Bak chor mee is the most under-rated Singaporean food. Whenever I go for a long trip and return to Singapore, bak chor mee is the first food I’d eat because you can’t find BCM anywhere else in the world, not even Malaysia. It is, I believe, the only uniquely Singapore dish.

Although BCM originated from a soup version, I don’t like soupy noodles–Singapore is so hot, still drink soup, siao bo?–which means this list will not have the 3 stalls at 85巴刹.

I also prefer mee pok to mee kia, because the former gives a better mouthfeel. So I ordered mee pok for most stalls, unless the stall is famous for mee kia.

It is difficult to judge individual parts of BCM because the parts are small; so this Teochew dish is judged on its harmony, and balance of ingredients, spice, and black vinegar.

In order of ranking, from least favorite to the best bak chor mee in Singapore…

SPECIAL MENTION

Minced Meat Noodle
Blk 477 Tampines St 43 Everyday Come Coffeeshop 天天来咖啡点店 Singapore 520477
6am-1pm, closed alternate Wed

I know I said I won’t be rating soup versions but I woke up early in the morning, braved the peak hour crowd, and took bus here TWICE. First time, it was closed. Second time, I ordered “mee pok dry, less chilli,” and they gave me a soupy bowl with mee kia!

I think soup is their specialty, so I ate it and it was wonderful. The soup managed to be both tasty and light at the same time although the dumplings were too oily (too much lard?). If I live upstairs, I’d eat this often.

Price: $3/ $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Plenty of seats. They deliver the food.
Cons: Ulu.

#47. Seng Kee Mushroom Minced Pork Noodle 胜记香菇肉脞面
49A Serangoon Garden Way, Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre Stall 4, Singapore 555945
7am-2 pm, closed mon
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Known as 叩叩面 or Eunos 1A noodles, with more than 20 years of history, they are known for their soup noodles. For the dry version, the noodles were alkaline and stuck together. I ordered mee pok, it came mee kia. Chilli had no power. The soup was too “porky.” And worst of all, the tip of a piece of lean pork was still pink. Cannot get raw pork leh.

Price: $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: NA.
Cons: Limited parking.

#46. Zhen Ji Minced Meat Noodle  真记香菇肉脞面
Block 29 Bendemeer Road, Bendemeer and Food Centre #01-21 Singapore 330029
5am-1pm

It was my fault that the bowl turned out badly. I was the last customer, and out of sympathy for me, the aunty agreed to make me one last bowl. So she took the ingredients out of the fridge, and uncle cooked it. So the ingredients, even noodles, turned out barely cooked. The seasoning was bland too.

Price: $3
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Plenty of seats. Super nice uncle and aunty.
Cons: NA.

#45. 132 Traditional Teochew Noodles 132传统潮州面 
Blk 59 Marine Terrace #01-105, Chang Cheng Mee Wah Coffeeshop Stall 2, Singapore 440059
7am-4pm. Closed M & 3rd Sun of each month
email: 132meepok@gmail.com

The owner was the delivery boy for tock tock mee 叩叩面, and although tock tock mee guarded his recipe jealously, the eagle-eyed boy watched and learned and opened his own stall. That was in 1969. And he claimed to be the original mee pok man of East Coast [there is a dispute of whom the original is between 321 Mee Pok (#10), Ah Lim (#18), and Jalan Tua Kong Lau Lim (#23)]. Now his son takes over. The secret ingredient is in the sauce with buak keluak, so the noodles had an earthly fragrance. But unfortunately, the fishballs were flat, and the soup overly salty.

Price: $3.50, $4, $5
Waiting Time: 5 people in front of me, 15 min
Pros: Ample parking.
Cons: Inaccessible. Long waiting time. I said, “Less chilli,” but auntie forgot.

#44. AMK Abalone Hainanese Minced Meat Noodle 海南鲍鱼肉脞面
965 Upper Serangoon Road, Mee Sek Food Court 美式食阁, Singapore 534721
24 hours

It was an ok bowl but the fried shallot was so sweet, making the bowl so sweet, ruining it.

Price: $3/ $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: In the same food court as Punggol Nasi Lemak. So you can have options.
Cons: Crows fly in and eat the food. No parking.

#43. Amigo  爱美哥
Blk 2 Changi Village Rd #01-05 Changi Village Market & Food Centre, Singapore 500002
T: +65 9455 3631
M-F 11am – 10pm, Sat, Sun & PH 11am – 9pm, Closed Tue

Amigo serves good noodles and is in our Best Wanton Mee in Singapore too. For bak chor mee, their default is mee pok, so if you want mee kia, you’ll have to ask. Noodles were a bit nuah but I like soft noodles. The stewed mushrooms were sweet, fried dumpling flavorful, but overall, the dish hadn’t got character. Bland, not enough vinegar.

Price: $3.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: No queue. Friendly guy taking orders.
Cons: Hard to find parking at peak hours. Uses plastic spoon, kills the environment and not a good feel in the mouth.

#42. Yan Kee 炎记
21 South Bridge Rd, BK Eating House, Singapore 058661
M-Sat 24 hrs, Closed Sun

Find it strange that they use mee sua because mee sua became soggy quickly and had a strong doughy taste that clashed with the bcm seasoning. But there were lots of ikan bilis, giving a nice crunch, and they spammed vinegar, which I liked.

Price: $4
Waiting Time: 10 min
Pros: Plenty of seats. Central location. You order and they serve you. Long hours.
Cons: NA.

#41. Lu Xiang Ji 露香记
Blk 105 Yishun Ring Road, Chong Pang Market & Food Centre #01-179 Singapore 760105
5.30am-2.30pm, closed Tue

Very old school. Although I didn’t like the sticky sauce, the chilli was damn shiok, potent and fragrant. The fish cake was sliced thicker than usual to give a very nice chewy bite. And you can actually taste the fish in fishballs.

Price: $3
Waiting Time: Slightly less than 10 minutes
Pros: You order, aunty delivers to your table. Aunty has a superb memory, remembering my orders.
Cons: may have trouble parking during peak hours.

#40. Chia Keng Kway Teow Mee 车官粿條面
Block 453A Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, Chong Boon Market & Food Centre #01-11 Singapore 561453
T: +65 9644 6338
7am-1pm, Closed M, Tue, & F

Dunno whether this can be considered bcm or not, since there is no bak chor in this $15 version. I like some heavy-handed food because it’s very shiok, but I dislike some heavy-handed food because it lacks subtlety. Unfortunately, this bowl falls into the latter category. Lots of lard, shallot, vinegar, and grease, but only to mask the inferior ingredients. If the cooking is done right [see Ah Hoe Mee Pok (#2)], even inferior ingredients could taste great.

Price: $3.50-$15.
Waiting Time: 10 minutes. You order, take a queue number and wait for your number to come out on the LED.
Pros: Don’t need to stand. Seats available. Quite easy to find parking despite being Sunday.
Cons: N.A.

#39. Ah Seng Bak Chor Mee 亚成潮州肉脞面
270 Queen Street, Albert Centre Food Centre 雅柏中心 #01-77 Singapore 180270
T: +65 8399 0220
7.30am-4pm, closed Sat
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Didn’t understand the queue. Maybe it was because I ordered the $2.50, which lacked the meatball in the $3 bowl. But still, this was very ordinary. They added broth into the dry mee pok, which diluted the taste.

Price: $2.50/ $3
Waiting Time: 5 people, 13 minutes
Pros: Affordable. Accessible.
Cons: Hawker centre was dirty, nobody was cleaning the plates.

#38. Fishball.Minced Meat Noodles (Sim Lim Square Food Court)
1 Rochor Canal Road, Sim Lim Square, Basement 1, Broadway Food Court stall 2, Singapore 188504

Not a bad bowl. Lots of vinegar. The abalone somehow tasted like lotus-paste in mooncake.

Price: $4/ $5/ $6
Waiting Time: 10 people in front of me, about 15 minutes.
Pros: Plenty of seats. Air-con. Free extra noodles. Freeflow lard.
Cons: Saw a fly landing on their utensils. Told the lady less chilli, she didn’t care.

#37. Ah Kow Mushroom Minced Pork Mee 亚九香菇肉脞麺
531A, Upper Cross Street, #02-42 Hong Lim Food Centre, Singapore 051531
F-Sun 8.30am-3.30pm, Closed M-Th

This is the first hawker I’ve seen that works only 3 days a week. And it was just OK. They use a sticky sauce, which is Ok. But it was surprising they could make such a delicious ingredient as mushroom so bland. [see Tai Wah Pork Noodle (#19) in the same hawker centre.]

Price: $5/ $6
Waiting Time: 25 min
Pros: Since they are open on weekends, Hong Lim is less crowded, easier to find a seat.
Cons: short hours, long queue. Expensive.

#36. Seng Huat Bak Chor Mee Minced Meat Noodles 成发香菇肉脞面
492 North Bridge Road, Seng Huat Eating House, Singapore 188737
24 hours

Normal bowl.

price: $3.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: super convenient.
cons: NA.

#35. Lao Jian Cheng Fish Ball Noodle Minced Meat Noodle 老坚成鱼圆面肉脞面 (Formerly from Farrer Road)
Blk 6 Jalan Bukit Merah, ABC Brickworks Food Centre #01-51 Singapore 150006
7am-3pm

Ok lor. Normal. Nothing special, but it wasn’t bad.

Price: $3, $4, $5
Waiting Time: One person in front of me, 2 minutes.
Pros: Plenty of seats.
Con: Don’t use plastic spoons anymore, it feels bad in the mouth, and kills the environment.

#34. Noi’s Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle 香菇肉脞面 
588 Balestier Road, Teck Seng Coffeeshop 成德, Singapore 329899 (at Jalan Datoh intersection)
7am-2pm

Not memorable, but no flaws. Walk 2 streets for Kim Bak Chor Mee (#1).

Price: $4, $5, $6
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: NA.
Cons: Hard to find parking.

#33. Tian Xin Wanton Noodle 天心云吞面
5 Coleman Street, Sidewalk Eating House, Excelsior Shopping Centre Singapore 179805

An average bowl, slightly over salted, but very generous, with 3 fried wanton, a dollop of mushroom, yu jiao. Japanese businessmen queued for the wanton mee.

Price: $4/ $4.50
Waiting Time: 10 mins
Pros: Friendly and polite aunty. Generous serving.
Cons: Dirty environment. Bird shit on my table.

#32. Chinatown Bak Chor Mee 牛车水
121 Pasir Panjang, Pasir Panjang Food Centre, #01-33 Singapore 118543
M-F 5am-2.30pm. Closed weekends & PH

There is a notice listing it as Top 10 BCM in Singapore, and they proudly proclaim that they handmake their fishballs. It was not bad, but lacked a kick. More vinegar would be better.

Price: $3/ $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Big carpark just before the hawker centre. Plenty of seats.
Cons: N. A.

#31. Teochew St Mushroom Minced Meat Noodle 潮洲街香菇肉脞麵 (Chinatown) 
Blk 335 Smith Street #02-23 Chinatown Food Centre, Singapore 050335
12.30pm-9pm, Closed M & Th

Noodles were old-schooled, sticky, and vinegary. The homemade pork balls were sweet. Not too bad.

Price:$3-$4
Waiting Time: 15 mins
Pros: Plenty of seats.
Cons: N.A.

#30. Toa Payoh Lorong 5 Bak Chor Mee 大巴窑5巷肉脞面
Blk 210, Toa Payoh Lor 8, Toa Payoh Lor 8 Market #01-39 Singapore 310210
Open in the mornings, closed at about 11am-noon

I went FOUR times before I could taste it. The first time, I went to Blk 75 Lor 5 but they had moved. The second and third time, I went at about noon and 2pm and they were closed. On the fourth time, I had to wake up at 7am on a weekend to travel all the way to Toa Payoh.

A unique bowl. The noodles were made herbal by the mushrooms; the soup had a sour, almost stingray-like taste; and the lard were pockets of guiltfree air. But giving 3 fingernail-sized pieces of mushrooms was too little. I’d rather they don’t give the cheap abalone and give more mushrooms.

Price: $3.50/ $4
Waiting Time: 10 mins.
Pros: Very clean stall. Polite and hardworking.
Cons: The carpark is always crowded.

#29. Hup Hup Minced Meat Noodle 合合香菇肉脞麺
Blk 724 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6, Ang Mo Kio Market & Food Centre #01-39 Singapore 560724
11.30am-8pm

Lightly flavored, which was a welcomed change from the usually too heavily handed noodles. Very smooth noodles, slid down my throat. Fun to have keropok to give texture. Nice mushrooms. But why did they put ketchup??? This is not wanton mee!

Price: $3/ $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Lady knows how to control the crowd, instructing them to queue properly. Plenty of seats.
Cons: NA.

#28. Chai Chee Bak Chor Mee aka 大巴窑潮州鱼圆面
Blk 512 Tampines Central 1, #01-09 East Link Food Court 东联坊食阁, Tampines Bus Interchange, Singapore 520512

There are 2 signboards here, one saying “Chai Chee”, the other saying “Toa Payoh.” But there are newspapers cuttings on the stall front so I reckon it’s the one. The best thing in this bowl of bcm was the soup, robust and light at the same time, very refreshing. And the ingredients were well marinated and peppery. But why did they add ketchup as the sauce? This is not wanton mee.

Price: $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: air con.
Cons: N. A.

#27. Lian Kee 莲记
120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, #01-50 Alexandra Village Food Centre, Singapore 150120
7.30am-2pm, closed M

They make a show that they carefully cook each bowl, and a show that their mushroom is blazed with charcoal fire – and the results showed. Very nice texture of noodles, umami mushrooms. I also liked their thick fishcakes which gave a good bite. But the soup was overly peppery.

Price: $3, $3.50, $4
Waiting Time: 6 persons in front of me, 10 minutes. I won’t queue for it.
Pros: Plenty of seats.
Cons: Limited parking.

#26. Punggol Noodles 榜鹅干面
Block 105 Hougang Ave 1, Hainanese Village Centre #02-24 Singapore 530105
8am-3pm, closed Mon
T: +65 9722 5590
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Not bad. The unique item is the meatball, very sweet, and meaty, with a nice rough texture.

Price: $2.50/ $3
Waiting Time: 3 people in front of me, 5 minutes.
Pros: Lots of tables and seats. Freeflow lard and salted bamboo shoots (?). Aunty was very nice to me. She changed a small ball to a big ball for me.
Cons: Many cars.

#25. Chun Fu Fishball Minced Meat Noodle Laska 春福鱼圆肉脞面
Blk 209 Hougang Street 21 #01-04 Kovan Hougang Market & Food Centre Singapore 530209

Saw lots of people queuing so I queued lor. The special thing here is that they give 2 fishballs, 1 fishcake ball, and 1 pork ball. Very flavorful mushrooms. But the noodles and seasoning were so so. (Also see Yam Mee (#20) and Fa Ji (#21) in the same hawker centre.)

Price: $3.50/ $4.50
Waiting Time: 25 min.
Pros: NA.
Cons: Hard to find parking.

#24. Yong Kee Famous Fish Ball Noodle 荣记驰名鱼圆面
6 Jalan Bukit Merah, ABC Brickworks Food Centre #01-121, Singapore 150006
7am-2pm

The lady asked me, “Do you want the meatball?” But it wasn’t so much meatball; it was more like fish ball mixed with a bit of meat paste. The ball was good: very sweet, with a pungent herb. The noodles were good too, had a smokey aroma, but unfortunately the liver turned out powdery.

Price: $3 (without meatballs)/ $4 (with 2 meatballs)
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Plenty of seats.
Cons: N.A.

#23. Jalan Tua Kong Lau Lim 惹蘭大公老林面薄粿條面
308 Bedok Road, Bedok Shopping Centre, Simpang Bedok, Singapore 469469
7am-3pm, closed M
T: +65 9764 2444 / 6241 0201
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Noodles were doughy and sticky-sauced, but the flavoring was robust. It was a balanced bowl, but I can’t see what the specialty is; I wouldn’t wait 25 minutes for it again, nor would I travel. [See Ah Lim (#18), 321 Mee Pok (#10), and 132 Mee Pok (#45) for their claims of whom the original mee pok man is. Also at Simpang Bedok are Ah Lim (#18) and Ming Fa (#16) – tough fight, man.]

Price: $4.50, $5.50, $6.50
Waiting Time: I was there on a weekday morning and waited for 25 minutes. Don’t people need to work?!
Pros: Lots of seats. You order at the counter, they deliver to you.
Cons: Hard to find parking during peak hours. Flies everywhere.

#22. Ah Guan Mee Pok aka Guan’s Mee Pok 正宗阿源面薄
1 Kadayanallur Street, Maxwell Market #01-99, Singapore 069184
T: +65 9734 5516
7am-3pm, closed Wed
Other outlet: People’s Park Centre (10.30am-8pm, closed Sun)
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In 1973, the apprentice started with Sin Kian Heng (Ang Mo Kio), and broke away in 1995 to open his own shop, Ah Guan Mee Pok. Shifted a few times from West Coast to Guillemard to Maxwell. They serve normal bak chor mee, and they also sell more premium versions, with added seafood. The texture was good, but it was a tad bland for me.

Price: $3.50-$8.50
Waiting Time: 10 mins
Pros: Different varieties of seafood, including sea prawns, sotong, etc.
Cons: Limited seats during peak hours.

#21. Fa Ji Minced Meat Fishball Noodle 发记肉脞鱼圆面
Blk 209 Hougang Street 21 #01-05 Kovan Hougang Market & Food Centre Singapore 530209
Closed Wed

A good bowl. Love how the liver was cooked perfectly, inside still pink. Strange I tasted floral notes and fish sauce. But they went well together. (Also see Yam Mee #20 and Chun Fu #25 in the same hawker centre.)

Price: $3.50/ $4.50
Waiting Time: long queue but fast. 10 mins.
Pros: 帅cook with fashionable hair style.
Cons: Hard to find parking.

#20. Yam Mee Teochew Fishball Mee 炎成潮州鱼圆面
209 Hougang St. 21, Kovan Market #01-35 Singapore 530209
7am-3pm

A very good bowl. Al dente noodles, so there was a nice bite. 3 fishballs & a meatball, quite good value. The mushrooms might be overly salted, but the fried shallot provided texture. (Also see Fa Ji #21 and Chun Fu #25 in the same hawker centre.)

Price: $3.50/ $4.50
Waiting Time: 8 min
Pros: Long queue but super fast. One of the fastest hawkers I’ve seen. They have two stalls, two cooks, two ladies to take orders.
Cons: Hard to find parking.

#19. High Street Tai Wah Pork Noodle
531A, Upper Cross Street, #02-16 Hong Lim Food Centre, Singapore 051531
9.30am-7.30pm

Tai Wah’s owner is brother of Tai Hwa (#4) who sued his nephew Lau Dai Hua (#17). But family feud aside, this was a good bowl. There were complex flavors in it: slightly sweet evolving into a savory vinegar, and pungent from the sole fish. (see Ah Kow Mee Pok #37 in the same hawker centre.)

Price: $5/ $6 / $8
Waiting Time: 20 min (Think the uncle in front of me bought enough to feed his army of orcs back at Mordor)
Pros: despite the queue, and each patron ordering enough for a village, they work out am efficient system that goes fast.
Cons: Expensive.

#18. Ah Lim Mee Pok You Mian Kway Teow Mee 阿林面薄 粿條面水饺汤
15 Upper East Coast Road, Soy Eu Tua Coffee Shop 小而大餐室, Singapore 455207
New outlet at Simpang Bedok
T: +65 6443 9298
7am-3pm, closed alt Mon

Another one embroiled in the 4-way claims of whom the original mee pok man is [see 321 Mee Pok (#10), 132 Mee Pok (#45), and Jalan Tua Kong Lau Lim (#23)]. Established since 1962, this bcm had very q prawns, very bouncy fishballs, rich soup, but too “porky” meatballs, and the noodles were sticky and doughy. They have a new swanky restaurant at Simpang Bedok… wah, tough 3-way fight there between them, Ming Fa (#16), and Jalan Tua Kong Lau Lim (#23).

Price: $3.50, $4.50, $5.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Big carpark across the street. You order, they deliver.
Cons: I ordered, “Less chilli,” but it wasn’t less chilli.

#17. Lau Dai Hua Minced Pork Noodles 老大华
2 Orchard Turn, ION Orchard, Food Opera #B4-03/04 Singapore 238801
10am-10pm
Other outlet: Vivocity (Food Republic)

It was in the news that Tai Hwa (#4) sued his nephew, owner of Lau Dai Hua, for allegedly trying to pass off this new stall as the original. This family has 99 problems but the food ain’t one (also see Tai Hua #19). This was a good bowl of bcm. The soup was beautiful, with an underlying salted veg scent, that undercut the richness of the noodles. The pork items were overcooked, but the mee pok–which was broader than usual–was springy.

Price: $5.50, $7.50, $9.50
Waiting time: 0
Pros: Convenient. Air con.
Cons: Expensive. Crowded food court.

#16. Ming Fa Fishball 明发鱼圆 
246B Upper Thomson Road, Thomson Garden Estate, Singapore 574370
24 hours
Other outlets: Simpang Bedok, Blk 26A Chai Chee, Holland Village Market, Blk 37 Jalan Rumah Tinggi, People’s Park Food Centre, Chinatown Complex Market, and Golden Shoe Food Centre
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I went to the Simpang Bedok outlet because I was there for  Lau Lim (#23). (Also see Ah Lim #18 which has a new outlet at Simpang). What did Ming Fa put in their noodles? It had a smoky flavor, and after eating it, my mouth was an ashtray–I liked it. The soup was tangy, appetizing, but the pork was tough and powdery. It had a big ball that you could not swallow whole; well, I couldn’t, maybe you can. ;p

Price: $4, $5
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Very sharp business acumen: they did market research and open shops in areas where there are no good bak chor mee, no competition (except Simpang Bedok). They are also the most technologically savvy company; they have facebook, instagram and a hashtag #mingfafishball. Plenty of seats.
Cons: Hard to find parking during peak hours.

#15. Meng Kee Mushroom Minced Meat Abalone Noodle and Fishball Noodle 明记香菇肉脞鲍鱼面鱼圆面
29 Tai Thong Crescent, Stall 5 Lao Zhong Zhong Eating House 老中中, Singapore 347858

This stall has premium abalone noodles that go for $10 but I stuck with BCM. The only fault lies with the doughy dumpling. The pork balls had a fantastic bouncy bite, and was sweet–did they mix it with fish meat? The soup had fragrance of abalone and the noodles were robust with enough vinegar.

Price: $5, $6, $7
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: NA
Cons: Hard to get there. Limited parking. When I asked the guy if this stall used to be “Jackson Noodles,” he demurred and didn’t give a straightforward answer.

#14. Sixties Chaozhou Traditional Minced Meat Noodle
Blk 71, Seng Poh Road #01-49, Singapore 160071
7.30am till sold out, closed th
T: +65 8372 3913

The noodles were hard and uncooked, and the soup too peppery, robbing the taste of the soup. But the mushrooms were super, and the wantons were heavy handed (which I liked). Was there an aftertaste of nam yu?

Price: $3
Waiting Time: 3 persons in front of me, but took 10 minutes.
Pros: Neat and clean.
Cons: Have to stand in front of the stall to queue. Steam and hot water splatter on the customers.

#13. Jin Xi lai (Mui Siong) Minced Meat Noodle 金喜来梅松肉脞面
Blk 1 Rochor Road, Rochor Centre, Good Time Coffee Shop 好时光咖啡店 #01-612, Singapore 180001

The pork meat and liver were a bit undercooked, which might be hazardous, but they were nicely chewy and had a clean bite. The noodles were sweet and sour with vinegar. A very simple bowl, but sometimes simplicity works.

Price: $3/ $3.50
Waiting Time: 35 minutes.
Pros: You order, get a number, and they deliver to you.
Cons: The birds shit everywhere.

#12. Xin Mei Fishball Minced Meat Noodle 新美鱼园肉脞面
64 Loyang Way, Loyang Way Food Village 洛阳食村, Singapore 508754
M-F 6am-4.30pm, Sat 6am-2pm

The char siew was tough but added a sweetness and complexity to the vinegary, robust bowl. The pork ball was smelly, but my mind was blown by its fish dumpling–explosive flavor! They use a narrower mee pok (linguine?), and it was so slurp-worthy I couldn’t stop eating (although I knew I had to visit 2 more BCM stalls that day).

Price: $3.50/ $3.80/ $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Free parking.
Cons: Inaccessible.

#11. Lai Heng Mushroom Minced Meat Mee 来兴香菇肉脞面 
Blk 51 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #01-62 Nghee Huat Eating House 义发美食, Singapore 310051
8.30am-4pm, Closed Wed
T: +65 9620 2074

They don’t serve mee pok here, but the texture of mee kia was excellent, chewy but not tough. Robust seasoning, with little umami bombs of mushroom, but they gave cheap abalone here, instead of fishcakes. I rather a good fishcake to a not-good abalone.

Price: $4, $5, $6
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: They dominate the entire coffeeshop so plenty of tables. Big parking space.
Cons: Weird queuing system. You order, take a queue number, and when they ding-dong for your number, you collect it. But the LED signboard for the number is right in front of the stall, so you’ll still have to stand around the stall anyway. Why don’t they install an LED signboard along the pavement of the coffeeshop where the tables are?

#10. 321 Mee Pok Kway Teow 321面薄粿條面
727 East Coast Road, New Leaf Park Food Paradise 新叶园美食天地, Singapore 459073
T: +65 6449 7907
Closed Tue

We liked it that the ingredients were placed in the soup, separated from the noodles. The soup was POWER, so robust, very sweet–was it coconut we tasted as an underlying base? But unfortunately, the noodles had so much chilli it turned bittersweet. In the 4-way battle of whom the authentic mee pok stall is between 321 Mee Pok, 132 (#45), Ah Lim (#18) and Lau Lim (#23), we only know we like this bowl best.

Price: $3.50, $4, $4.50
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: N.A.
Cons: I ordered, “Less chilli,” but it wasn’t less chilli.

#9. Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee 建记辣椒板面
534 MacPherson Road, Singapore 368220
T: +65 6743 1372
11am–8pm
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Purists would say this is not bak chor mee. Ok lah, it doesn’t have vinegar but it has bak chor (minced meat), and it’s my excuse to pay it a visit. It came with minced meat, pork balls, ikan bilis, and a poached egg. You add the dry chilli flakes yourself, and it was awesome. The spice acted as enhancement to give flavors, not those super overpowering type. The ikan bilis was so crispy, added a nice texture to the thick noodles.

Price: $5
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Air-con!
Cons: Limited parking.

#8. Lam’s Abalone Noodle 阿南鲍鱼面
6 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square #04-102C Singapore 039594
Th-Sun 11am-9, F, Sat & PH eve 11am-9.30pm
Other outlets: Parkway Parade (Food Republic), Causeway Point (Food Republic), 460 Race Course Road
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Didn’t expect to like this bowl so much. The sticky, sweet sauce made the noodles very tasty, although the noodles were slightly undercooked. The Japanese egg was perfect. Didn’t know they could make a yonic abalone into a phallic shape but it worked and was delicious.

Price: $4/ $5/ $6.80
waiting time: 0
Pros: surprised to find a really decent bowl of bcm at food court. Fantastic collagen-rich soup.
Cons: it felt very manufactured, no heart.

#7. Parklane Teochew Mushroom Minced Meat Mee
231 Bain Street, Bras Basah Complex #01-79 Coffee Express 2000 Food Court, Singapore 180231

The soup was robust, the dumpling flavorful, and the seasoning was complex. It has two kinds of sourness, from the vinegar and from a lime-like flavor. Quite fascinating.

Price: $4.30/ $5.30
Waiting Time: 15 minutes
Pros: Air con. Good service. A customer ordered wrongly, but the hawker didn’t mind, threw away the noodles, and made a new one. Actually, he could have given that bowl to the next customer, but still good service.
Cons: NA.

#6. Ah Hor Teochew Kway Teow Mee 亚河潮州粿条面
12 Verdun Road, Kim San Leng Coffeeshop (Verdun Road) 金山玲(三龙街), Verdun House 华而登大厦 Singapore 207278
7am-3pm, closed Wed
T: +65 8127 4249

Blew my mind away. Super pungent shallot oil, super aromatic belachan chilli, umami mushroom. All flavors came together like the last piece of jigsaw fitting in.

Price: $3/$4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: Plenty of seats
Cons: NA

#5. Macpherson Minced Meat Noodles 麦波申肉脞面
1382 Serangoon Road Singapore 328254
6.30am-2pm
T: +65 9757 9297

Marvelous! The cooking skill is top notch, one of the few bcm that got the texture of the noodles just right: al dente with a nice bite. You can taste that the pureness of the soup, using mainly pork as its base, unlike other stalls that throw in other ingredients to boost the flavors. They use yellowtail to make their fishcake, and in addition to the crispy lard, they give thin strips of braised pork belly.

Price: $4
Waiting Time: 0
Pros: many tables, big coffeeshop. You order, they deliver.
Cons: limited parking. Inaccessible.

#4. Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle 大华肉脞粿條面
Blk 466 Crawford Lane #01-12, 大华餐室 Tai Hwa Eating House, Singapore 190465
T: +65 6292 7477
9.30am – 8pm (Closed on 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month)

The website says it only has one and only stall, no outlets, implying something about his brother’s shop Tai Wah (#19), and his nephew’s Lau Dai Hua (#17). We arrived at 11.31am and got our food at 1.00pm.

But wow. Such an amazing bowl. Everything was perfect from the liver to the texture of noodles to the vinegary and tasteful seasoning to the seaweed flavorful soup. They didn’t do anything special but the taste was blissful. How did they cook this?!

But that said, waiting 15 minutes for this bowl was fine. Waiting 90 minutes?! We rather not queue again.

Price: $5/ $8/ $10
Waiting Time: 90 minutes. Each customer can take up to 5 minutes.
Pros: lots of tables.
Cons: freaking long waiting time, because super slow cooking. Mr Fitness joked, “The uncle is so unpatriotic. This kind of efficiency is unacceptable in Singapore.” Bad tempered uncle. The cooking area isn’t very clean.

#3. Jurong 58 Minced Meat Noodle 裕廊58肉脞面
3 Yung Sheng Road, Taman Jurong Market #03-150 Singapore 618499
6am-2pm

Wow. What a gorgeous bowl of BCM. The noodles were a tad starchy, but the seasoning was well balanced of spice and vinegar. The liver was cooked perfectly off-pink, and the mushroom gave its umami. This bowl had the taste of nostalgia and kampong.

Price: $2.50, $3, $3.50
Waiting Time: 9 people in front of me, 20 mins.
Pros: Plenty of seats. Affordable.
Cons: During peak hours, hard to find parking. Inconvenient.

#2. Ah Hoe Mee Pok 阿和面薄
Blk 710 Clementi West St 2, Weng Kwang Coffee House, Singapore 120710
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5.30am-4.30pm, Closed M

I think Singaporeans want to punish the Japanese for their WWII Occupation because the customers are working the Japanese cook, Naoji Kuribara, to death. Even the lady taking orders is Japanese. The person in front of me ta-bao-ed 5 packets, and the person before him ta-bao-ed 8 packets.

It was a joy watching the Japanese cook perform the cooking–a precise, sharp flicking movement at a precise timing. And the texture in this bowl was AMAZING. I had never eaten noodles like this before. A clean bite. In fact, every item’s texture was fantastic. Even the 5 slices of abalone, which I never liked at hawker stalls, had a marvellous bouncy bite and was so sweet–it was inconceivable how he could have made cheap abalone taste like it was expensive!

I got the $10 crayfish bak chor mee, because I already queued for half an hour, why go for normal? Like everything else in the bowl, the crayfish was cooked precisely, just at the right moment: the outside white, the inside slightly translucent–such a great texture. And in between the crayfish, he stuffed lots of minced meat, and lots of LARD, to flavor the light crayfish. $10 for crayfish, 5 meatballs, 5 slices of abalone – worth it!

This stall should and could have been #1 but the reason it isn’t is because I find the taste subdued and tame and robotic, like it could have been produced by machines. Undeniably, there is great accomplishment in his cooking skills, but isn’t cooking also about flair, personality, and emotions?

Price: $3.50, $4.50, $10 (for crayfish)
Waiting Time: 6 persons in front of me, 30 minutes.
Pros: Plenty of parking, plenty of tables. Clean and neat.
Cons: Very, very long waiting time because everyone is ta-baoing for their village.

#1. Kim Bak Chor Mee 金
558 Balestier Road #01-400, Singapore 329874 (at intersection of Ah Hood Rd)
7am-3.30pm, closed Fri

WIN. They do deep-fried items especially well here: the golden shallots, the pungent sole fish, and beautiful lard in noodles with sticky sauce that tasted similar to hor fun sauce. If the noodles get too jerlat, drink the soup. The soup was reminiscent of salted veg pork soup. And we love that the ingredients are separated from the noodles. But a pity the liver was in the soup, and became over-cooked.

Price: $4.
Waiting Time: 2 customers in front me, 5 minutes.
Pros: You order, they deliver. No MSG.
Cons: Hard to find parking.

Best Bak Chor Mee in Singapore (in ranking)

#1. Kim Bak Chor Mee 金 (Balestier)
#2. Ah Hoe Mee Pok 阿和面薄 (Clementi)
#3. Jurong 58 Minced Meat Noodle 裕廊58肉脞面 (Jurong)
#4. Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle 大华肉脞粿條面 (Lavender)
#5. Macpherson Minced Meat Noodles 麦波申肉脞面 (Serangoon Rd/Macpherson)
#6. Ah Hor Teochew Kway Teow Mee 亚河潮州粿条面 (Little India)
#7. Parklane Teochew Mushroom Minced Meat Mee (Bras Basah/ Bugis/ City Hall)
#8. Lam’s Abalone Noodle 阿南鲍鱼面 (various outlets)
#9. Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee 建记辣椒板面 (Tai Seng/ Macpherson)
#10. 321 Mee Pok Kway Teow 321面薄粿條面 (East Coast)

For your convenience, I’ve created a map: Best Bak Chor Mee in Singapore. The color codes:
Lilac: Breakfast only
Gold: Breakfast & Lunch
Moss Green: Lunch & Dinner
Red: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Lime Green: 24 hours
Sky Blue: Unknown opening hours

You may be interested in…
Best Wanton Mee in Singapore
Best Prata in Singapore
Best Chicken Rice in Singapore
Best Nasi Lemak in Singapore

Disclaimer: Unlike print media and other blogs, we do not take money from the stall owners to put them on the list. We also do not know any stall owners. We queue up, and pay on our own, without knowing the owners, and leave quietly. This is a completely unbiased and fair list.

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.