This Hokkien Mee at ABC Brickworks commands regular ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ญ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ฟ and it's on the Michelin Guide as one of the two Hokkien Mee to be awarded with Bib Gourmands. That good? I think so, especially when it turned out even better than my last visit.
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Out of the Hokkien Mee I've tried, I deem them to have the best Hokkien Mee sambal chili โ it brought a certain ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ that set it apart from other renditions. The ikan bilis loaded chili was beautifully sapid with wafts of fragrance and an endearing controlled sweetness โ all while retaining a decent fiery kick.
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Decades of mastery churned out a plate of springy noodles which were moderately moist but not soakingly wet, which is perhaps my preferred texture. The stock was rich but not the most intense, resulting in a meticulously balanced profile perfumed with mild but tangible wok hei.
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Many people enjoy crazy rich flavours, but I often find those too heavy-handed with little elegance in balancing. I think this subdued profile was purposeful in creating an undemanding canvas which permitted the sambal (and citrus) freedom to seamlessly bleed into any void and pop with its bold personality. The outcome was a balanced but simultaneously complex profile, with each facet of flavour being eloquently enunciated without conflict.
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[๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ] ๐๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ง๐ช ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐ธ๐ถ๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ต, #๐ฌ๐ญ-๐ญ๐ฏ, ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฒ
โฑ๏ธ(Thurs-Tues) 3pm-1045pm; ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐พ๐๐
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* Crazy long queue during peak hours (up to 1 hour), you can call in to reserve a packet to take away or come after 9pm instead where I waited only 10 mins.
Another week, another hokkien mee review โ you must be thinking "how high is his blood pressure?" Not high enough until I try ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ, sorry HPB.
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The dry variation is not as common simply because it takes a lot of skill. Masterfully fried, each strand of noodle perfectly sealed in the wealth of flavours from the stock, whilst a whisper of smokiness lingered in the background; balanced profile that's rich but not jelak and not overbearingly salty. Noodles were springy, with a dry overall texture but adequately moist from absorbed stock.
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Mixing in the supporting cast of chili and lime is important as the fragrance and heat added to the richness, whilst that touch of zestiness brought some levity. Maybe not my favourite plate of HKM, but definitely up there.
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[Nicoll Highway] ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐๐๐
๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐
๐ ๐ฑ๐ฌ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฑ, # ๐๐ญ-๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ต๐ต๐ฑ๐ด๐ฏ
โฑ๏ธ (Thurs-Tues) 10am-5pm; ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐พ๐๐
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They have pedigree, alongside Swee Guan (one of my favourites), as inheritors of a charcoal-fried legacy โ and it seems some magic from that legacy remains.
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I was immediately floored by an overload of umami from the stock, and a supremely fragrant profile due to some very tangible garlic notes and the inclusion of pork lard. The sambal was similarly very fragrant and complex, adding a different layer of umami which elevated the flavour profile further. Alas, whilst the flavour-bomb was stimulating, it was a precarious hair away from plummeting into over-saltiness.
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Their pedigree naturally made me expect wok hei, and it's a good amount but not close to their geylang cousin's insanely smokey rendition. The texture is the wet type that feels a bit goopy and some of the noodles were slightly mushy, maybe from over-frying.
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The prawns were sizeable, but didn't feel particularly fresh and crunchy, though honestly I don't care about freshness of prawns in hokkien mee. Overall, it's definitely extremely enjoyable despite some small flaws, and any hokkien mee lover should try this.
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๐ ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐น๐น๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ, ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฑ, ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ด๐ต๐ต๐ฐ
โฑ๏ธ (Tues-Sun) 11 45am-9pm, closed on Mondays
The highlight was in the stock that flooded the plate, encasing a richness comparable with the best prawn mee broths, with each strand of noodle trapping a hefty amount of robust flavours within; the chili and pork lard also helped to add layers.
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However, wok hei was noticably weak โ a shame for those who find it a crucial element for hokkien mee.
Apparently they fry it with charcoal fire. Which explains why the smokiness is off the charts; the intense wok hei was immediately apparent from my first bite. Well, that and the billowing clouds of smoke that constantly streamed out of the kopitiam.
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Apart from its deep smokey profile, the stock was also super robust which gave it a rich flavourfulness that only the top hokkien mees can boast of. It's the wet type, but not overly moist IMO (if you eat it fresh and hot), as every strand of perfeclty-fried bouncy noodle was well coated with an ample amount of the stock.
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The sambal chili was maybe too sweet but it still gave a nice kick and helped cut through the heaviness. But aside from this, Swee Guan's rendition is crazy good and easily top 3 in SG for me.
The rich stock is also perfectly absorbed by the noodles into a salivating texture - moist whilst still retaining bite. Slightly less intense stock than some places, but combined with their standout sambal belacchan and a squeeze of limes, it is a plate of balanced savouriness that never gets jelak.
But the monstrous queue though...
Well fried with a delightful smokiness, the viscosity of the noodles coat your mouth with a fragrant seafood flavour.
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The robust flavours of the stock are also absorbed by the thick yellow noodles. Admittedly, the flavours are not the most intense and there is a lack of egginess, but it is still super good, especially with the sambal chili in the mix.
Level 7 Burppler · 416 Reviews
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