Grandfather Food Empire Bak Chor Mee – Bak Chor Mee With a Very Shiok Chilli Blend!

The coffeeshop opposite Bugis+ (3838 Eating House) is a popular dining spot. Besides Rong Liang Ge Cantonese Roasted Duck and Eleven Finger Scissors Curry Rice, the coffee shop is also home to the newly-opened Grandfather Food Empire Bak Chor Mee.

55-year-old Terence used to sell Grandfather Bak Chor Mee stall at a coffeeshop in Siglap but the stall closed down during the pandemic. Terence is easy to spot as he is always wearing a cowboy hat when he’s cooking.

The Bak Chor Mee here is available in both dry and soup versions, and comes in three sizes — $5, $6 and $7.  Whether you pick mee kia, mee pok, kway teow or mee tai mak, the noodles are all blanched in their pork bone broth. The noodles are topped with minced pork, meatballs, pork slices, lard and a spoonful of sole fish powder (ti-poh).

The pork slices were tender and the liver was cooked to perfection. The addition of braised mushrooms lends a deep earthy savouriness to each bite. They deep fry their own sole fish, and crush it into powder. The sole fish adds a lovely fragrance to the ensemble.

Every strand of my al dente mee kia was coated evenly in a glistening sauce that is a concoction of house-made chilli, vinegar and soy sauce.  The piquant chilli paste was intense, and certainly packed a punch. The spicy blend was zhnged-up with vinegar and crispy pork cracking, and we loved it.

This is a hearty portion of bak chor mee, with a more-than-decent amount of ingredients and awesome spicy chilli blend. If you are really hungry, go for the $7 portion which comes with a mountain of ingredients. If you can’t take spice, remember to tell them to tone it down for you.