Signature noodles ($5)!
Tanjong Pagar hawker bak chor mee: dry mee pok with minced pork, pork liver, braised mushroom and lettuce, with a fishball soup side. $5.
Lunch at Tanjong Pagar: signature noodles, $5. Standard BCM. ๐
What was on the tray:
- Dry mee pok: the flat egg noodles tossed in the dark vinegar-chilli-lard sauce, the BCM base
- Minced pork: the seasoned pork crumble piled over the noodles
- Pork liver: thin slices, cooked just past pink
- Braised mushroom: the dark sliced shiitake heaped on top, the savoury depth
- Lettuce: the raw green tuck for freshness
- Side bowl of fishball soup: clear broth with bouncy fishballs
Bak chor mee (่่้ข), โminced meat noodlesโ, is the Teochew hawker classic that lives or dies on the sauce toss: black vinegar, chilli, lard, soy and a touch of fish sauce, balanced so the noodles are tangy-savoury without going sour. The โsignatureโ upgrade here adds the braised mushroom on top of the standard minced pork and liver, the dark umami layer that the better stalls include.
The mee pok choice (flat noodles) over mee kia (thin) is the textural decision: mee pok holds more sauce per strand and has that satisfying chew. Tossing matters too, the noodles must be lifted and coated the moment they hit the bowl, before they clump.
The liver test: overcooked liver goes chalky and grey; done right it stays just-pink and creamy. This bowl landed it. The fishball soup on the side is the standard BCM partner, the clear broth resetting the palate between mouthfuls of the tangy noodles.
At $5 for a loaded BCM with mushroom and a fishball soup in Tanjong Pagar, this is fair hawker pricing.
Overall: 4.3 / 5. ๐๐๐ผ The braised mushroom over the vinegar-tossed mee pok was the standout. Would re-order.
