Qiu Lian Ban Mian @ Jurong East Westgate

Qiu Lian Ban Mian

I remember my very first bowl of Ban Mian was from Qiu Lian Ban Mian (秋莲板面) some twenty years ago.

Ban Mian is a imported dish from China and Qiu Lian is the first to bring it into Singapore. Well, I could be wrong though but I do not recall seeing any other Ban Mian stalls around prior my first bowl at Qiu Lian.

It was only after sometime that copycat Ban Mian stalls began sprouting all over the island when the dish became popular and gained a foothold in the local food scene.

At that time, the novelty of seeing your noodle being handmade (with the pasta machine) in front of you was something new and the chewy texture of the noodles with the savory broth was all it took to get me hooked onto this soup dish.

I would have a simmering bowl of Qiu Lian Ban Mian every other day after school at the stall near my home until the stall closed for good.

I eventually found another Qiu Lian stall at Marina Square when the foodcourt was still at the basement. I had had my last bowl of Qiu Lian Ban Mian sometime in year 2000 when that stall too disappeared as the mall underwent a major facelift into its present state.

Since then, I have been resorting to eating other Ban Mee whenever the crave for the soupy dish arise but non could satisfy me like Qiu Lian can.

Recently, I learn of a Qiu Lian Ban Mian stall at the newly opened Westgate Mall and I wasted no time in making my way down for a bowl of nostalgia!

As I dig into my noodles, I realized that it does not taste like the good old Qiu Lian Ban Mian I was so familiar with years ago.

The soup was not as flavorful as it used to be and the the ingredients were rather stingy. Even the chili which I loved previously is not the same.

At $4.20 per bowl, it was a startling increase from the previous $2.50 (or was it $3?). Want to add more crispy Ikan Bilis? That would be another $1.