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It is amusing to know how the name Mee Pok Tah is being generalized along the years. Mee Pok Tah is of course Mee(flat noodles) Pok and having it Tah(dry) but what exactly are the condiments or ingredients that are associated with a Mee Pok Tah? What’s the difference between a Teo Chew version and a non Teo Chew version? In what kind of circumstances do we expect it to have fishballs or prawns?
Unfortunately there are no straight forward answers here. It seems that nowdays, as long you can order a Mee Pok in a Tah version from any kind of noodles stall, then it qualifies to be called Mee Pok Tah EXCEPT that if it’s a Hae Mee(prawn noodle soup) then people will call it Hae Mee Tah instead.
So theoritically speaking, it’s only the Bak Chor Mee and Fishball Noodles that people would call a dry mee pok a Mee Pok Tah. Bak Chor Mee as you all know is Bak Chor in the Mee and Fishball Noodles is Fishball in the noodles. But nowadays you also can get Bak Chor in your Fishball Noodles or fishballs/prawns in a Bak Chor Mee. Therefore, the two noodles seem to have become coalesced nowdays, especially when you also get vinegar in both of them in the dry version. So a lot of people must be saying, “Aiya, I don’t know what you selling but I want a Mee Pok and Tah”. So Mee Pok Tah, Mee Pok Tah Mee Pok Tah, repeat that a million times and the whole of Singapore recognise any dry mee pok as Mee Pok Tah…..
There are not many nice fishball noodles around nowadays. With mass produced food hitting the ground, it make all senses to outsource ingredients for many hawkers. Fishballs, chilli sauce, minced pork, you name it. Even items in some chap chai peng stalls nowadays are outsouced and the seller would just turn up to receive the cooked items and sell them.
So any fishball noodles stalls that still take pride in producing their own fishballs must be authentic right? And more so if it’s a one man show(or in this case, a woman). Teowchew Kway Tiao Mee at Whampoa Food Centre is one of my favourite places to have a bowl of noodles(soup or dry also shiok!) simply because the fishballs are handmade by a Teow Chew ah ma who run the stall alone(except weekends some friends will drop by to help) from 630 am in the morning. I’m just guessing that she needs to wake up at 3am every morning to make the fishballs though she could had easily get it from the market. However she still insists on giving customers the best satisfaction.
The fishball here is smaller than a gor lee(marble) and is seriously fresh. You just can tell that it’s handmade with that strong fish meat texture. The other thing I always come here for is the soup which exude a strong flavour that probably can be beaten only by Jalan Tua Kong Mee Pok soup.
That much said, all these things may mean nothing if the chilli sauce for the dry version is bad. But the chilli sauce here is made using a lot of hae bee(dried shimps) which I always ask for more and which just happen to be the most shiok chilli sauce for any Mee Pok Tah I have ever eaten.
It is very common for customers to order a bowl of Tah version and a liao(ingredients) soup to go along and I have always done that whenever I have another mouth with me.
A good fishball noodle is one that has good fishballs, soup and chilli and with Teowchew Kway Tiao Mee, it’s definitely ticks for all. The authenticity is there, shiokadodones is persistent with a lot of fresh flavours in the bowl. Will take a lot for this to be beaten. On a good day, maybe the one at Jalan Tua Kong can.
Fishball Noodle Soup $3.50: 7.75/10   
Price: $3.50($3 min)
Recommendation: $3.50 for extra liao(ingredients) or a $3 ingredients soup for your dry noodles.
Conclusion: My favourite fishball noodle place other than Jalan Tua Kong one. Authenticity is there with all the handmade ingredients. $3 may seem a little high for a small bowl but the quality is without doubt very outstanding.
Likes: Fishball has shiok texture. Soup has that nice fish sweetness which is seriously shiok! Chilli has full of hae bee which can be a good dip for anything!
Dislikes: Noodles sometimes too much which means there ain’t enough room for more soup!
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Thanks for this review! Certainly I like handmade fish balls! The prawns look very fresh too!
That looks very yummy. I thought the prawns is very big, so the fishball is small lol
Prawns look big and good!
I prefer the other stall at the corner which also sell steamboat. This stall the soup not power enough.
Any good fishball nodles nice in the west?
I like that stall too. But it’s always sold out whenever I was there.
I like the Teochew fish ball mee at Chinatown market (Below Pearl centre). Need to Q as well but within 10 mins wait la.
I’ve eaten at this stall since 3! No joke about it. It used to be cooked by the father before he passed away many years ago. That was the BEST. Now the mother helms the stall.
I can only say that it is simply delicious and they are so good that their food usually runs out by about 10.30am. So be there early if you intend to get a bowl at all.
Oh yes, be VERY CAREFUL with the mother. She doesn’t like people to be difficult nor try to be innovative. She has a line of loyal fans so really, if you are an unfamiliar face, my advice to you is ORDER FAST, SIT NEAR THE STALL AND DON’T ASK FOR FUNNY EXCLUSIONS!
Yes you often don get to eat after 10. I guess thats one thing about authentically made food, once it gets sold out, thats it.