(Closed) Bukit Purmei Lor Mee is back – Now at West Coast Drive!

There are some hawker food that I always return for comfort, especially after all the festive feasting. One of them is lor mee – a garlicky bowl of noodles in thick gravy with additional vinegar. When I heard that Bukit Purmei Lor Mee is back in action again, it got me very excited!

I visited their Bukit Purmei outlet 5 years ago while I was still writing for the papers. That was one of the most memorable hawker feature I did. Owner Mr. Zhang started helping out his dad in Bukit Ho Swee from the 1950s when he was 8 years old. In the 1960s, the stall has moved to Tiong Bahru where Mr. Zhang was the first to serve the fried fish lor mee before he moved to a coffeeshop in Bukit Purmei.

Even when the queue stretches all the way to the bus stop in front of coffeeshop, Mr Zhang remains dedicated in serving good bowl of lor mee with a smile. Unfortunately, as age catches up, Mr Zhang suffered from a heart attack and had to give up his one and only lor mee stall in Bukit Purmei.

After taking a year of rest, Mr Zhang is back in action. Even though he is now frail and no longer cooks the lor mee, he still prepares the ingredients and “lor” every morning. I visited him last Friday but unfortunately, he was closed. He said that the doctor advised him not to overwork, so he rests on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Even so, he still visits the stall to prepare ingredients and do some cleaning.

We went back the second time on yesterday (Sunday) at 10am. The queue snakes all the way to the entrance of the coffee shop (yes, it’s even longer than Ah Hoe Mee Pok). Honestly, the queue moves very slowly because his wife and niece are now fronting the stall and still getting used to the processes.

After 1 hour 30 mins, we finally got our lor mee! While I still prefer the old school kind of shredded fish meat instead of fried fish nuggets, their “lor” (braising sauce) made with a combination of pork ribs, egg-white, “five-spice” powder and starch is still as good. The dark, viscous sauce is thick and sticky, punctuated with copious lashings of black vinegar, homemade chilli sambal and pepper. The vinegar here is not the usual off-the-shelve kind. It’s aromatic and enhances the flavour of the gravy.

Each bowl of lor mee ($3 / $3.50 / $4.50) is loaded with sliced fish cakes, braised pork belly and the signature flour nuggets. Every ingredient added into the bowl complements each other very well and these crunchy morsels probably sets it apart from the rest. Fans of bukit purmei lor mee, you know where to head for lunch next! 🙂

Bukit Purmei Lor Mee

Address: Blk 501 West Coast Drive, Singapore 120501
Opening Hours: 7.30am to 1.30pm, closed every Monday, Tuesday & Friday

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