tesss

Since the first visit was fruitless and being the persistent soul I am, we made another visit over a Public Holiday shortly after they opened. Queues had formed and people were already waiting around for their takeaway orders. With just one item on the menu but many variations, it is easy to be lost in what exactly to try. Each permutation has two variations, soup or dry. For sour vegetables and mala flavouring, top ups apply. So wait...are we still queueing for banmian or la mian? Razor Clams Dry Ban Mian ($6.50) I got tempted by this version over instagram and had to order it in its recommended, mee hoon kuay. Unevenly thick pieces of dough that were unusually smooth and slurpworthy but, after all that tossing in dark sauce, I ended up with a really sweet noodle dish even with lashes of chilli sauce. Bummer. Fish and Chicken Soup Ban Mian ($5.50) The soup lacked complexity and was just a clear meat soup with noodles and a ton of other ingredients. At this junction, Poon Nam's t...

I found myself heading to the parents' favourite hang out for ban mian one day because Lorong 32 was closed (why so suay!). Nested in the top floor food court and the only stall that has neverending orders, I made mine all in 5 minutes but definitely waited more than 15 for the food to be cooked. Strangely, my side orders arrived first. Fried till so crisp, these ngor hiangs were closer to chips than meat rolls. And a barely better popiah roll. These were missing out on prawn and hae bee, and mostly filled with turnip which rendered it too sweet. When faced with a choice of dry or soup, I always cave into dry. My bowl came with a dash of sweet sauce, a handful of handmade noodles, ikan bilis, prawns, minced meat and some greens. This is what tossing together gets you. A black delicious mess. I loved the springy noodles and ingredients but the same grouse stayed - too sweet and the spiciness was not able to camouflage any of the sweetness. Turns out the soup version ...