[Hawker] Sembawang Bai Mee Fen (White Beehoon)

You can't miss that bright signboard that proclaims what it sells -- bai mee fen.

So here I am again at Sembawang Bai Mee Fen at You Huak Restaurant. Had been wanting to go but my plans were foiled by the constant rainy days we've been having and free shuttle bus confusion.

In the end managed to head down on a Thursday after work, but after doing overtime and running some side quests before that, by the time we reached the place it was already past 9pm.

This Chinese eatery is located just opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre, which is a 15 to 20-minute walk from the Sembawang MRT station. We gave up looking/waiting for the free shuttle bus, but if you wish to take the bus, there are a few routes from Sembawang MRT (near the 7-Eleven?), Yishun MRT, as well as the Yishun/Woodlands industrial routes and the Woodlands route.

More details on the SSC website: http://www.sembawangsc.com.sg

Source: http://www.sembawangsc.com.sg/resources/ssc/images/subpage/images/bus-route.jpg

Anyway, when you're at the mall, just cross the traffic light in front of it and there will be a few eating places on your left and the road leads to the private houses. BMF is just slightly to your right in front, and you willl most probably see a queue.

Don't be deterred by the queue. I think it's an efficient way to seat patrons as well as for them to ponder over what to eat while doing so. Grab one of those menus from the stack of chairs while queuing and decide what you want to order. They will take your order when it's your turn to be seated :D

The Bai Mee Fen menu is red! Check out the prices and items here.

I hope you can see from my pic! This is an older picture from my previous visit in Dec 2011. They recently updated their menu to include the recommended items, but look around at the tables and just follow what they ordered.

You'll usually see people eating the white beehoon, the meat and seafood roll, the calamari, the sambal la-la, the chicken wings, and then maybe a claypot of fish head, hor fun, mee goreng, bittergourd omelette (wet), fish, some vegetables or maybe some prawns and sambal petai.

Don't forget the chilli! You have to have it with your white beehoon else it's meaningless :X

It's a kind of sambal chilli but not too spicy, so you can safely just mix it liberally with your noodles. I spied a patron just squirting the chilli from the bottle onto his plate of noodles. He was really rather liberal with the amount. Apparently if you eat there you can take as much chilli as you want, but if you go for take away, they charge for extra chilli.

Bai Mee Fen, $4.

The gravy has a certain consistency to it, it's not thin. Maybe they added some starch into the mix. If you're not a beehoon fan for its dryness and roughness, this one is smooth and slurpy. It really gets an added dimension with the chilli, which is reminiscent of those they serve with orluak...but not quite.

Maybe I like this place because the first taste really surprised me. I was probably just expecting fried beehoon in a thin gravy but instead I get this wholesome stir fried concoction with my favourite chilli! Judging from the steady stream of patrons, they can't be too bad too!

Heard that some people prefer the white beehoon from Blk 124 Toa Payoh, and some of my Sembawang friends remarked that the Sembawang Bai Mee Fen is pretty normal. Judge for yourself, especially if you stay around the area! :D It's a rather long journey for me, so...

Well, for sure one thing that I kept anticipating but missing on my previous visits there was the calamari! Always sold out, JUST BEFORE it was our turn to order. D:

But this time I got lucky!!! Even though I reached there after 9pm hehe.

Calamari, $8

Was it what I had been expecting? Was it worth the many visits? Well I'm a big fan of calamari, and I finally got what I had been waiting for, so you know this is gonna be a biased answer. But a positive response amid the anticipation means that the calamari has to be above average (for a hawker stall) and that it didn't disappoint me.

So yeah, although there might be better calamari out there, this is good to order. The squid is soft yet still chewy and pliable. Great texture, since I dislike overly chewy stuff. My friend preferred rings but I am fine with strips. Passed! Yay!

Some other things I've tried from my visits there:

Meat and seafood roll, $10

A popular item despite its steep price. Great for fans of ngor hiang for its beancurd skin and it's not too salty and didn't have any complaints about fatty meat (which is true in the case of some similar rolls). Not too oily too, so didn't leave me coughing nor with a sore throat. This goes well with the sweet chilli, because the saltier sambal chilli accentuates the saltiness of the rolls.

Hor Fun in gravy, $4

The first time I had it, I felt it was normal. The second time I had it, I think it became nicer. More wok hei taste, and if you're a fan of garlic, there's lots in the gravy. Good for keeping away the vampires! Not too salty also. Not their star item, but it's decently done.

Their bittergourd omelette (dry)

Too dry for me! Was stunned when it arrived and I felt it was too expensive. Think their wet version is much better, unless you're a fan of the dry version... but it's okay, not horrible. And despite everything, I love eggs, so...

Was trying to do some Japan-hour-esque thing but FAIL.

Sweet and sour pork, $10

This was okay, but didn't leave an impression. My tastebuds are already spoilt from the crisp and succulent chunks from Hong Sheng Restaurant (Blk 203 Toa Payoh North) which still serves the best hawker sweet and sour pork in my books.

Don't forget to wash everything down with some lime juice or oolong tea! I like their lime juice! And I don't usually like lime juice.

Some other things I've tried but can't seem to find the pictures of are the fish (generally fish is quite pricy, but it was quite fresh), the fish soup (think it came in a big bowl, was pretty okay) and the veg (was also okay).

Now, I'm not a fan of la-la so I won't try that of my own accord, but if anyone wants to go with me, I'm game to have some! Ordered by a few tables, so it should be quite good.

Important Information

Sembawang Bai Mee Fen

You Huak Restaurant, 22 Jalan Tampang, Singapore 758966
Tel: 9843 4699
Opens 11.30am to 10.30pm, closed on Wednesdays

Opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre (604 Sembawang Road)

Nearest MRT: Sembawang (15-20min walk)

Buses: 167, 856, 858, 859 , 980 & AC7

Shuttle Bus Services:
9.30am - 10.30pm (Departure from SSC)
To and From Woodlands, Yishun MRT & Sembawang MRT

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[Dessert] 51 fiveone degrees @ Toa Payoh North

Lemon Meringue Tart, $2.80

I noticed this new shop a few months back when I was doing the late shift at work. It had not quite opened for business yet, but the usual storefront preparations were going on and the baking equipment had already arrived and was visible from the clear glass door. 

When word arrived that it had opened, I didn't manage to make my way down until today, a jolly six weeks since it opened.

First Contact

The whole shop looks like a gigantic display case. The doors are clear glass and I wasn't sure if I should push or pull the doors to go in.

It's a fun concept though, because you can keep in the aircon but still display your wares proudly to curious passersby. And these said passersby needn't be paiseh to go in to see but come out without buying anything. ie can just beo from the outside lah!

Interesting name, 51 fiveone degrees. As it was during my office lunch hour and I had already exhausted most of it, didn't manage to stay long for a chat and ask why. Will perhaps do so the next time I pop over!

I do believe it's a family-run shop, with the parents helping out in front while their daughter Karylan (one-woman-show yeah!) bakes behind. Think her mum(?) also mentioned her daughter is the main baker who specialises in cupcakes, tarts etc.

I was actually under the impression that they would be selling bread :S so I was a bit surprised to walk in and see rows and rows of pretty (and decadent?) cupcakes lined before me inside the glass display.

That's the earl grey choc shavings creation, followed by the green Minty Choco and the Red Velvet peeks from the right side.

Red velvet with cream cheese... salted caramel... chocolate tart... lemon meringue tart *pause* oh, there's a cupcake with chocolate shavings it seems and iridescent flakes on top plus its description says earl grey (everything else is blurred out in my field of vision).

Okay, so there were so many flavours to choose from. 11 on their website, but I saw more flavours at the shop. There was a cupcake with a dollop of light green cream on top and lots of other dainty creations. Can't help but stop to think about the celebrity-owned Twelve Cupcakes at this point.

So I ask, what're your bestsellers? And they tell me everything is a bestseller, but recommend red velvet, salted caramel...etc.

The chocolate tart, Valrhona? Nope it isn't, and as I tend to get reaaaaaaally heaty when I eat chocolate, I finally decide on the lemon meringue. $2.80 and it comes in such a cute bobble plastic container. (I felt a bit sad that I'm not saving the earth, so I recycled the packaging when I was done with it!)

Bobble HOO~~!

The Taste?

For one, it smelled good when I removed the bobble part of the container. You know, the warm, baked goods smell of golden brown and butter?

When I bit into it, the meringue was surprisingly soft but maintained its form well. Not too sweet also, and actually all the tarts look really orderly and neat. Think there was some torching done too from the looks of it, but no burnt taste.

The lemon, tangy, sharp and delivers a smooth but defined kick. I'm the kind of person who thinks lemon curd or custard should be sour that pans into sweet once you get over the citrus sting.

Fresh tart overall, no sign of it being soggy, lemon curd no sign of it curdling and turning hard, tart firm and baked well. No "hollow" taste to the tart either. You know the kind when you buy pre-made shells and it just tastes flat and laohong aka stale?

Made a few friends hungry with my Instagram/Facebook/Twitter today.

Hey for $2.80 and the nice packaging and overall quality I'm not gonna complain. It's a pretty good tart, but might not suit those who love strong flavours. It's light and petite enough, but not too petite that you aren't satisfied. Not too big such that you feel like a glutton either. 

Flavours don't quite linger when I'm done. Again, depends what kind of a foodie you are. I thought that was fine because I don't like people trying to guess what I had for lunch when they speak to me.

Apparently there are people on Instagram who have declared it is their favourite Lemon Meringue Tart ever.

It's a good treat, and probably will make a nice addition to a tea party. They take orders on their website and they are social media savvy with a Facebook and Twitter page and all.

Hope the quality won't slide and I hope to try the other creations! Need to analyse their cupcakes :X because a cupcake if pretty still isn't good if the cake itself isn't. :(

Important Information

 

203 Toa Payoh North #01-1113 S(310203)

Opposite Singapore Press Holdings News Centre

Nearest MRT: Braddell
Buses: 59, 231, 232 (Toa Payoh Lorong 1)
235 (near Yellow Pages Building)
13, 56, 57, 59, 88, 93, 157, 163 (along Braddell Road)

Tel: 6526 9328 

Open Mon-Fri: 11.55am-8.55pm 

Closed Sat-Sun 

Website: http://www.fiveonedegrees.com

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