The Folk's Favourite — bak chor mee ($8)!
The Folk's Favourite bak chor mee at Tai Seng: dry mee pok in chilli-vinegar with minced pork, a runny poached egg and a large fried wonton, with a fishball and wanton soup side. $8.
Lunch at The Folk’s Favourite, Tai Seng: bak chor mee, $8. 😋
What was on the tray:
- Dry mee pok: the flat egg noodles tossed in the chilli-vinegar dressing
- Minced pork: the seasoned crumble over the noodles
- Runny poached egg: the soft egg, ready to break over the noodles
- Large fried wonton: an oversized crisp wonton skin perched on top, the textural showpiece
- Side soup: clear broth with fishballs and wantons
Bak chor mee (肉脞面), “minced meat noodles”, 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 Folk’s Favourite runs the proper Teochew chilli-vinegar style, and the test is that vinegar-to-chilli balance, sharp enough to make the noodles sing, not so sharp it sours.
The two signature touches lift this above a standard bowl. First, the runny poached egg: break it over the mee pok and the yolk binds the sauce into a richer coat, a glossy enrichment over the tang. Second, the large fried wonton, an oversized crisp skin laid across the top that you crack into shards for crunch, the textural contrast against the soft noodles.
The mee pok choice (flat over thin) is the right one for BCM: it holds more sauce per strand and has that satisfying alkaline chew. Tossing matters, lifted and coated the instant it hits the bowl.
The fishball-and-wanton soup on the side is the standard BCM partner, the clear broth resetting the palate between mouthfuls of the tangy noodles.
At $8 for a loaded BCM with the runny egg and fried wonton at Tai Seng, this sits a little above basic hawker BCM, fair for the extras.
Overall: 4.3 / 5. 😋👍🏼 The runny egg and the giant fried wonton over the chilli-vinegar mee pok were the standout. Would re-order.
