XO Minced Meat Noodle (Wilkie Edge)

One of my favourite lunches for the sheer convenience and speed that it gets served up. Run by the same folks behind Yu Kee Duck Rice, they had since opened up a few stalls of this “XO 肉脞面 Famous Minced Meat Noodle from Newton Food Centre” around, with outlets at Funan Mall and Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub just to name a few.

This one is from their Wilkie Edge outlet; using XO sauce instead of the usual vinegar-y sauce, the noodles are tossed in a sauce that is all savoury without the sour-ish tang that some may dislike in their bowl of Mee Pok. The noodles are done all springy; thinner noodles than the usual Mee Pok, while the highlight for me is the crunchy meatballs that comes with a golden-brown exterior and a juicy, meaty interior — something that I just cannot resist (always falling victim to fried meatballs here). The noodles also come with mushrooms and beansprouts for varied texture and to balance out the savoury notes, whilst also coming with wanton skin which adds a crispness to the dish, though not something I find necessary but good to have. Usually can’t do with my noodles without having chilli; the chilli here does come with a slight kick of heat that should be manageable to most who have slightly moderate tolerance to spiciness, but it does provide a necessary contrast to the XO sauce in my opinion.

Do note that this is for their outlet at Wilkie Edge, in the middle of Little India, Bencoolen and Dhoby Ghaut MRT.

XO Minced Meat Noodle ($5)
This was a wetter version than usual and came with sliced mushrooms, minced meat, fish cake slices, 1 large meatball, bits of lettuce and 1 fried dumpling. Their fried dumpling was sinfully satisfying as it was very crispy but also drenched in oil, every bite oozed out bits of oil. I particularly like their thick oblong shaped meatball which was moist and juicy on the inside. Their soup was thankfully not just salted water and was packed with flavour, slightly pepperish and garnished with scallions and some fried onions. I ordered mine with chili which was definitely spicy but I think I'll ask for more in future. Overall, not the best I've tried, but definitely a decent bowl of noodles though I'm not too sure where the XO comes from.
Taste: 8/10

More pictures at: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5er8WEAwQ9/?igshid=mrr9732i0j0m