Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle Before you read the blow-by-blow account of this family feud, SoShiok.com would like to say that the 'original' Bak Chor Mee at Block 466 off North Bridge Road still reigns as the best. *******************************************************************
Where: Block 466, Crawford Lane, 01-12 (on the right side of North Bridge Road before the Jalan Sultan junction)
Open: 9.30am to 9pm daily, closed on the first and third Monday every month
After moving from Hill Street, it ruled the open-air food court at Marina Square with long queues before moving to its current location.
If you think you need not have to queue again, even on a sleepy Sunday afternoon, you're wrong. Fans from all over the island still journey here for their vinegary noodles. You still have to wait for the meat ingredients to be freshly cooked and you still get the flavourful, piquant noodles enriched with chilli sauce and lard.
Bak Chor Mee King Tang Chay Seng still manages to infuse his springy noodles with the right blend of strong vinegar, sauces, chilli paste and meaty ingredients while many Bak Chor Mee sellers fail.
The vinegar is usually lost in the noodles, so there isn't the kind of kick that Tai Hwa always delivers.The soup is always tasty with meat essence, so the noodle-soup version is also good.
And the addition of crispy dried plaice (flatfish) pieces is always a delight, adding a pleasant savoury-fishy favour and aroma.
This Bak Chor Mee certainly deserves SoShiok.com's rating of four or even five chillis especially when the master cooks it himself instead of a helper. -SoShiok.com
Article by The Sunday Times:
Singapore, December 28, 2008 - Brothers Tung Chye Hong, 64, and Tang Chay Seng, 61, used to stand shoulder to shoulder, toiling at the famous Tai Hwa minced pork noodle store their father started in Hill Street in the 1930s.
Those happy days, however, are a thing of the past.
The cause: An advertisement that the older brother’s son, Arthur, 38, took to promote his new minced pork noodle outlet, Lau Dai Hua, at Food Republic in VivoCity.
The advertisement in Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao on Nov 5 said that the stall “Da Hua” (pinyin translation), “formerly from... Hill Street” had “moved to VivoCity”.
This enraged Chay Seng, who has been selling the noodles for more than 40 years and has been running Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Crawford Lane since 2004.
He said in an interview with Chinese newspaper Shin Min: “Actually, I don’t object to him using the two characters ‘da hua’, but how could he say that ‘Da Hua’ has moved? After that, my customers kept calling to ask me if I had really moved, and it caused my business to drop by 20 per cent.”
The advertisement also carried images of awards won by Tai Hwa, including a certificate issued by popular Singapore street food guide, Makansutra, which gave its noodles the highest rating of “Die, Die Must Try”.
Unhappy with this advertisement, Chay Seng has sought legal advice and declined to speak further on the matter.
When contacted, Arthur and his father declined comment as well.
A second advertisement for Lau Dai Hua, which ran in Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao on Nov 12, however, did not mention that it had “moved” or used images of accolades won by Tai Hwa.
Youngest brother, Chai Chye, 54, who runs High Street Tai Wah Pork Noodle in Bestway Building in Prince Edward Road, has stayed away from the fracas.
His stall, which has been around for 28 years, has a three-year-old branch in Hong Lim Food Centre run by his eldest son, Gerald, 29.
Neither stall received any protests from Chay Seng when they opened because they had a different stall name and did not try to pass themselves off as outlets of Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle.
Chai Chye, who was awarded the title Makansutra Street Food Master by the Singapore food guide last year, told LifeStyle: “My business has not been affected by the stall in VivoCity and I don’t mind bak chor mee stalls using the name ‘Da Hua’, as long as they are run by our family members.”
He added: “If my father were around to witness the latest stall opened by his grandson, I’m sure he’d be happy.”
Indeed, the late Mr Tang Joon Teo, who died in 1995 at the age of 89, was eager for his three sons to open their outlets and expand the family business.
“My brothers and I grew up helping out at my father’s stall. We prepared ingredients, served customers and naturally, learnt how to cook bak chor mee,” said Chai Chye, who is the fifth of six siblings.
“There is no secret formula or recipe to my father’s bak chor mee. We just use good, fresh ingredients such as dace fish as a topping for the noodles and in the wonton.”
Second son Chay Seng was the first to work full-time at the stall after dropping out of secondary school at the age of 14. Eldest son Chye Hong joined the business next, after finishing secondary school.
In the late 1960s, Chye Hong opened an outlet in a Cecil Street coffeeshop at his father’s urging, while younger brother Chay Seng ran the stall in Hill Street. Their father supervised both places.
When the Cecil Street coffee shop closed in 1978, the three brothers ran the stall in Hill Street together.
“We worked very well together and used to go for drinks after work to unwind,” Chai Chye recalled.
When Chai Chye, upon his father’s encouragement, opened an outlet in High Street in 1980, it did not affect the brothers’ close relationship.
He added: “In the 1980s, my eldest brother left to become a taxi driver because he felt the job of selling noodles was tiring and did not suit him.
“But in the 1990s, after the stall in Hill Street moved to Marina Square, he returned to help my second brother run the stall at night for a few years while still holding his day job as a taxi driver.”
The Marina Square stall has since closed.
In recent years, however, the brothers have grown apart.
“We are each busy going about our own business and we hardly meet up,” said Chai Chye.
As for the bak chor mee fans of Hill Street Tai Hwa and High Street Tai Wah, most were curious to try out the newest stall in VivoCity.
Retiree Peter Lim, 56, who has been patronising the stall since its Hill Street days, said: “I didn’t know that a new outlet opened in VivoCity, but I’ve been to the other three stalls in Crawford Lane, Bestway Building and Hong Lim.
“The noodles at the three stalls are consistent in taste and I usually go to the one I’m nearer to. If I’m around VivoCity, I don’t mind trying out the new stall.”
Similarly, Mrs S.H. Lee, 53, a finance director who has eaten at the three older stalls, said: “Of the three, my favourite is the one in Crawford Lane because the texture of its noodles is better. But I usually go to the one in Bestway Building because it is close to where I work.
“VivoCity is near my home, so I’m likely to try the new stall there as well.”
Some, however, prefer to stick with the familiar.
Businessman Tony Sng, 61, a regular at Crawford Lane, said: “I saw the advertisement in Lianhe Zaobao and went to VivoCity thinking the stall had moved. But I did not see the Crawford Lane boss there and realised then that it was opened by a different family member.
“The noodles at VivoCity taste different from what I’m used to at Crawford Lane, which is more sour because of the vinegar used, so I’m sticking to the Crawford Lane stall.”
Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle
Where: Block 466, Crawford Lane, 01-12
Open: 9.30am to 9pm daily, closed on the first and third Monday every month
What: The piquant vinegar added to the noodles packs a punch and lends the dish its fame. For $4, the noodles come with minced pork, pork slices and pork liver. The $5 and $6 bowls of noodles are served with additional wonton and meat balls.
Cost: $4 to $6
Lau Dai Hua
Where: 1 HarbourFront Walk, VivoCity, 03-01
Open: 10am to 10pm (Sundays to Thursdays), and 10am to 11pm (Fridays and Saturdays)
What: The use of dace fish in the noodle dish helps retain its traditional flavour.
Cost: $5 to $9
High Street Tai Wah Pork Noodle
Where: 12 Prince Edward Road, Bestway Building, 01-16, and Block 531A Upper Cross Street, Hong Lim Food Centre, 02-17
Open: 9.30am to 2.30pm (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays (Bestway Building) and 10.30am to 7.30pm daily (Hong Lim Food Centre)
What: The flavour of the noodles is slightly milder and less vinegary than the one in Crawford Lane.
Cost: $4 to $5 (Bestway Building) and $3 to $5 (Hong Lim Food Centre)
