Signature bak chor mee ($6) @ Blk 631 Bedok Reservoir Road!
Signature bak chor mee, $6, from the coffee shop at Blk 631 Bedok Reservoir Road: dry mee pok with sliced pork, liver, minced pork and braised mushroom, soup on the side.
Signature bak chor mee from the coffee shop at Blk 631 Bedok Reservoir Road, $6. ๐๐
What we had ($6):
- Signature bak chor mee, $6
Bak chor mee is the dish I judge a coffee shop by, and this one is in the row of blocks along Bedok Reservoir Road, the same stretch where we had yong tau foo at Blk 630 next door. Neighbourhood spots like this live or die on the sauce, since everything else is more or less fixed.
It came dry, which is the way to order it. The mee pok sat in a dark pool of sauce at the bottom of the rooster bowl, that classic mix of black vinegar, soy and chilli, and you toss it yourself before the noodles start clumping. Done right, every strand ends up glossy and just sharp enough from the vinegar. Here the noodles were on the softer side but took the sauce well, and the chilli had a decent kick.
The toppings were generous for six dollars. Slices of lean pork, cooked through and still tender, plenty of pork liver sliced thin so it stayed soft rather than chalky, and crumbly minced pork scattered through. Dark strips of braised shiitake mushroom added the savoury, slightly sweet note that ties the bowl together, with spring onion over the top.
A bowl of soup came alongside with springy white fishballs, a meatball and some lettuce floating in a light clear broth. Sipping it between mouthfuls resets your palate from all that vinegar and chilli.
Solid, honest neighbourhood bak chor mee. Not the version people cross the island for, but a good one to have downstairs.
Overall: 4 / 5. ๐๐๐ผ Tangy chilli-vinegar sauce, generous pork and liver, fishball soup on the side. Would eat again.
