Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee
Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee
Old Airport Road Food Centre, #01-115J
12pm to about 7pm
Ratings: 6.75/10
Unexpectedly, HC suddenly offered to drive us out to Old Airport Road Food Centre for lunch one day.
Despite the imminent stink on our work attire resulting from the myriad of aromatic food scents, smoke from cooking, and sweat due to the hot weather that day, having lunch at Old Airport Road Food Centre, which was one of the famous local hawker centres known for its delicious food, was an irresistible option that none of us can reject. It was a welcome break from the almost-daily mundane lunch at the food court!
Of course, at Old Airport Road Food Centre, how can I not have Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee, especially since Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee is one of Makansutra Hawker Legends!
Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee - $3 a plate
Hokkien Mee is yellow noodles and rice flour noodles fried with seafood stock and topped with prawns, pork strips, and squid rings. There are two versions of Hokkien Mee in Singapore: dry and wet. Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee will fall into the dry Hokkien Mee category since there isn’t much gravy in the noodles, as you can see from the photo.
I can never understand why Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee tastes so good. If you ask me to imagine how a smashing plate of Hokkien Fried Mee will taste like, I’ll probably describe a hot and aromatic plate of Hokkien noodles. The entire plate of noodles will be very well fried, with each strand of noodles emitting the characteristic wok hei taste (meaning taste of the wok) that is the defining characteristic of a good plate of fried noodles.
On the contrary, the plate of Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee that I had was not hot. Besides that, not every strand of noodles was equally fried and there were a few strands of slightly uncooked noodles. Whatever that I have just described might make you start wondering why I am saying that Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee is delicious in the first place. Yet, this is the exact reason why I can never understand why Nam Sing Hokkien Fried Mee tastes so good.
The first mouthful of noodles may just taste slightly above average from the usual Hokkien mee that you can get elsewhere. However, Nam Sing Hokkien Mee is one "Mee" that grows on you. Each mouthful of noodles taste very pleasant and without you realising, the entire plate of noodles is finished. I attribute the pleasant taste of the noodles to the delicious seafood stock absorbed by the noodles during the cooking process. Overall, the noodles are very well fried. As for the few strands of slightly uncooked noodles that "stood out from the crowd", they actually added a crunchy yet soft texture to the plate of silky noodles, making the plate of Hokkien noodles really interesting to eat.
One plate of Hokkien Fried Mee costs about $3. That’s a really good price to pay for a plate of fingerlicking good Hokkien Fried Mee.
I had a good lunch that day. Hot weather? Stinky food scents that had attached itself onto my clothes? Who cares about them? It’s the great lunch that matters ultimately.
