wanbao, customers have since voiced their confusion over the matter. On Thursday (30 Sep), the Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle stall owner clarified that they were the only eatery with the ‘Tai Hwa’ name awarded a Michelin star. The stall at 466 Crawford Lane has been awarded a Michelin star for 5 consecutive years.
Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle 12 November 2023
CRAWFORD LANE: Established in 1939, Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle is the first Asian street stalls to be awarded Michelin stars and is the only Michelin star in Singapore for now. Made in Singapore and make Singaporean proud. THIS THE ONE AND ONLY OUTLET for Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle.
6 things to know about one Michelin-starred Tai Hwa Pork Noodle
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 - Tai Hwa Pork Noodle was founded by Tang Joon Teo, who operated at Hill Street in the 1930s. The late Mr Tang died in 1995 at the age of 89, and left the business to his three sons. Second son Chay Seng, 69, was the first to work full-time at the stall after dropping out of secondary school when he was 14. His two brothers followed suit later, with Chay Seng at the helm. In the 1990s, the stall moved to Marina Square before settling in its current premises at Crawford Lane in 2004.
- Hokkien or Teochew? - According to a 2005 Lianhe Zaobao report, a family from China's Fujian province brought the Hokkien-style bak chor mee (minced pork noodles) to our shores. However, Singaporeans can claim their bragging rights for the Teochew-style bak chor mee, which is uniquely Singapore. Food critic K.F. Seetoh told The Straits Times in 2009 that the concept of "using sambal and vinegar to flavour the noodles with meat topping" can't be found outside Singapore. For Tai Hwa's bak chor mee, founder Tang Joon Teo concocted the addictive blend of black vinegar, chilli paste plus other sauces, in which the egg noodles are tossed in.
- Cheapest Michelin-starred meal, but expect to wait - "For the first time, you would be able to have a Michelin-starred meal for under S$5," said Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin guides in an interview with AFP on Thursday. Although Mr Tang Chay Seng says he will not increase prices, he told the media that the queue is expected to get longer. It is not uncommon to queue for up to 45 minutes - or more, for a bowl of Tai Hwa's noodles. According to Channel NewsAsia, queues on Friday (July 22) - a day after the Michelin awards were announced, stretched for more than an hour.
- Hill Street Tai Hwa? High Street Tai Wah? - With Chay Seng operating Hill Street Tai Hwa at Crawford Lane, what about his two brothers? They are running other pork noodle stalls loosely tied to the Tai Hwa brand: High Street Tai Wah and Lau Dai Hua. The youngest brother, Chai Chye, 63, used to run High Street Tai Wah Pork Noodle in Bestway Building in Prince Edward Road which has since closed. Two of Chai Chye's sons also started their pork noodles stores under the High Street Tai Wah brand. Gerald Tang, 37, is now running the family's stall at Hong Lim Food Centre, Chinatown, while Jason Tang, 27, had a stall at Singapore Food Trail, a dining concept at the Singapore Flyer.
- Hill Street Tai Hwa? Lau Dai Hua? - In the 1960s, eldest son Chye Hong, 72, opened an outlet in a Cecil Street coffeeshop at his father's urging. The stall closed in 1978 and Chye Hong returned to run the Hill Street stall with his two younger brothers. He left the business in the 1980s to become a taxi driver as he was tired of the job and felt that he was unsuited for the business. In the 1990s, he returned to help at the relocated stall at Marina Square for a few years while continuing his daytime job as a taxi driver. Chye Hong's son, Arthur Tung Yang Wee, 46, is now running Lau Dai Hua Pork Noodle at Straits Food Village in Changi Airport Terminal 2.
- A blemish on the famous brand - A family feud erupted in 2008 when uncle sued nephew for trademark infringement over the 'Tai Hwa' brand. Eldest brother Chye Hong's son, Arthur Tung Yang Wee, ran an advertisement in the Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao that his stall Da Hua, "formerly from... Hill Street" had "moved to VivoCity". Images of awards won by Tai Hwa were also plastered on the advertisement for Da Hua. Arthur's uncle, Chay Seng, who runs Tai Hwa Pork Noodle at Crawford Lane, told the Chinese newspaper Shin Min that while he did not object to the usage of the brand 'Da Hua', which is the hanyu pinyin pronunciation of Tai Hwa, he slammed the advertisement for being misleading. "After that, my customers kept calling to ask me if I had really moved, and it caused my business to drop by 20 per cent," he said in the 2008 interview. While Chay Seng later lost his case, he was awarded nominal damages of $1,000 for loss of goodwill.
Tai Wah pork noodles since 1939
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). The late Mr Tang Joon Teo (Old Mr Tang) came to Malaya and then finally settled down in the Straits Settlement of Singapore. 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.
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.
Bak Chor Mee in the 1920s 肉 脞 面
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.
5 Famous Food Feuds in Singapore
