This is it! This is the famous 178 Lor Mee at Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre. Apart from the fact that the owner uses 3 numbers to name the stall, 178 Lor Mee is unique BECAUSE unlike the conventional Lor Mee which ingredients only include braised egg, sliced fish cake, pork, sliced ngor hiang (wu xiang - a type of Chinese five spices sausage) and fried dumplings, sharks' meat are added in! During our visit to Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre on 22 May 2011 from 1200hrs to 1400hrs, there was a constant line of people queuing for the Lor Mee. Is it really worth it to stay in queue? We'd find out soon...
So here's the man who gave us the tip-off: Jon Goh
According to Jon Goh, 178 Lor Mee has been in Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre since 2005 and the reason why he recommend this dish was because of the sharks' meat fritters.
A close up shot of 178 Lor Mee in the hands of the man who gave us the tip-off. Looks pretty appealing.. Does it taste as well as it looks?
You have a choice between the normal yellow noodles or kway tiao. And these are exactly how they look like.
Minced garlic/ginger and chilli are provided at the stall. You can take any amount you like. A word of caution.. Don't add too much minced garlic/ginger because then, every mouth you take, you will only be able to taste garlic/ginger instead of the actual taste of the Lor Mee.
The Sharks' Meat Fritters (SMF), though tasting a little like any crispy fried fish on its own, tastes surprisingly nice when eaten together with the Lor Mee. At a price of $2.50, I was only expecting a miserable portion of SMF. However, to my surprise, there was a generous portion of SMF, enough for you to have a small bite with every mouth of the Lor Mee. If you think the portion of SMF is not enough, simply ask for an additional bowl of SMF at $3 per bowl.
Want a unique taste without the loss of traditional ingredients? You can do this by adding Ngor Hiang, which is a side dish at the stall. However, that's the only traditional ingredient we can add in for 178 Lor Mee. The braised egg and the fried wanton for the traditional Teochew Lor Mee are absent in this dish. BUT because of the generous portion of SMF in 178 Lor Mee, the absence of braised egg and fried wanton doesn't point to the downfall of the dish.
With that being said, during our visit to Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre on 22 May 2011, we conducted a vote and majority of the members of JFC liked the dish..
So, what's THE VERDICT? 6 Likes out of 10 Possible Likes.
How to get there?
Nearest MRT: Tiong Bahru (EW17)
Buses: Please click on the map below for a bigger view.
Reviewed by PS on behalf of JFC
