Old Airport Road Food Centre (nearest MRT station: Dakota) is an undisputed haven for tasty hawker fare — when in doubt, just follow the queues! One of the Burpple community's favourite stalls here is Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee, which has been serving up a smoking good rendition of its namesake dish since 1963. Better known simply as Hokkien mee, this dish sees a mix of thin rice vermicelli and thicker yellow noodles, fried with prawns, squid and and eggs in a rich seafood stock base. As with many hawker dishes, this relies a lot on the heat of the wok to impart a smoky flavour that completely elevates the dish. Nam Sing's rendition of Hokkien Fried Mee ($5) is a little less saucy than most, but it is no less, possibly even more, flavourful. Getting your hands on a plate of this deliciousness takes a bit of luck — even though operating hours are stated as 10am to 5pm, the hours can change depending on the owner's mood. Our advice? Don't leave this till your last day, just in case!
Avg Price: $5 per person
Photo by Burppler Marvin Lowe
Loud claps. That was how my dad used to wake my brothers and I every Sunday morning from our slumber, and the whole family would make our way down to Old Airport Rd. My brothers and I would find a table and play the silliest games, while the task of ordering was left to my food-loving dad who always knew where all the best food was. The first thing he would do before going on a mad rush to order all our favourites—Lor Mee, Rojak, Wanton Mee, Curry Rice—was to secure two plates of Hokkien Mee which would always be met with the uncle's casual remark "wait 30 minutes ". Nonetheless, it was always worth it. I love everything about this hokkien mee — it has the right amount of bee hoon, is just a little drier than others, and the accompanying bright red cut chilli. As I greedily gobbled down the noodles, definitely more than my "allocated" portion, all I could think of was—loud claps. #Hawkerpedia
Supper was a nightly affair when I was younger. And Hokkien Fried Prawn Mee - not the dark-sauced-flat-noodled ones I mistakenly ordered before mind you - was THE supper menu. 2 super huge plates of fragrant piping hot noodles, sitting in the most complex and delicious prawn broth, was just about enough to feed the 4 of us. Already in our cutesy PJs, these amazing noodles were usually the best lullabies.
My parents favour the thicker bee hoon; but I like all of them. Thick or thin, banana leaf or not, this dish makes up a huge part of my childhood, very possibly nurturing this mega foodie in me. #Hawkerpedia