Tiong Bahru Lor Mee (Tiong Bahru Market)

A decent bowl at an affordable price that satisfied lor mee cravings but wasn’t particularly memorable. The base gravy was thick but quite light in flavour. One can fully customize the bowl to their desired flavour profile by adding their free-flow sides of raw chopped garlic, chili, vinegar, soya sauce, and coriander. Enjoyed the umami notes from the prawn-based sambal chilli. The smallest bowl comprised one crispy wanton (could do with more meat: skin ratio), fried fish (enjoyed this for the tender meat and light batter), fish cake, ngoh hiang, and pork belly.

📍@tiongbahrulormee, 02-80, Tiong Bahru Hawker Centre, 30 Seng Poh Road, Singapore (other outlet at 558 Balestier Road)

Tiong Bahru Market is home to stalls which beget long queues — from hainanese boneless chicken rice, to roasted delights. You would think that in every market there would only be a maximum of one famous specialty stall. But here, you find 2 stalls of Lor Mee with snaking queues — namely, 178 Lor Mee and Tiong Bahru Lor Mee. I was inclined to try Tiong Bahru Lor Mee more than the former because I was not sufficiently enticed by the shark nuggets and fried crisps which 178 offers. I enjoy my Lor Mee with a plethora of standard ingredients such as fried fish, ngoh hiang, braised pork, and egg, all of which was in the bowl of Tiong Bahru Lor Mee. Alas, what further reinforced my decision was the easy fact that 178 was closed on the Wednesday I was there, which would perhaps even explain the slightly longer queues at 11am. I queued for about 20-25 minutes before it was my turn, and I thought it was a decent wait time since every bowl was cooked on the spot. Luckily, I doubt anyone before my turn bulk ordered, so it was making a maximum of 3-4 bowls before the next person. To make the wait more worth it, I ordered the biggest bowl at $5.

The plethora of ingredients injected a bit of fun and crunch in every bite, but in almost every case of Lor Mee I have eaten, ingredients were never really showstoppers. Rather, it is the gravy which makes or breaks the dish. The gooey gravy had a decent amount of sweetness to it that was just right for me — I personally do not like it overwhelming. The thick gravy while enveloping the noodles with every bite, was also not all too starchy, it had a slight liquid thinness to it which made the experience more enjoyable. What elevated the savouriness was truly the garlic, vinegar, chilli paste and chilli padi I had to add myself upon serving. When everything came together, the flavour of the Lor Mee became more robust and delicious. I admit that I am no Lor Mee expert but I truly enjoyed this. I have seen others saying that this ain’t the greatest they have tried, but I thought that it was decently delicious enough for my palate that is not the most inclined to starchy things or yellow noodles. Then again, if waiting times are a turn off for you, I suggest it’d be better going for the many other options the market offers instead!

Rate:🌟🌟🌟🌟

Good and cheap. Can change the noodles to bee hoon or kuay teow.

I wasn’t expecting much, but the gravy of the Lor Mee ($4/5) is surprisingly robust and delicious, especially with the garlic and vinegar. It comes with the usual pork slices, ngoh hiang, fried wanton, fried fish, fish cake and egg. There is nothing fancy or extraordinary about this, just good old lor mee for days when you crave comfort food.

💵: $3

📈: 7.5/10

🤔: Flavourful sauce with great consistency. Am a small eater but even I thought that the portion was small. Fried fish was good, other ingredients were okay.

178 Lor Mee was closed so we got this. Not bad, but not great as well. The dish was not too starchy and well seasoned.