Yang Zhou Hokkien Sotong Mee – Famous Beo Crescent Hokkien Mee has been FOUND!

Previously located at Blk 40 Beo Crescent for 30 years, before moving to Blk 127 Bukit Merah Lane 1 (near Keng Eng Kee Seafood) in September 2016, Yang Zhou Hokkien Sotong Mee serves lip-smacking Hokkien mee.

I was so glad when I found out that Uncle Lim Bo Si has decided to continue whipping up his specialty! I’ve been frequenting the stall at Beo Crescent ever since I discovered it in 2016. After awhile, I realised that the cook has changed and the new cook told me that Uncle Lim has decided to retire and had since, passed the business on.

Back at Beo Crescent, Uncle Lim fried his Hokkien Sotong Mee over a charcoal fire. The wok hei in the noodles was always soooooo strong. I always took away my noodles because it’s difficult to get a seat during lunchtime. Once I opened the container back in the office, my colleagues would ask “Hokkien mee???”

At the Bukit Merah stall, Uncle Lim uses a regular stove to fry his Hokkien Sotong Mee ($4). The reason, according to Huang Bao Dong (Uncle Lim’s wife), was that they can’t use charcoal at the current venue. Despite that, the particular wok used to fry the noodle, which is not easy to find, still lends wok hei to the noodles.

Uncle Lim’s chili was already extremely sought after when he was at Beo Crescent. He used to charge $0.30 if you requested for more chili on top of the given spoon-size portion. Refusing to reveal all the ingredients(more than 30!) used to make the chili, Auntie Huang admitted that it consists of dried shrimps, belachan (shrimp paste) and of cause, red chili. Surprisingly, Uncle Lim did not implement the charge for extra chili here, though he mentioned that it indeed takes a huge amount of effort to churn out the chili. He makes a new batch almost every 10 days.

Simmered in a prawn and chicken bone broth, the yellow noodle and thick beehoon adequately soaked up all the wonderful flavours of the broth. The dry Hokkien Sotong Mee carried a strong wok hei and you can spot charred bits in the noodles.

For someone who usually doesn’t eat pork lard, I found the combination of crispy pork lard and savoury noodles irresistible. I wished there was more pork lard! Psst, I was supposed to watch my diet for a wedding this weekend. Clearly, I’ve failed the test of temptation but honestly, no regrets!

Advance orders are still allowed. You can call in to order take-aways for your colleagues and collect after the timing suggested by Auntie Huang. How convenient! The truth is, no one knows how thrilled I was to find Uncle Lim 重出江湖 (making a comeback). Not my favourite hokkien mee in Singapore as I prefer the wetter version, but it definitely is an above-average dry plate of goodness!

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