Fa Ji Minced Meat Fishball Noodle – Bak Chor Mee with Super Shiok Lard & Chilli

It seems like residents in Kovan love minced meat fishball noodles. At Kovan Market and Food Centre, there are three very popular minced meat fishball noodles — Chun Fu Fishball Minced Meat Noodle Laksa (春福鱼圆肉脞面.叻沙, #01-04), Fa Ji Minced Meat Fishball Noodle (发记肉脞鱼圆面, #01-05) and Yam Mee Teochew Fishball Noodle (炎成潮州鱼丸面, #01-35). Everyday during lunch and dinner, expect to see queues at not one, but all three stalls.

I would have thought that the three stall owners are enemies, since they sell the same dishes. Moreover, Chun Fu Fishball Minced Meat Noodle Laksa and Fa Ji Minced Meat Fishball Noodle are just side by side. But I was wrong. One day, while I was having lunch here, I spotted the hawkers talking and laughing with each other while cooking the noodles. That was such a rare sight. And to make things even more interesting, the three stalls had purposely plan their off-days to be different from one other, so that residents will get to enjoy fishball noodles no matter what day it is. I love to hear about such camaraderie (or some say kampung spirit) among hawkers.

Just two weeks ago, I dropped by the market to buy breakfast and decided to queue for Fa Ji Minced Meat Fishball Noodle. To my surprise, it was cooked by 29-year-old Aloysius. He caught my attention because he was really swift in his cooking and my bowl of noodles was really not bad!

I won’t say I frequented the stall but I went there for dinner quite a few times on the weekends but I never met the young hawker. It’s always his uncle who works the evening shift. It’s nice to finally meet Aloysius.

Aloysius is the third generation hawker at Fa Ji Minced Meat Fishball Noodle. He has been helping out at his father’s stall since he was still in school. His grandmother and father first started selling wanton noodles in Geylang. After the market was demolished, they moved to Kovan Market and decided to sell minced meat fishball noodles instead.

The menu is simple. There’s minced meat noodles, laksa and curry noodles. Singapore’s hot weather deters me from having anything too spicy, so I usually order the minced meat noodles. You can even purchase the handmade fish cake at $1.50.

I think Fa Ji’s chilli and lard make the noodles exceptional. The noodles were not overcooked and retained a pretty good bite. They were tossed in an addictive sauce that’s heavily perfumed with lard and loaded with fiery chilli that carried a hint of sweetness. Fa Ji is quite heavy handed with the seasoning.

The pork slices were tender and the lightly-cooked liver was awesome. The vinegar was not overpowering, and worked beautifully with the chilli sauce. The portion is really generous so big eaters will definitely be pleased.

I hardly order laksa or curry chicken noodles, but when I returned on a wet and chilly day, the spicy noodles called out to me. Tender steamed chicken in a rich curry broth swimming with taupok. What’s not to love? You can add a spoonful of sambal if you want it to be more spicy. The same broth is used for the laksa. What a comforting bowl of noodles!

I have tried all three stalls, and to be really honest (not a PR answer), three of them are really above average. Even though they sell the same dishes, but in terms of seasonings and ingredients, all of them have different recipes and use different suppliers. So it really boils down to personal preference.

For me, I prefer Fa Ji Minced Meat Fishball Noodle because I like stronger flavours, and Fa Ji’s chilli sauce really won me over.

READ: 27 Bak Chor Mee Singaporeans Love

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.