Tai Hwa Pork Noodle

As a tourist from the US who generally likes Asian noodle dishes I was intrigued by the favorable reviews of this eatery. And as it was with in walking distance from my hotel I decided to track down this establishment. What I found was a small hawker stall just off North Bridge road (about a ¼ mile NE of Raffles) that, in the middle of the afternoon, had a queue. No other stall I passed along the way had anyone waiting that time of day. The queue was a very promising sign.
It was fortunate that I had written down «bak chor mee» (even though I had no idea what this means beyond being a noodle dish — I was being adventuresome), because there is no menu anywhere and the brusque but hard working staff doesn’t seem to understand much English. Upon my placing the order phonetically, the man asked, me a question I didn’t understand. I guessed that he wanted to know if I wanted chili sauce on my noodles. I nodded.
My bowl of noodles indeed came with the chili sauce and was garnished with several types of pork — shredded, sliced, and some pieces of liver– together with few other items I couldn’t identify. I was extremely pleased with the noodles which were very tasty, although I might have backed off a little on the chili sauce as a personal preference (just for reference: I like my salsas between mild and medium). A bowl of soup accompanied the noodles, a flavorful (seaweed?) both that had a little aftertaste of liver. Overall the very savory noodles made tracking down this little hawker stall well worthwhile.

Hands down the best Bak Chor Mee in Singapore. When it comes to flavor and freshness, Tai Hwa is hard to beat. Some people prefer their Bak Chor Mee to incorporate tomato based sauce, but my tastes are more aligned to the vinegar /​chili heavy mix that Tai Hwa cooks up. The wontons, liver, meatballs and dried salted fish give the extra «oomph» that make the noodles truly a complete dish.

Favorite fan of Bak Chor Mee forever. Heard about this no. 1 BC mee and it’s snaking queue. Hence tried it today. Ordered a $ 10 & $ 6, after queueing for 45mins. Extremely disappointed. Noodles is thick and not so springy. Ingredients are fresh. Base sauce is so so. Overall not really worth the price and time. Doubtful will come and queue again.
Advice to owner is that he should concentrate on cooking instead of also being the cashier. Hence undercooked noodles.

Tiny hawker stand with only three items on their menu. Heard the line can get crazy. We went around 3 hoping no one would be there but still had to wait about 10 – 15 mins. Not bad. They have a dry noodle, a soup noodle and a beef ball soup. My husband got the dry noodle and I got the soup noodle. It is interesting how you pick a size by $ amount and not small medium or large. Every stands in line on the left where you pick up food and the guy will call you up to the right side to place your order. My husband loved his dry noodle. My soup noodle was just so so. Dry noodle definitely tasted a lot better. I would never wait an hour for the soup noodle.

First saw pics of the noodles from Tai Hwa on Instagram and knew this would be one of my first stops during our Singapore trip. After reading a few reviews, I knew to avoid this place during peak times so we ended up coming for a late lunch on a Monday. For some reason the taxi driver dropped us off at the wrong location (not far but ended up walking a few blocks). I was glad to have google maps open so that we could find this place.
We arrived to find a short line and waited about 5 mins before placing our order. For those that don’t speak Mandarin, I’m not sure how successful you’ll be ordering food here as the guy who took our order did not speak Cantonese and spoke very very little English. It took a total of 15 minutes before we sat down to eat. I ended up with a $ 5 bak chor mee bowl of noodles and it definitely lived up to the hype! I would definitely wait an hour for a bowl of their dry bak chor mee noodles in a heartbeat! A definite must try when coming to Singapore!!!

I have lived away for some 12 years and every time i come backto Singapore, which is about twice a year, i head straight here, the morning after my arrival, for my fav authentic hawker food. Each time, the noodles do not disappoint. The secret is in the mix: the sacue is sufficiently vinegary and sweet and sallty, the ingredients are fresh and of good quality, and the noodles are always cooked just right. What really seals the deal for me is the stock which is amazing, Over the years the prices have escalated so that my visit each time runs up a bill close to $ 50, for two persons eating there and a to go order for three at home. Notwithstanding the prohibitive cost I return. MY one complaint right now is that for to go orders, they do not offer you the soup sp you have to purchase a soup bowl to go!

A lot of newspapers, articles, etc about this place. One ridiculous article i found was posted right in front of the cashier, which says about two men fighting due to the queuing and police came to reconcile. waited for 20 mins, they normally had one lady take your order first and then the old man cooking. he used many bowls by putting some little meat, soup in every bowl and then dump to another place. he never ended up using that same bowl for serving. i really had no idea what he was doing.
all the meat like pork and pork liver were raw. he basically just put the soup in it so it cooked by itself.
the noodles are quite normal, the soup bowl on the side was very fatty and oily, the flavor is just vinegar plus spicy sauce. i don’t see why it is so famous or special.

singapore is never short of cheap and good food. but when it comes to having awesome nosh, singaporeans will need to scour every single nook and crany for the best. When you feel like chowing down on a good bowl of pork noodle (Bak Chor Mee as we would call it), please come here.
The queue during lunch might be a little daunting, so try to come down during off peak hours but even during off peak, one can expect to wait for about 15 to 20 minutes to see the front of the queue. So don’t come famished but almost hungry. :)
Remember the soup nazi from Seinfeld? Well, we do have an experience with the whole ordering process. You will have to order in a particular sequence — price of the bowl you want, type of noodle, dry or soup and then all the misc special request (less spicy, more vinegar, no liver etc). If in a group, please remember to order per bowl. so don’t go like «2 bowls of $ 5 mee pok, no chill» — you will be left #ignored.
When your bowl is presented to you, you will be glad you actually waited. the noodles are cooked perfectly with all the quality ingredients one will want in a bowl of bak chor mee. you have the minced pork, the liver slices, the singluar meatball, that lonely piece of vegetable mixed in a crazy sauce that one will relish till the very last drop. Mix them all up and slowly enjoy the goodness in every bite. The accompanying soup is also really flavourful and one can only wonder how their wonton soup will taste like! (till the next time I go back).
So to have some authentic pork noodle, come down here and get an awesome bowl or two! Please invite me along the next time anyone is going down and I will be glad to join you in enjoying an awesome bowl of bak chor mee!

Like others before me have said, if you can get past waiting in line for 30 mins on average (and upwards of 1hr during peak hours and days), then you’re in for a real treat. I ordered the much talked about pork noodles with the broth on the side, and it was absolutely delicious. While I have had noodles of this style elsewhere, I have never tried it with the unique vinegar sauce mixture that the chef so craftily pours over the fresh noodles which are made on site.
All in all, this is a great example of a local gem!

When my wife asked me why I did not heed the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate recommendation to «limit refined grains», I answered, «It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every bowl of bak chor mee that comes from the coffee shop on Crawford Lane.’»
I had to put it down in writing on Unilocal before I could order my extra large bowl of bak chor mee.

Definitely one of the best Mee Pok I have tasted in Singapore.
Nice chewy al dented style of egg noodles mixed in with pork lard, soy sauce and chilli.
Definitely worth a bite if you have the time to stand in line for at least 30 minutes

Totally worth the wait and everytime I’ve been here, there will definitely be a wait.
The crispy fried flatfish is what makes all TW difference for this bcm.
Order a bowl of too soft but nonetheless tasty dumpling soup to round off your meal after all that waiting!

A really unassuming establishment until you see how popular it is by the line that forms. Tai Hwa isn’t a popular hawker center like Newton’s or Maxwell’s but it is really a gem!
When I first got my bowl, I was thinking «this is it for $ 6?» but it really is a small bowl of quality goodness. Every single item is thoughtfully crafted and placed as an integral part of a whole. Their preparation is arguably inefficient; however, you won’t argue any longer once you eat it!
Always get the pork noodles, dry. It sits in a small pool of vinegar-​based sauce and the noodles are FRESH. As in, they are handmade (at least that’s what it seems) and cooked upon order. Topping the noodles are a mixture of minced pork, liver, dry fried fish, etc. You get a bowl of soup on the side as well.
I saw some other people with bigger portions so you can probably get there for extra $$ if you’re feeling hungrier or want more goodness.

AMAZING.
i was taken here not knowing what bak chor mee even was, nor what awaited me. my delicate californian constitution could not handle the heat and 1 hour 10 min wait in line to get my food, but damn, was all that worth it! (it helped that i waited in line with 2 lovely ladies).
this bak chor mee was delicious. chilli, vinegar, and perfectly QQ noodles!
didn’t really care about the wonton, but the pork and liver were delicious (although i wish there were more).
i can’t really compare to other bak chor mee, since i’m a novice, but i know good food, and this was good food.

Each time I think of Bak Chor Mee, I dutifully make my way down to this stall to get my fix.
Springy noodles cooked al dente style (chinese version) with lots of tasty tiiny meat chunks, meat balls, salted fish tossed in a delicious blend of vinegar, chilli, soya sauce and oil!
There’s liver too but I always opt out of that.
Best ever — not two thumbs up but 10 fingers up!

If you like waiting in line and paying a lot of money for hawker food, this is the place for you. If you don’t like waiting in line and paying a lot of money for hawker food, this is still the place for you.
Whenever I’m away from Singapore, I have dreams about this bowl of goodness. Haters can nitpick all they want, but IMMA LET YOU FINISH, BUT THIS IS THE BEST BAK CHOR MEE OF ALL TIME.

I’ve not had vinegary mee pok before. There, I said it. What’s with the judgey looks, people? Geez!
So I embarked upon a mee pok trail, and this was one of those die die must tries. We got there slightly before 11am, and a wild queue of 18 – 20 people greets us. Curses! Still, we duly wait, as dining companion really likes her mee pok. Fast forward about 40mins later, it’s finally our turn and we both end up with mee kia as it turns out, while she likes mee pok, the mee pok noodles here are too doughy for her liking. And it’s true, even the mee kia seems pudgier than those elsewhere, and these upsized strands have a less QQ bite than I’d prefer. Sad.
Vinegar hit is ok, neither too subtle nor overpowering. The chilli leans towards the mild side, and the ingredients are mostly meaty stuff– one wanton, one meat ball, some minced pork, pork slices and liver. A bit measly, really.
You know the episode where Karl Pilkington goes to China, and when he treks the wall and goes ‘it’s not a Great wall. It’s an alright wall. It’s the Alright Wall of China.’? Yup, for me, it’s just an alright bowl of noodles. Plus the ridiculous wait. I think not.

According to Teochew Ah Pa, the price has gone up with inflation. Now the smallest bowl is $ 5 and we ordered 3 bowls of dry BCM, 2 Mee Kia and 1 Mee Pok. The queue is of course, very long as always.
Alas, the much-​awaited BCM came up and yes, it was the same old taste that we’ve had previously. It does not hold back on vinegar and seasonings, and thus give a satisfying kick which lures you back for more.
No pork lard but crispy pieces of flatfish still works for us. My family love our BCM the spicy way but their plain version is equally competent. You can self service to more vinegar if you like.
That said, we noted a problem this time round. Too much sodium in the wanton dumplings and also noodles. I did not remember the food being so heavily seasoned the last time (or my memory must be failing…) But it could also be this distinctive taste or that keeps the business going so well after many years.
Indeed, we got thirsty hours after the meal. But well, once-​in-​a-​blue-​moon bowl of comforting and satisfying Bak Chor Mee won’t hurt too much.

I waited for about 40 minutes in a queue of maybe 10 – 12 persons before me at 11+am. I seriously do not think a bowl of noodles is worth this long a wait.
The noodle was good and flavorful (lots of vinegar), with nicely cooked meat (not too tough). The dumpling was a bit too big and chewy. The thing I liked most was the fried sole fish (ti poh) which gave a bit of ommph to the noodle.
But to wait for 40 minutes or more? I don’t think so. The most I will queue for this will be 20 minutes. For a stall with 4 people working in the kitchen and another taking the order (4 – 5 people before your turn), the turnover is too slow. And we are not talking about every customer ordering 5 – 10 bowls of noodles.

Nothing else is comparable to the noodles here. This is evidenced by the long lines every day, and I do mean every day! We were there at 10.30am on a wednesday and there is a line of 10 persons! Once we joined the line, 5 more were behind us immediately!
Tip: morning is cooked by the boss himself, lunch hour his «sous-​chef», dinner another worker. I only go when it is either the boss himself or the sous-​chef. It is all in the number of nano-​seconds the noodle is cooked! Yes, technicalities of Asian hawker food!