Tomato minced meat spinach ee mee ($6.60)!
City Hall hawker tomato ee mee: flat yellow noodles in a sweet-tangy tomato broth with minced pork, egg-drop ribbons, Chinese spinach and fish floss. $6.60.
Lunch at City Hall: tomato minced meat spinach ee mee, $6.60. π
What was in the bowl:
- Tomato broth: the orange, sweet-tangy soup
- Ee mee (δΌι’): the flat yellow noodles soaking up the broth
- Minced pork: the savoury crumble through the soup
- Egg-drop ribbons: the wisps of cooked egg streaming through
- Chinese spinach (θ): the soft leafy greens
- Fish floss scattered on top, the savoury-sweet finish
The tomato broth is the variation that makes this bowl: instead of the usual clear pork or fish soup, the base is a tomato-and-pork broth, simmered until the tomatoes break down into a sweet-tangy soup. It is the homely, comforting alternative, the kind of tomato-egg flavour many grew up with at home, turned into a noodle soup. The acidity of the tomato keeps it from being heavy, and the natural sweetness rounds it out.
Ee mee (δΌι’) is the noodle choice: flat, slightly springy yellow wheat noodles (the same family used in braised ee mee), which soak up the tomato broth well and have a gentle bite. The egg-drop ribbons add silkiness, streamed into the hot soup so they set into soft wisps, the same technique as egg-drop soup.
The fish floss is the finishing touch that lifts it: a scatter of the dried, fluffy fish floss adds a savoury-sweet umami note on top, melting slightly into the warm broth. With the Chinese spinach for freshness, the bowl balances sweet, tangy and savoury.
At $6.60 for a tomato ee mee with minced pork at City Hall, this is fair hawker value for the comforting variation.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. πππΌ The sweet-tangy tomato broth soaked into the ee mee was the comforting standout. Would re-order.
