Where to get an awesome bak chor mee fix in less than an hour

SINGAPORE — We love a good bowl of bak chor mee, some more than others. Now that Hill Street Tai Hwa Minced Pork Noodles has been crowned with a Michelin star, photos of its vinegar-laced springy noodles flooded Instagram after the news and the queue at its stall at Crawford Lane is said to be more than an hour long according to sources who bravely stood in line on Friday.

But any fan of this staple one-dish-meal will tell you choices are aplenty. And if you crave bak chor mee badly and need it fast, salvation is not too far away. We even narrowed it down to five highly recommended bak chor mee spots after talking to several “BCM” (bak chor mee) aficionados. So we’re no Michelin inspectors, and it’s possible nothing comes close to the platonic ideal of Hill Street Tai Hwa’s version. But a good bowl of bak chor mee in front of you is better than none, right?

1. 132 Traditional Teochew Noodles (59 Marine Terrace, #01-105)

Eastsiders swear by this mee pok stall, which was founded in 1969 in Siglap Market. The stall has moved several times in the East Coast area and even spawned the also popular Jalan Tua Kong Lau Lim Mee Pok located in Simpang Bedok. The original stall is now helmed by founder Chan Sek Inn’s son Chan Choon Wing. Customers keep coming back for its light and springy noodles, which are never clumpy, and fresh ingredients such as prawns and fish cake. Toss them all with the fantastic chilli that is said to be made with buah keluak and shallots and you get a potent, heady bowl of comfort noodles at its best. Estimated queue time is about 20 to 40 minutes during peak periods.

2. Seng Kee Mushroom Minced Pork Noodles (49 Serangoon Garden Way, #01-04)

“BCM on steriods” is how one fan describes the pumped-up robust flavours here. Loyalists flock to Seng Kee for the noodles added with teepo (dried sole fish), richly braised mushroom and the “perfect chilli to vinegar ratio”. There are just as many who gush about its aromatic cloudy fish maw noodle soup, which is chockfull of ingredients such as seaweed, fish dumpling, egg and minced pork. The wait varies between 10 and 45 minutes depending on the time of the day.

3. Macpherson Minced Pork Noodles (1382 Serangoon Road)

Yet another long-standing legendary favourite, this stall sent shock waves and panic across the island when it was reported in March that owner Yap Lye Hong wants to retire soon. We can understand why: Everything in this bowl of bak chor mee is almost pitch perfect, from the flavourful al dente noodles to the translucent her kiao (fish dumpling) and fresh slices of pork. Also try the Xiao Wan Noodles, which comes with a half-boiled egg and a soul-satisfying bowl of soup. Disclaimer: The queue here has been said to go up to more than an hour, but, hey, sometimes it only takes 30 minutes if you’re lucky and get there before everyone else.

4. Lai Heng Mushroom Minced Meat Noodles (Blk 51 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, #01-62)

This Toa Payoh stall has caused much debate among BCM enthusiasts: Some say it is good but not that good, while supporters argue you need to know what to order. (The minced meat soup is apparently superb). Those in a third camp insist it simply falls short despite its tastiness when you can’t get mee pok (flat noodles) or mee kia (thin yellow noodles) — on weekends the stall only takes orders for mee tai mak, kway teow and yellow noodles to expedite the queue. Nonetheless, most agree that Lai Heng’s saucy noodles and “power” chilli combination topped with tasty liver and salted flat fish puts this bowl a notch above many. Queue time doesn’t go beyond 30 minutes on most days. What’s more, you get a number and an approximate time to pick your order up.

5. 58 Minced Meat Noodle (Taman Jurong Market & Food Centre, 3 Yung Sheng Road, #03-150)

Representing the west side of the island is this heavyweight in Taman Jurong. You can’t fault its generous toppings of minced pork, sauteed mushrooms, liver slices mixed with a stellar chilli sauce and just the right amount of vinegar. But the texture of the noodles could be slightly contentious — there are some complaints they are on the soggy, starchy side. But the crunchy fried pork lard bits make up for that, somewhat. The average waiting time here is about half an hour.