Fishball noodles ($5)!
Tiong Bahru hawker fishball mee pok: dry flat noodles with bouncy fishballs, fishcake slices, a stuffed fishball and minced pork, with a tomato-chilli soup side. $5.
Lunch at Tiong Bahru: fishball noodles, $5. Hawker fishball mee. π
What was on the tray:
- Dry mee pok: the flat egg noodles tossed in the chilli-and-sauce base, the orange tint of the dressing showing through
- Fishballs: the bouncy white spheres, five or six of them
- Fishcake slices: the pale grilled-edge rounds fanned over the noodles
- A stuffed fishball: the larger one with the meat centre
- Minced pork: the crumble through the noodles
- Side bowl of soup: a tomato-tinged broth with minced pork and scallion
Fishball noodles (ι±Όει’) is the everyday Teochew hawker bowl, and the fishball is the whole test. A proper hand-made fishball is springy and clean-tasting, made from fresh fish paste (yellowtail or wolfherring) beaten until bouncy; the factory ones are dense, fishy and over-starched. The fishballs here had the right bounce, which is the marker of a stall that still makes or sources them properly.
The dry mee pok toss is the other half: flat noodles coated in chilli, a touch of vinegar, fish sauce and lard, lifted the instant they hit the bowl. The minced pork and fishcake round out the protein. The unusual touch is the tomato-tinged soup on the side rather than the usual clear fishball broth, a slightly sweeter, more rounded soup.
Mee pok vs mee kia: the flat noodle holds more of the chilli sauce and has the chew; the thin version is for the soup loyalists. Dry mee pok is the default fishball noodle order for good reason.
At $5 for a loaded fishball mee pok with soup in Tiong Bahru, this is honest hawker pricing.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. πππΌ The springy fishballs were the standout. Would re-order.
