Moustache Lee – Super Affordable Taiwanese Food in the Heartlands of Ang Mo Kio

Man, did I wish I had more food options in the neighbourhood my secondary school was in. The students of Anderson Secondary School and Nanyang Polytechnic are in luck because a wallet-friendly Taiwanese stall is all but a stone’s throw away from them. With everything on the menu priced below $6, Moustache Lee serves up filling meals without cleaning out your allowance. 

A pair of childhood friends in their late twenties imports their ingredients from Taiwan and adapted Taiwanese recipes to suit the taste buds of Singaporeans who live, work and study nearby.

Their menu is pretty streamlined as they take pride in preparing most of their dishes from scratch, featuring only four mains and bento sets with side dishes like plum powder-dusted Sweet Potato Fries ($4), Taiwan Sausage ($3) and Tau Gua ($1). 

I decided to get the Braised Pork Bento ($5.90) as it contains added ingredients of braised egg, vegetables and Taiwan Sausage so I don’t have to get those as sides. For those who prefer their rice bowls plain and simple, go for the no-frills Braised Pork Rice ($3.80/4.30). 

The fatty melt-in-your-mouth braised pork was very appetising! I wish they gave me more because it wasn’t nearly enough to go with the pearl rice. I felt like they could have afforded to be a little more generous with the sauce for it to really seep into the grains below, but that’s just me speaking as someone who enjoys heavy flavours. My companion (who absolutely loves rice) thought that it was plenty good though! 

Remember how I said I got the bento set so that I didn’t have to get the sides? I take that back because I really enjoyed their Taiwan sausages, and had to order more. These moreish slices were savoury, yet sweet, and was a pleasant change of pace from the lu rou. As for the braised egg, it was sadly lackluster in comparison. 

Next up was the Mee Sua ($4). This is one dish that has been adapted the most (in my opinion) for Moustache Lee’s target audience. Instead of plump oysters and braised intestines, shredded chicken graced the top of this sumptuous-looking bowl. Regrettably, the absence of the classic ingredients made the bowl a little boring after a few mouthfuls. 

The mee sua had also been cut shorter, making it easy to spoon everything up, chicken and all. 

The bonito-flakes-and-chicken-bones broth was noticeably less gao (thick) than what you’d get from the streets of Taiwan itself. While that suits my personal preference more, I have to admit this soupy version made it easier to finish this fairly large bowl. 

Onwards to the sides, I had seen a review recommending the Radish Soup ($3) so I took a leap of faith. And it was a pretty boring leap. On the plus side, the portion was huge (which probably shouldn’t be surprising, given its price), and the soup had a couple of pork ribs as well. 

The soup wasn’t bland but the taste of the radish didn’t manage to permeate into the broth. Just your regular ol’ vegetable soup. But it was nice munching on the chonky pieces of radish to clear out my palate from the heady main dishes. 

The Salt & Pepper Chicken ($4/5) painted a yummy picture with its crunchy, golden-brown hue but besides that, it tasted like your average popcorn chicken that you could probably get at a lower cost in the school canteen. 

It was sprinkled with salt, pepper and five-spice seasoning but it wasn’t enough to give the chicken chunks flavour. Tasted alright, but I’ll ultimately give it a pass. 

All in all, Moustache Lee is a good place for affordable Taiwanese fare that’s still pretty good value-for-money.

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

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