One evening we decided to plan ahead and go all out “tourist” by checking the “big and famous names” of some of the Singaore signature dishes. One of them is “Hokkien (Hae) Mee” and we found out that a little “Restaurant” near Farrer Park Station called “Original Serangoon Fried Hokkien Mee” was supposed to make one heck of a hokkien mee.
Finding it was really simple due to two facts. One…it is basically a max. 5-10 min. walk from the station just along the big road. Second, the lack of customers at the other food vendors and stalls close to it. At least during the time we were there.
When we arrived, a very friendly man asked us to take a seat but not after having helped me order. One could eat satay there as well, but we had come for the noodles. It all took it’s good time and we did not wonder why. Basically every 2-5 minutes cars of every make and price tag emerged, parked and gentlemen with t-shirts or custom made suits got out, grabbed a plastic bag, paid and drove off.
After around 10 Minutes we finally got our dish and it did not look appetizing at all. But the woman and I are seasoned warriors on the battlefield of eating and know perfectly well that looks have nothing to do with taste.
Serangoon Fried Hokkien Mee
And that is a nugget of wisdom that has never been more true. The stall per se would not attract anyone who was looking for food, it looked a bit run down. Only if you watched for a few minutes you would notice the amount of people buying there. And the noodles, while looking strange, tasted really really good.
The woman and I are positive that these were the best noodles with seafood and meat we had ever eaten. The broth in which they were cooked was delicious…I am quite sure it is prawn based and it appears they use eggs to thicken it. There are prawns in them, some cuttlefish or octopus as well as fish cake. The texture is a bit soggy but that is of no consequence since you come for the flavour not the texture. The little limes and the chili paste (more sweet than hot) add to the many flavours and made the noodles even better.
Basically, we gobbled up the food within 2 minutes. I got up and the lady at the “counter” thought I wanted to pay, but I ordered another helping for both of us which amused the staff greatly. In fact, the photograph is of the second helping, since the woman and I had dug in the first without taking a picture. I easily would have been able to eat a third helping…or even a fourth, so this time legend and truth were one. Woe to the poor souls who have seafood allergies.
One thing is certain, this is not the last time we have visited this place…and should you come to SG, give it a try and hope there is still a man standing at the wok wearing a shirt and a towel around his neck while he makes these delicious noodles. Oh yes…the price. After I paid for the 4 portions, we were merely S$16 poorer. Yes, S$4 per helping which I consider a very very fair price for what we got.
