Signature bak chor mee ($4.50)!
Maxwell hawker claypot bak chor mee soup: noodles in pork-and-ikan-bilis broth with minced pork, meatball, wanton, beancurd skin and lettuce. $4.50.
Lunch at Maxwell: bak chor mee, $4.50. π
What was in the claypot:
- Noodles in soup: thin egg noodles in the milky pork-and-ikan-bilis broth, served bubbling in the clay vessel
- Minced pork: the seasoned crumble at the bottom
- Meatball: a bouncy pork ball
- Wanton: the soft pork dumpling, edges trailing in the broth
- Beancurd skin (tau kee): the crisp golden sheets perched on the rim
- Lettuce: the raw green tuck for freshness
- Fried shallot + scallion scattered over
Bak chor mee (θθι’), βminced meat noodlesβ, is usually a dry-tossed dish, but the soup version is the comfort sibling: the same minced pork, meatball and wanton, but in a clear-to-milky broth built on pork bones and ikan bilis instead of a chilli-vinegar toss. Serving it in a claypot keeps it bubbling hot to the last spoonful and gives the broth a slightly concentrated edge as it simmers at the table.
The beancurd skin is the textural signature: deep-fried tau kee sheets that you dunk into the soup, soaking at the edges while the centres stay crisp. They are the best part of any soup BCM, the crunchy counterpoint to all the soft pork.
The broth is the test of a soup BCM: it should taste of pork and anchovy depth, not just hot water with MSG. Maxwell stalls generally hold a standard, and this one delivered a clean, savoury soup.
At $4.50 for a claypot soup BCM at Maxwell, this is honest heritage-hawker pricing.
Overall: 4.1 / 5. πππΌ The crisp beancurd skin dunked in the broth was the standout. Reliable Maxwell bowl, would re-order.
