Weekends are here so here to drop a second food post on one of Singaporeans' favourite daily things to eat: BAN MIAN. Strangely, this well-loved bowl of noodles can be considered what the Vietnamese love about pho, the Japanese about ramen, the Italians about their pasta, and the Koreans about ramyeon... but it never makes it to one of those iconic Singaporean dishes. The only reason I can think of is that here on the sunny island, we have simply too many things to feature.. OK I'm running off track as usual - but this ban mian stall is considered the one that people go to around Toa Payoh Central area. And join the long queue, y'all, because it's quite the real deal.
At Mei Wei Ban Mian (literally: delicious ban mian), there is an 'invisible' queue as people order it here and the auntie brings the hot piping bowls of ban mian to you. So remember your table number before you come. And of course, for a small bowl it's only $3.50, and very value for money.
The essence of ban mian is freshly made noodle strips at the stall, and nothing beats fresh noodles, really! The soup is broiled thoroughly with pork and ikan bilis powder, very fragrant and rich. With fried onions, chye sim and even a perfectly half-boiled egg (gooey yolk is gooey) to boot, I have no complaints about my bowl of ban mian from this stall. I have eaten quite a lot of ban mian around Singapore and this is surely a worthy representation of what great ban mian should be like. Comforting especially on a rainy day, but I would eat it even on a sweltering hot day.
Mei Wei Ban Mian
J99 Eating House
186 Toa Payoh Central
Singapore 310186
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