The Chinese and English names of this signboard at Tekka Market & Food Centre tells two very different things.
The English part says Grandma Mee Siam while the Chinese part says 燻鲨鱼五香虾饼 (translated as smoked shark five spiced prawn fritter) or what we normally called ngor hiang.
But neither of them are wrong because both mee siam and ngor hiang are the very two things on the menu.
The stall is run by Madam Lim whom I believed to be the grandma in question here. I wanted to give her special "grandma mee siam" a try after seeing multiple postings about it on social media.
Have you ever wonder why mee siam is not called bee hoon siam when it is served with bee hoon (rice vermicelli) and not mee (noodle)? I know I have.
So basically, what I am having is literally MEE siam that is served with yellow noodle. Of course, the bee hoon version is available here as well.
You know, I am even more intrigued by this MEE siam when it is associated with terms like "best mee siam", "old school", "traditional", etc in reviews.
At just $2.50, the MEE siam come with a substantial mound of yellow noodle, two halves of an hard-boiled egg, chopped chives, tau pok and a dollop of sweet sambal all sitting in a pool of gravy.
While giving everything in the plate a good toss, I spotted a single lime seed floating by with no sight of the lime itself. I guess Madam Lim has already squeezed the lime for me therefore I do not have to do it myself.
How thoughtful!
I had a sip of the gravy but realized this is not quite your usual Malay mee siam as the flavors are not as sour, sweet and spicy.
This is like a milder version where the flavors have been toned down.
I love the intense flavor of tamarind in the Malay mee siam but I suspect that tamarind is not used in grandma's mee siam at all.
Strangely, the presence of coconut milk in the gravy makes me wonder is this the nonya-style mee siam instead? I have not tried the nonya version before thus, I cannot make a fair judgement.
To be honest, this actually tastes more like laksa but served mee siam style with the addition of chives and a squeeze of lime.
Do not get me wrong. This is not a bashing post.
It is unique in its own way and in all honesty, does not taste bad at all but just not what I was expecting.
Although this mee siam was not what I am looking for, that is not to say it does not have its fair share of fans. Just google for the reviews and you would be surprised by the number of people liking it.
I do not have the chance to try the ngor hiang but reviews online seems favorable enough. I find it very helpful to have the pricing clearly listed for every ingredient available.
While waiting for my mee siam to be ready, I saw that they have the pink sauce which not many places serve anymore. I wonder why?
Grandma Mee Siam is not halal certified.
GRANDMA MEE SIAM
Tekka Market & Food Centre
665 Buffalo Road
#01-311
Singapore 210665
Business Hours
Wed - Mon: 7.30am - 3.30pm
Closed: Tue
Google Map: https://goo.gl/maps/E2X1bEPHZaYJqw928
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