Ah Ma Mee Sua ($4.00) and the Ah Gong Tau Chiam ($4.50) from Chye Lai Ah Ma Mee Sua. They both came in massive bowls.
When we stepped into Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre and Market at 6pm, we could already see quite a number of people having dinner and several of them were slurping on a big bowl of mee sua on their table. It was not hard to identify the noodle source as there was one particular stall with a huge white signboard that writes “Chye Lai Ah Ma Mee Sua” in Chinese.
The stall specialises in mee sua which is basically a thin variation of salted noodles made using wheat flour. Mee sua is commonly eaten in Asian countries and is also known as longevity noodles in traditional chinese culture as it denotes long life. The stall also sells other types of noodles like tau chiam (soy bean noodles), sheng mian and mee tai mak soup (rice noodles soup).
After a short 1 to 2 minutes of food photo-taking, we could see a significant difference in the two bowl of noodles that we ordered. The mee sua still had a full bowl of soup intact while the tau chiam had absorbed about a quarter of the soup. Upon noticing this, we immediately got down to eating the noodles.
Between mee sua and tau chiam, we felt that the former tasted better in terms of both flavour and texture. The mee sua matches better with the slightly thick broth that was mildly seasoned and did exude an “ah ma” feel to it. On the other hand, the unique soybean taste from the tau chiam was not really our cup of tea and the noodles were slightly soggy from absorbing all the soup.
Both the mee sua and the tau chiam had the same ingredients in them. There were sliced pork, pork meatballs, liver slices, stewed mushrooms and a poached egg. Spring onions, coriander and ginger slices added the finishing touches to the dish. The sliced pork was seasoned nicely and had a nice bite to it. The pork meatballs were savoury and chewy but we felt like there was too much flour mixed in it as there were parts that tasted too gooey and starchy. Also, while the pig livers were very soft and tender, they tasted a little undercooked as the bloody taste was very distinct and penetrated the soup. The mushrooms were flavourful and juicy and I might like it even more than the pork even though I am a meat lover. The egg on its own was nice but did not seem to elevate the dish further.
Towards the end of the meal, we found it slightly hard to finish the entire bowl of noodles as the soup tasted increasingly starchy.
Overall, we recommend the noodles at Chye Lai Ah Ma Mee Sua if you are someone who enjoys simple and homely taste. If not, we would suggest that you get other food items that offer richer and bolder flavours to complement the noodles here.
The prices and opening hours may vary.