Bak Chor Mee
translates to minced meat noodles

Is a noodle dish tossed in vinegar, minced meat, pork slices, pork liver, stewed sliced mushrooms, meat balls and bits of deep-fried lard. The addition of chilli is optional, and you have a choice of mee pok (flat egg noodles) or mee kia (thin egg noodles). You can also choose between the dry version and the soup version.  Here is a collated list of 27 Singaporeans’ favourite bak chor mee stalls for you!

Tah Wah Bak Chor Mee
at 466 Crawford Lane 

This all time favourite Bak Chor Mee stall in the whole of Singapore is Michelin starred in 2021.  The que is long at lunch time on weekdays and you may have to wait for an hour.  Que is shorter at dinner time. 

Picture show me enjoying my bak chor mee at Tah Wah.  It comes in small S$6, medium S$8 and large S$8. I recommend you get the small for S$6 and add on S$3 of crispy fried sole fish (seen on my right).  Ask for extra fried lard pieces to enhance the taste.  Enjoy just like I did.

Stall is conveniently located at 466 Crawford Lane minutes walk from the ICA building and Lavender MRT

Hill St Tai Hwa Pork Noodle, #01-12, Blk 466 Crawford Ln, S190466. Open daily, Sun & Mon 9.30am-9pm, Tues & Wed 9.30am-8.30pm, Thur 9.30am-8pm, Fri & Sat 9,30am-8.30pm. www.facebook.com/people/Hill-Street-Tai-Hwa-Pork-Noodle/100063491712419

Bak Kut Teh aka Meat Bone Tea

Bak kut teh is actually a pork ribs soup.  This is a popular Chinese dish in Singapore. The dish consists of pork ribs stewed with a mixture of fragrant herbs and spices such as garlic, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds and coriander.  Referring to the main ingredient in the dish, bak kut teh (Hokkien) and rou gu cha (Mandarin) translate literally to “meat bone tea”. A distiguishing feature of the soup is the whole boiled garlic cloves and fragrant herbs. 

Origin
The introduction of the dish to Singapore and Malaysia is attributed to Hokkien immigrant coolies who moved to the Klang port in Malaysias in the 19th century.  The dish is said to have been concocted by the Chinese coolies as a hearty breakfast using pork bobes to make soup as they could not afford meat and spices was added to make the soup tasty.

How to eat Bak Kut Teh?
Bak kut teh is typically eaten with steamed white rice, you tiao (dough fritters), offal, preserved vegetables and braised beancurd skin. Soup is refilled free flow at all restaurants.  Dark soy sauce is the prefered dip. Sliced chilli, minced garlic or chopped chilli padi are often added to the dipping sauce. Strong Teow Chew tea is the preferred beverage when having bak kut teh, as it is believed to help wash down the oil and fat from the dish.