14/03/2026
I think this is the nearest place where I can find one of my childhood favourites again — Mee Siam with kuah.
In Singapore we simply called it Mee Siam.
Here in this modern kopitiam (Tea Garden), they call it .
And that made me pause for a moment…
Nanyang… Malaya… Singapore…
They are not just geography anymore.
They are layers of the same story.
But then another question came to my mind.
What happened to the kuah in Malaysia?
Because in Kuala Lumpur today, when people say Mee Siam, very often what arrives on the table is not the soupy version I grew up with.
It is usually fried bee hoon — dry, slightly sweet, sometimes with sambal.
What makes a true Mee Siam kuah so satisfying for me?
1. Tamarind (asam jawa)
This is the backbone. It gives the sour brightness that makes the dish lively and refreshing rather than heavy.
2. Tauju (fermented soy bean paste)
This is the deep savoury saltiness. Tauju gives body and complexity that plain salt or soy sauce cannot.
3. Dried shrimps (hae bee)
Ground and fried first, they provide the umami depth. This is the invisible ingredient that makes the gravy taste “complete.”
And Belacan, chilli paste, shallots, sugar.
I was actually very close to cooking it myself. And then somehow, the universe sent me here.
This plate appeared in front of me that already had everything I was looking for… bee hoon soaked in a reddish gravy, a half egg, tau pok, chives, and a small green calamansi sitting on top.
Somehow food works like that.
When a taste from childhood calls you strongly enough, it finds its way back to you.
I didn’t have to cook it.
The bowl was simply waiting for me.
And with the first spoonful, the memory returned —
Tao Nan School canteen,
Tanjong Katong Swimming Complex,
a boy with wet hair after swimming, sitting on a plastic chair, eating Mee Siam without knowing that decades later he would still remember that taste. Ahhhh walau eh hojiak 😋😇