I recently paid a long overdue visit to the Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre. After its major revamp last year, the place appears to be much cleaner and more well-ventilated than before. There’s even an alfresco area where people dine under the shade of resort-style umbrellas.
This food centre is most famous for its chwee kueh (steamed rice cakes with preserved radish) and lor mee (dark sauce noodles). I pay a visit with the intention of having the latter. There is more than one lor mee stall and I don’t know what the best one is. So I decide to go for the stall with the longest queue – Lor Mee 178!
To my surprise, the stall even offers – get this right – shark meat fritters! That’s probably the way it differentiates itself from the other lor mee stalls.
S$2, add S$1 for shark meat fritters
Rating:
Now, I am not a huge expert on lor mee, but I really like what I have here. The bits of fried fish and breaded items included are the way authentic lor mee is supposed to be. The shark meat fritters taste surprisingly regular to me. I wouldn’t be able to tell this apart from regular fish.
The dark sauce is thick but not sticky. Full of flavour and very shiok! I would have licked my bowl clean if I wasn’t already stuffed with the generous serving of noodles and ingredients.
It is a never-ending debate as to which stall sells the best lor mee – this, or the neighbouring Tiong Bahru Lor Mee at the same food centre. What do you think?
Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre
30 Seng Poh Road #02-58
Singapore 168898
Bus services: 5, 16, 33, 63, 123, 195, 851
Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru
Opening hours: 6am – 9:30pm (Until 2:30pm on Wednesdays)
(Note: All photos in this post had been captured using my LG Shine.)
Sep 22, 2007
72
Hmmm… Lor Mee? Thought that the one at Bukit Purmei Block 110 is supposed to be pretty good too? That’s just like… err… 2 minutes walk away from my home! Agree that the shark’s meat lor mee is great too, and I enjoyed the oh so sinful fritters when i last ate there. SLURP!
Sep 22, 2007
1
I’ve been reading your blog for a while, looking for nice places to eat :-) I just wanted to thank you for linking your entries to maps – saves me the time of doing a search myself. Very user friendly! :-)
Sep 22, 2007
3472
walter: Slurp! You got me craving for the slurpilicious lor mee again!
Bianca: No problem. I swear by these maps too when checking out new and unfamiliar places, so I know how helpful these are.
Sep 22, 2007
22
dont eat shark meat leh. u r killing them. where there is demand there will be supply.
i totally quit sharks’ fin soup like 3 yrs a go. haha.
go green, babe!
Sep 22, 2007
3472
Sure, no more shark meat lor mee for me. Actually I’ve been a half-vegetarian for more than a year. The only meat I eat are chicken and seafood. No other meat at all.
Sep 22, 2007
1
Lor mee 178 at the Tiong Bahru market is my favourite. I never fail to order it whenever I’m there.
Just looking at the pic you posted makes me hungry!
Sep 22, 2007
182
I haven’t not tried this before. I just have praises for you for sharing nice food with us, your readers.
Sep 23, 2007
3472
betshopboy: Looks like I went to the right stall after all!
py: Thanks! I love food and it’s a joy for me to share the good places.
Sep 23, 2007
44
what is Lor Mee?
i never tasted lor mee before …
the sauce is it sour or sweet?
Sep 23, 2007
3472
The sauce is sweet, not sour. I don’t think it would have been as good if it was sour.
Go try it some time! Every hawker centre has it.
Sep 23, 2007
12
lor mee is like mee rebus, yes?
and omg, shark??? does it taste like chickennn?
Sep 23, 2007
3472
The taste and colour are quite different from mee rebus!
lol everything tastes like chicken!
Nov 24, 2008
6
Hi!..
First time checked ur blog…got very delicious food hehehe…
but most area is nearby bukit merah ? got other place ?
Nov 25, 2008
3472
Definitely! Do check out the rest of the Dine and Wine category :)
Feb 8, 2009
1
Chanced upon a lor mee stall (Chia Bee Lor Mee) at Blk 10, #01-5101 last week….Just went there today again…hehehe. Yummy and great….!!