Thursday, October 16, 2008

Yang Zhou Fried Hokkien Mee: Perfect texture


Fried Hokkien Mee $5 (prices from $3)

Hokkien Fried Prawn Mee has become, in most places, more like a Pasta than a true Fried Noodle. What I mean is that in a lot of places, the noodles aren't really fried but simply cooked in the wok and then the gravy is poured over it and allowed to thicken. That's what you do with a Pasta dish. But when it comes to a truly delicious Fried Hokkien Mee, the noodles themselves need to be fried till it becomes slightly burnt so that it has a wonderful "Mamee" (Instant Noodle) sort of flavour and is ready to absorb all the stock when it is added. So if you want a good Hokkien Mee, you got to observe how long the hawker spends actually frying the noodle before adding the gravy. When they get the timing right, the result is magic.

Well, the uncle at this stall is quite an expert at frying the noodles. A good Hokkien Mee man would swirl the noodles around the wok and avoid cutting the noodles unnecessarily unlike a Mee Goreng man. It makes perfect sense that you want the noodles long since you want to slurp it with a pair of chopsticks rather than spooning it like you would a Mee Goreng. His technique produced a Hokkien Mee with excellent texture and the gooeyness of the gravy covering each strand of noodles was almost perfect. It is just too bad that it was just after the Hari Raya period, so the fishermen haven't been going out to sea to catch wild prawns. Otherwise the man would have used "Sua Lor" instead of farmed prawns which I expect would have made the taste of the Hokkien Mee even better. 4.25/5



Conclusion


Gotta go back and try again when the man gets his usual supply of "Sua Lor". I am sure it would be considered one of the best Hokkien Mees around.

Yang Zhou Fried Hokkien Mee
Blk 40 Lower Delta #01-16

Beo Crescent

62730429
Mr Lim
97400653

10am - 8pm

Friday closed

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Agree with you there. Too many stalls had cooked it like pasta. The real good ones should be fried until a bit charred then add in prawn soup to simmer until it soaked up the wet. I don't think many stalls do that, not even the famous kim stall at eunos. My favourite haunt is at Serangoon near Jalan Besar, minimum $6 but comes with tempeh leaf.

ice said...

I watched Uncle yesterday in action and was really tempted to order but was full from curry rice. Yups agreed the part on his frying technique. Glad to know his HKM's still so good after all these years.

Any idea if the sua lor is in already? I didn't take particular notice but am heading down in the weekend again. :)

ieat said...

Where exactly is this stall in Serangoon?

wahcow said...

hey ice...we are going next week to eat the curry png....wanna join ? pm me your number in the forum :)

Anonymous said...

you should try the carrot cake stall run by an aunty. her husband runs the egg stall in the wet market behind the hawker centre and my mother has been going to them for years. I think her carrot cake is awesome. maybe it's childhood perspectives but every saturday my mum buys back packets of it for the family just because it's so good. :0)

cactuskit said...

Ok next week we go both!

ieat said...

A bit more detail on the whereabouts of the Carrot Cake stall would be useful

Anonymous said...

The hokkein mee is at the corner coffeeshop of beatty road. If you travel by racecourse road, then turn into beatty road, it will be just infront at the traffic light.

As the uncle only cook large quantity(5-10 packets) at one go, so if you arrive at the beginning of the cycle, be prepare to wait for 25-30mins for him to charred the mee and simmer it.

Up the road there is the scissors cut, so my practice is always to dabao it and the mee and it go quite hand in hand.

P/s > I dont know whether they open in the afternoon as i only go after 5pm normally.

Anonymous said...

I found it was reviewed here.

http://www.makantime.com/feature7.htm

ieat said...

Thanks for the review. It was written a few years ago. So Tony still there?

BTW it is not the only one fried with Charcoal and definitely not the only one using Opeh leaf. There seems to be more people who want to bring back the practices of the past nowadays which is a really good thing. Will have to put this on my to do list.

Anonymous said...

I don't know. I don't even know Tony. I know that stall from my dad who used to frequent the original stall. My dad had also used to frequent those popular stalls in geylang which you had reviewed but this stall is still his favourite. For me, i haven't frequent a lot but in terms of 'flavour' inside the noodles, this stall is my favourite.

ladyironchef said...

there's yangzhou fried hokkien mee? i thought yangzhou fried rice is the more popular one. or is it just a name only?

udonhunter said...

doctor doctor, have you tried the fried hokkien mee at the tampines st 82 coffeeshop (sorry i can't remember the block number but there's only one that street).

i used to live near your clinic n two years after moving away, i still think about that uncle's ikan bilis sambal (shiokanathan!). if you haven't tried it yet, please ask for his beehoon version instead of the usual noodles.

uncle's number is 81883981 - i used to order by phone haha...

cheers!

ieat said...

Yes I did. The one opp the multi storey car park right? Didn't think much of it.

Anonymous said...

doctor doctor, have you reviewed the famous Jalan Tuakong mee pok tah yet? I didn't see any in your blog but tell you really must EAT!

ieat said...

You mean the one in Soy Eu Tua or the one inside Jalan Tua Kong? I have eaten both.

Anonymous said...

Where your review?

The one in Simpang bedok. Waiting time 30 min at least. very shiok leh

udonhunter said...

Hmm.. i don't remember seeing any multistorey carpark there... I'm looking at the street directory - the coffeeshop's at block 844. cheers!

sumosumo said...

les.. i just went to eat the mee pok ta at Simpang Bedok. its the godson who moved from Soy Eu Tau to SBedok. The one inside JTK is the franchise/branch of Simpang Bedok stall.

There are 2 stalls at Simpang Bedok. The godson is at the inside coffeeshop along the same row as the tyre shop. One of the owners who run the drinks stall is called Linda.

The one at the corner as u drive in on the left, is a copycat, and someone from Soy Eu Tau or soething deliberately went to set up stall near the simpang bedok one to cash in on its popularity.

There is also a new one, a former helper of Linda's who has set up a new stall next to twee ke at Jago Close.

btw, tried the hokkien mee today at Beo Crescent. Unfortunately.. mien, smart, myself, HD.... thought ok only leh...

ieat said...

Has he started to use Sua Lor again?

Anonymous said...

I feel compelled to leave a comment here. I first started patronising YZHKM 16 years ago when his hair still black. Without doubt, it was one of the best (if not the best) back then. I am shocked and sadden that his standards had slipped considerably these past few years so much so that I (and my friends) no longer patronise his stall. If I want good HKM nearby, I go to Yi Sheng @ Tiong Bahru Market. Although it's not as good as YZHKM in its heyday, it's a close second.

Anonymous said...

Ops, got the names mixed up! Yi Sheng is the one at ABC. The name of the HKM stall at TB market escapes me at the moment. Will post again.

cactuskit said...

Thks for the info on HKM anon : ). You should come in and share more in the forum. Happening place. Lots of fun loving and friendly foodies. What's your nickname?

Bunster B said...

Thanks for the info.

Anonymous said...

went to beo cresent today for the hokkien mee.

waited for 30 mins or more and our hokkien mee wasn't served. yet those who came later got their hokkien mee.

server repeatedly ask wat we ordered and doesn't seem apologetic at all.

we left.

Anonymous said...

Some people like this Hokkien Mee but I don't. Find it quite average. I find that Geylang Lorong 29 HKM opposite Four Seasons Durian the best HKM that I luv the most.

Anonymous said...

Finally had a chance to go to Tiong Bahru market for the HKM. The stall name is Hong Heng Fried Sotong Prawn Mee, #02-01. Beats YZHKM hands down anyday!

Anonymous said...

oh yea, fyi, my tastebuds prefer HH as compared to Yi Sheng @ ABC as well.

mingming said...

tiong baru got lots of nice food
prawn mee ftw

jesuslovesme said...

The roast duck from the stall beside this hokkien mee stall is yummy, kiam phang kiam phang. Remember to request for the sauce that drips out of the duck's stomach when it is being chopped up, it adds great flavour to both duck and rice. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Hi jesuslovesme,

how can we relate to the stallowner that we want the sauce from the duck stomach ? Will he find me weird n roll his eyes that some1 actually request the sauce in the duck stomach ?

Aston

Anonymous said...

i tried it on last sunday, his skills on cooking the noodles was good, the noodles was able to blend with the soup. However, i was not able to taste any prawn flavours in the dish.The sambal chilli was passes. i would recommend you guys to try the stall at tanjong pagar plaza market. #02-49, Tays fried hokkein mee.their chilli is what i call real sambal chilli,and its filled with real prawn flavour stock.

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