Ban Mian (板面）is a noodle dish that is arguably one of Singapore and Malaysia's most comfortable foods. it is wallet-friendly, full of ingredients and 'healthy' hawker food. Commonly you will see people queuing for ban mian, whether good or bad.
There are 2 versions of Ban Mian. First will be the soup version, which is the common one in Singapore. 2nd will be the dry version, which needs to be mixed with good soy sauce and chilli sauce in order to be delicious.
King of Ban Mian just opened in September and used to operate at Chinatown Complex Market Food Centre under the name "Shun Ji Ban Mian". The owner took a break and shut down Shun Ji Ban Mian in 2022, now he is back and located in Hougang Green Shopping Centre.
The Ordered Dish
Dace Fishball Ban Mian Soup( 6.3 SGD)
A very big bowl of Ban Mian and this is their signature dish. In the bowl, we have fried ikan bilis (anchovies), a handful of veggies, minced meat, a runny egg and 6 to 7 pieces of dace fishball.
Noodles were handmade by themselves daily. It is cooked to just the right doneness, chewy and maintains an ideal resilience and firmness. Makes you keep slurping and wanting it more!
Most of the Ban Mian stalls cocked up their fried ikan bilis, but not King of Ban Mian. It was fried crisp-tender.
Meat is fresh and cooked beautifully. I believe they have marinated the meat before cooking it.
This is my first time eating fishball that is made from dace fish and I would say it works. It doesn't give you the bouncy texture that Xin Lu Fishball Noodles does, they are more like the shrimp paste you eat from Haidilao, soft and smooth. Flavour is on the right balance too.
The anchovy broth is cooked very balanced for tastewise. The richness of the broth is still there and harmoniously coexists with the freshness of the ingredients. 1 ingredient I feel is missing, that would be fried flounder (扁魚). Fried flounder can add another fragrance layer to the broth. No MSG is detected in the broth!
Thoughts
What a comeback! I feel it improved a lot since the Chinatown Complex and Market Food Centre. Noodles are cooked beautifully, ingredients are fresh and I really love the dace fish. Broth is much better than other ban mian stalls but still can elevate more.
The location may be a bit off for some people, but it's definitely worth a trip for it. Well, it's the return of the king!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 forks
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