Every Singaporean has their personal favourite local dish, and bak chor mee (minced meat noodles) usually comes up as a strong contender.
Although there are plenty of famous bak chor mee establishments in Singapore, a humble stall located in Sim Lim Square has celebrity power to its name.
Some may even swear that it’s good enough to make you kneel (and no, this has nothing to do with the Sim Lim Square owners overcharging for electronic goods).
But hold your horses if you’re planning to rush down for a taste.
Unfortunately, as of 31 December 2022 last year, the noodle stall, Minced Meat Noodle, has ceased operations.
Bak Chor Mee Stall Lease Ran Out
In a post titled “end of an era”, the Facebook page of this popular minced meat noodle stall announced its last day of operations at the Sim Lim Square location.
The post also explains the reason for the closure—due to the ending of a lease after almost two decades.
The original storeowners, referred to in the post as Grandpa Ng and Grandma Ng, are also approaching “retirement age”, presumably making it difficult to continue running the store. Indeed, the same post confirms that the stall was “mainly helmed by the next generation”.
Mr Ng is Teochew and arrived in Singapore in 1960 before starting his noodle business.
Bak Chor Mee Store Will Make a Comeback
Before you lament the loss of our Singapore’s hawker culture, take heart in knowing that there are plans for Minced Meat Noodle to make a comeback.
The post from 31 December hints at a comeback, calling out that the store hopes to “reunite” with customers in their “new space in the coming year”, which is 2023.
Great news all around, especially for home-grown singer JJ Lin, who is supposed to be a fan of this stall’s bak chor mee.
In 2018, JJ Lin was spotted patronizing the stall with his good friend, Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jay Chou.
And it’s not difficult to see why this stall has such a loyal following.
The video attached to Sim Lim Square BCM’s last post features scenes of customers queueing for and tucking into a delicious bowl of bak chor mee. The scenes showing tantalizing shots of the stall’s noodles which is sure to whet anyone’s appetite.
The page credits the video to “NUS’s GES1038 class” from a 2018 project.
One of the clips of the noodles shows glistening strands of flat yellow noodles (mee pok) in a bowl with meat balls, fish cake slices, stewed mushrooms and fried dumplings. A bowl of soup with boiled dumplings is featured next to the noodles.
A voiceover to the video describes the “special” dumplings which contain crunchy water chestnut.
If you’re also itching to have a taste of Minced Meat Noodle’s noodles, we’re with you. Don’t say bojio!
Featured Image: Facebook (Sim Lim Square BCM) / Instagram (@jm_lenhi_ngo)