Best eats: Bak kut teh meets mee pok is a must-try combo in Sembawang
Gold 905 DJ and Makan Kakis foodie Denise Tan discovers the unusually named Malu Malu Wah Seng Bak Kut Noodle – which serves up noodles tossed in a piquant sauce and a comforting bowl of pork rib soup.
Malu Malu Seng Wah Bak Kut Noodles is popular among the army boys in Sembawang. (Photo: Denise Tan)
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after countless visits to hawker centres for countless tastings across Singapore, I didn’t think I could be surprised anymore. So I sent out a plea to my foodie.
friends for delicious recommendations that were a little more off-beat and off-the-beaten-track.
I was overjoyed when my Makan Kaki Mark Tay, founder of small-batch cocktail delivery company Sunday Punch, let me in on a secret place he discovered during his National Service days at Sembawang Camp.
Video description here Testing brightcove to upper env.
Imagine if bak kut teh (pork rib soup) and fishball noodles joined forces, with a little help from lor mee (noodles in a spiced, starchy gravy). The result is a souped-up super hybrid, the culinary equivalent of Optimus Prime, capable of morphing seamlessly from one iconic local dish to another. And just like the Transformers, Malu Malu Wah Seng Bak Kut Noodle turned out to be more than meets the eye.
The stall has been quietly operating out of a food court along Admiralty Road for seven years, but its history goes back more than six decades, with deep roots in the Sembawang area.
Stirring her large pot of simmering stock, Madam Fang Li Hua told me that their large family of 11 brothers and sisters grew up helping out at their parents’ roadside stall selling handmade fishball noodles in the 1950s. The day I paid them a visit, said family was out in force, as several brothers and sisters showed up to give Madam Fang a bit of moral support.
But how did they go from originally selling fishball noodles to their current bak kut noodles? Somewhere along the way, they found it increasingly difficult to continue hand-making their fishballs in large quantities. They didn't want to compromise on quality by going the factory-made route, so they decided to switch to selling something different.
Madam Fang’s gregarious younger brother Danny Png chimed in: “Making the switch wasn’t too hard, it was just a matter of changing the ingredients. Because we really know our noodles.”
Previously, the family had spent 30 years in a coffee shop at Jalan Malu-Malu (just 3km from their current location), which is where the stall got its distinctive name. Danny reminisced, “Before that, we used to sell outside the old Sultan Theatre (Chong Pang Village) in the seventies. In those kampung days, our noodles sold for just 20 cents a bowl.”
Now, S$4 or S$5 gets you a hearty serving of bak kut noodles, which was the invention of Madam Fang. Banking on her family’s decades-long noodle expertise, her brainchild turned out to be a brilliant gamble. Customers couldn’t get enough of this unique combination no one had encountered before. This writer included.
It would seem Madam Fang already has plans in motion to rectify that, confiding: “I’m already 71 years old, but I can’t bear to retire!” She then proudly introduced me to her disciple Li Mi Cun, “She’s got the interest, so I’m teaching her what I know. Then we can continue to uphold the Malu Malu Wah Seng brand.”
Indeed, contrary to their name, they should “jangan malu malu” (“don’t be shy” in Malay), because their magnificent, multi-tasking, super-hybrid bak kut noodles are definitely worth shouting about.
Malu Malu Wah Seng Bak Kut Noodle is located at 8 Admiralty Street, #01-05, Admirax Food Place, Singapore 757438. It's open daily from 6.30am to 3pm and is also available for delivery via Foodpanda. Catch Makan Kakis with Denise Tan every Thursday from 11am on GOLD 905.
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