Heard a lot about this BCM stall comparing it with the likes of Hillstreet, etc and warnings of the long queues during lunch time. So I came early to be first in queue even before they are opened for business.

As this was not long after breakfast, I tried to order the smallest portion for $4 but was told this standard order will not come with any soup. Huh? That’s a first for me, BCM dry with no soup. I promptly changed my order to the $7 Signature Minced Meat Noodles.

Seeing how they cook my order, I got an idea why there is a long line during lunch time. Each bowl of noodles needs to weighed meticulously instead of approximation. And just like some popular BCM stalls, the ingredients like minced meat and pork are cooked in a pot separately instead of being blanched together with the noodles. This takes time.

Back to my BCM dry mee Kia with chilli and vinegar. Firstly the soup. Being the first bowl of the day, it was not bland or tasteless at all. It had umami and also a tangy taste I cannot fathom. Not your normal BCM soup. The portion of noodle and amount of soup given was very small. I am not a big eater and I think I can easily go for two bowls so those who are really hungry need to consider whether to add noodles for 50 cents more. Speaking of noodles, my mee kia was slightly over cooked as it was not springy or al dente. The heat packed by the chilli sauce was a tad under par and there was not enough sourness. My advise is to ask for extra chilli and add vinegar by yourself when served.

In the bowl of soup, there were four pieces of sliced pork, 4 pieces of liver, 4 pieces of fish maw and two fish dumplings plus minced meat. The liver was nice, not over cooked, the pork was normal but fish maw was very bland and mushy and the fish dumpling tasted like from the day before. And being the first customer, maybe it was from the day before.

The one saving grace was the two small pieces of sole fish (tee por). They were crunchy and had a smoky after taste bordering on bitter. Very nice.

Over all not a bad bowl of minced meat noodles but definitely not my first choice if I have to queue 30 minute or longer. And in my opinion, a little expensive at $7.