Fried bee hoon ($6)!
Tanjong Pagar zi char white bee hoon: rice vermicelli braised in seafood stock with sliced chicken, prawns and greens, pickled green chilli on the side. $6.
Lunch at a Tanjong Pagar zi char: fried bee hoon, $6. π
What was on the plate:
- Rice vermicelli (bee hoon): the fine noodles braised in a light stock, slippery and just-wet rather than dry
- Sliced chicken + prawns: the proteins folded through
- Greens: chye sim and other leafy vegetables
- Fried shallot for aroma
- Pickled green chilli on the side, the sharp condiment
This is the βwhite bee hoonβ (η½η±³η²) style, the wetter, stock-braised version of fried bee hoon rather than the dry stir-fried kind. The noodles are cooked in a seafood or chicken stock so they drink up the broth and stay slippery, finishing somewhere between fried and soupy. It is the Sembawang-popularised style that spread across zi char menus, prized for how much flavour the vermicelli absorbs.
The stock is the whole dish: a good white bee hoon tastes of the prawn-and-chicken broth it was braised in, the noodles acting as a sponge. Done lazily it is just wet noodles; done well it is deeply savoury, each strand carrying the stock.
The pickled green chilli is the essential partner: its vinegar-sour heat cuts the richness of the stock-braised noodles, the same role it plays alongside fish soup and hor fun. Never skip it.
At $6 for a stock-braised white bee hoon with chicken and prawns at a Tanjong Pagar zi char, this is fair value.
Overall: 4.1 / 5. πππΌ The stock-soaked vermicelli with the pickled chilli was the standout combination. Standard zi char done reliably, would re-order.
