Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre the most popular hawker centres in Singapore, located in the serene neighbourhood of Tiong Bahru, one of the oldest housing estates in Singapore.
Aside from the roast meats and chwee kueh, this hawker place is known for its Lor Mee with two stalls famous for it – Lor Mee 178 (#02-58) and Tiong Bahru Lor Mee (#02-80). Both have equally long queues.
Another interesting thing is there is a “Tiong Bahru Lor Mee” found at Old Airport Road Food Centre.
Lor Mee 178 has been listed in the Singapore’s Michelin Guide with a “Michelin Plate” (not “star”) for quite a number of years, previously also frequently featured in local television food programmes.
If you are a Lor Mee connoisseur, this should be in your radar.
There is usually a moderately long queue though, with about say a 15 – 20 minutes’ wait. The stall often sells outs before its indicated closing time of 2:30pm as well.
Lor Mee 178’s signature Lor Mee ($3.00) is a bowl of thick, flat yellow noodles in viscous gravy (the lor.
Unlike the ones in other Lor Mees, its flavourful gravy is not too starchy and has a good consistency to it. You could finish slurping a bowl without feeling too full.
I personally think that the lor was tasty and balanced, though slightly on the safe side. (Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee at Old Airport Road Food Centre still gets my vote for the lor.)
Some customers may feel that the $3 bowl is too ‘basic’ as it lacks of the usual ingredients such as ngor hiang and very thin-slices of braised pork belly.
I would suggest going for the upgraded version with additional topping of crispy fried shark fritter ($4.00), evidently the winning element in this dish.
Perfectly deep-fried, the battered shark meat was extremely crispy. If you like, you could leave them soaking in your gravy.
Though crisp, the shark meat was rather bland so it is best to let the nuggets absorb all the flavours in the gravy. I was expecting the meat to taste tougher or well more special, but the winning formula was in the batter.
To complement the savoury flavours, add a drizzle of the Chinkiang rice-based black vinegar for some sour notes, some minced garlic, and for spice lovers, a dollop or two of sambal chili.
I would usually add on both the braised egg and fishcakes (60 cents each) as well.
Lor Mee 178 鹵麵178
30 Seng Poh Rd, #02-58 Tiong Bahru Market & Food Centre, Singapore 168898
Opening Hours: 7am – 2:30pm (Tue – Sun), Closed Mon
Other Related Entries
Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee (Old Airport Road Food Centre)
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