Ah Kow Bak Chor Mee

Every now and then, Qin and I enjoy a good bowl of minced pork noodles or bak chor mee. Well, we don't eat it very often though as we haven't found one that really tastes fantastic yet.

The last bak chor mee we ate though, was of quite a good standard and is of a kind which I never tasted before. When I eat minced pork noodles, the noodles must definately be the right level of Qness, well cooked but not mushy and with a bite. The noodles must also NEVER, ever have the alkaline taste in them. The sauce must be good and must have a strong yet not overpowering taste of black vinegar. Also, I like the chilli to go well with the noodles and it can't be too sour and of course the minced pork must be juicy and tasty.

Oh dear, I really sound like a picky eater don't I?



Ah Kow's Bak Chor Mee, however, doesn't have the usual sharpness of black vinegar but rather a very subtle taste. The first thing which hit me was how smooth the overall taste was. The entire sauce was very smooth but yet not too oily which made it go down very easily. It isn't a bowl of noodles which you will eat because of the sauce but rather as a whole, like it's more of a result of a good broth accompanied with good and perfectly cooked noodles.

And boy were the minced pork juicy! Very porky in my opinion.

I also liked the fried fishes (like ikan bilis but not)which accompanied the noodles. Very crunchy and tasty!

Overall, I'd say this is a bowl of noodles which will not leave you thirsty because it's not enough salty enough to start with. But yet the taste is definately there and I can't emphasize enough how smooth the whole thing is.

Worth a try!



Address:

Ah Kow Mushroom Mince Pork Noodles
Hong Lim FC
#02-43

Who says must follow queue one HAR?

There are quite a few famous bak chor mee stalls around this island and because good bak chor mee is so scarce, usually these stalls have their own "fan clubs" and you most probably would have to wait half a day for a bowl of bak chor mee. Well, not that I'm complaining because I'd shut my mouth and line up myself.



However, it's suprisingly pleasant to find a good bak chor mee stall nestled in the heartlands without much of a queue. Come to think about it, you'd probably give it a miss if you were to pass it by. Well, that's because there's a stall besides it which uses more fancy bowls and utensils (which has people queueing up for, I don't know why) and another MORE famous bak chor mee stall just behind it (which has MORE people queueing up for, but I don't think it's all that nice).



There isn't any distinctive or spectacular taste in this bak chor mee, however, what you get is a good bowl of noodles with very good sauce accompanying it (Qin thinks that it's fantastic). The amount of oil, black sauce and vinegar is just nice without too much of a zesty flavour and the noodles are cooked just nice too. If you do try it though, ask him to cook the ter kwa (pork liver) a little longer because it turned out undercooked (for me) both times.

The soup is also not your usual bak chor mee soup which is cooked with pork and has a porky taste. The soup here is suan chai tang (preserved vegetables soup) and provides a pleasant twist to the conventional dish. Besides, he takes the effort to add in tau ghey (beansprouts), cut chillies and spring onions to the soup to provide some healthy crunch.



Just over at the opposite lane is another underrated stall selling po piah. The poh piah is well made, very juicy yet able to hold it's pieces together. What you get for $1.20 is also a fairly above-average sized poh piah with a very good and distinguishable garlic taste. It may not be unique or special but it IS a good poh piah which is getting harder to find.



Kovan food centre has alot of good stalls, but consider giving this two stalls a try and you just may have another must-eat addition on your foodie list.

Address:

Bak chor mee:
Kovan food centre
Rui Fa Shu Shi
#01-34

Poh piah:
Kovan food centre
#01-16
ps: Ask for more garlic for that extra kick!