A typical food court or coffee shop will definitely have the few same thing, drinks stall, the roasted meat stall, western food, fishball noodles, mixed vegetables rice stall. So what happens when you got sick of eating fishball noodles or wanton mee? Why not try some hand made noodles, or more commonly known as, Ban Mian.

There’s three different kinds of hand made noodles, ban mian (similar to mee pok), you mian (the thinner version), and mee huan kuay (pieces of noodles). I’m not really a big fan of ban mian and mee huan kuay, so usually i’ll take the you mian.

While i can’t appreciate ban mian, but i can understand the effort put into making them. In Singapore, most egg noodles are factory machine-made, rarely can you see the fishball noodles and wanton mee stalls making their own noodles any more. Of course, there are still some stalls which insist on making their own noodles, which differentiate themselves from the others. For ban mian, the dough are rolled into noodles on the spot.

Ban mian ($2.50) are always served with the familiar fried ikan bilies (anchovies), mushrooms, an egg, and vegetables in either soup or dry version. The soup base wasn’t salty; this being an vital factor since the ikan bilies when soaked into the soup would enhance the flavour of the soup. With so many ingredients, i thought it’s worth the money and a healthier choice.

I preferred the dry hand made you mian ($2.50). The ingredients are the same, with the noodles being the only exception. It’s been a while since i last ate ban mian, and i actually felt it was better than the fishball you mian. The chilli and vinegar gave the noodles a stronger taste than the soup version.

You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!