San lou bee hoon, KL Dai Lok mee & crispy pork knuckle at Macpherson

Last Sunday afternoon, my eating companions and I headed to Hei Bai Chao which is situated on the Grantral Mall @ Macpherson. It’s a meals stall throughout the M. Connect Food Court, which specialises in Malaysian-inspired dishes akin to KL Dai Lok Mee & San Lou Bee Hoon.

Hei Bai Chao is the brainchild of Claire and Alex, a pair of siblings who additionally occur to be the house owners of Daruma Tavern at The Brooks II alongside Springside Green.

After I ordered my meals from the pleasant employees, I watched as one of many cooks labored his magic on my KL Dai Lok mee. The strands of noodles somersaulted in mid-air as he tossed the wok over the open blue flame. It was mesmerising to observe!

What I attempted at Hei Bai Chao

We commenced with the primary dish, the KL Dai Lok Mee (S$8.80). The plate consisted of rich-brown noodles stir-fried with skinny strips of pork stomach, prawns, cabbage, pork lard bits, and fishcake.

About 3 years in the past in Kuala Lumpur, I had my first encounter with this dish and I bear in mind being blown away by its intense flavour. And so I had a excessive benchmark for what I used to be about to style.

As I lifted the plump strands that resembled Japanese udon, my nostrils caught whiffs of fragrant smokiness which emanated from the piping-hot vapours.

The noodles had been full of wok hei and tasted subtly candy from the darkish soya sauce. The items of cabbage added crunchy textures whereas the agency prawns had been contemporary.

Although the fried bits of lard added some aromatic creaminess between bites, I’d’ve most popular if the noodles had absolutely absorbed the umami-ness of the pork fats. This to me, felt like 2 separate entities with simply the sprinkling of the pork lard on high.

I then moved on to the Fried Hokkien Mee (S$7.80), which had a mix of stir-fried yellow mee and bee hoon tossed with strips of sotong, prawns, pork stomach, and mini nuggets of pork lard.

I took my first mouthful of noodles and every part went silent for a number of seconds (no, I didn’t cross out). The noodles had absorbed all that wanted ‘wok breath’ whereas possessing satisfying notes coming from the pork stomach and lard— this was missing within the earlier dish.

Spritzing the golden drops from the calamansi gave the noodles an immediate vibrant persona, which made me expertise one other facet to it.

The sambal was undoubtedly not for the faint-hearted. It packed a spicy punch which regularly intensified, coupled with a strong style of belacan, and a little bit acidity thrown within the combine.

Don’t… I repeat, don’t eat it in giant portions until you wish to get your sinuses cleared out.

The golden-brown chunks of pork knuckles had been sitting on the glass show, doing its utmost within the artwork of seduction. Alas, I succumbed to temptation and ordered the smallest Crispy Pork Knuckle (S$10).

The meat was chopped properly into items, and served with a dollop of American mustard.

The pork knuckle had a pleasant ratio of meat to fats, however the pores and skin was the pièce de résistance of the dish. Just think about… the satisfying shatter of crackling produced by your tooth because it disintegrates in your mouth. It’s the stuff of desires!

Dipping the outstanding items of pork knuckle into the American mustard added a tinge of sweetness, mellowing its wealthy depth.

We ended issues off with the Crispy Bee Hoon (S$9.80). This dish has different aliases: ‘San Lou bee hoon‘ and ‘chao tah (burnt) bee hoon‘. The positive strips of rice noodles had been protected by a browned crust topped with pork lard bits, calamansi and sambal.

Who would’ve thought that these burnt parts of bee hoon that had been lumped collectively on the backside of your grandma’s wok previously would sooner or later change into Malaysian specialty dishes?

I prodded the crust with my chopsticks and spoon to disclose hidden treasures of prawns, inexperienced veggies, fishcake and pork stomach.

As aromatic because the crust was, the bee hoon, nevertheless, turned out to be moderately lacklustre. It didn’t possess the wok flavour that I’d usually get at different institutions. What a pity.

Final ideas

Overall, regardless of some hits and misses, I had a satisfying meal at Hei Bai Chao. Do pay them a go to for those who’re within the neighborhood of Tai Seng. I’ve given my trustworthy suggestions to the house owners, and I’m wanting ahead to a return go to sooner or later.

Expected injury: S$7.80 – S$12.80 per pax

Order Now: foodpanda

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