So, I’m back to tease you with another food post! Today, I want to share one of the most popular classic dishes in my city, Ban Mian! It’s so well-loved that almost every hawker food center has at least one stall offering it. It would be a shame for a hawker center not to have Ban Mian, because there’s always someone craving it. Usually, it comes in either soup or dry form, and the recipe stays mostly the same. However, there are always creative chefs brave enough to put their own twist on it, which always intrigues me and encourages me to give it a try. And that’s exactly what I did last Friday when I visited the Aljunied area.
There’s a restaurant called Food Yo that specializes in Ban Mian. From what I heard from friends, they’ve leveled up their Ban Mian, so much that it costs twice as much as a regular one. Their most expensive dish is called Champion Ban Mian.
You can already tell from the name that they’re confident about what they serve, maybe even bold enough to impress critics with something explosive. Well, I was ready to spend some money for a satisfying meal, so I thought, why not give it a try and see if this dish really packs a punch?
I actually visited this place many years ago, but it’s no longer how I remember it. It looks like they’ve renovated and rebranded both their space and menu. The ambiance is much nicer now, with a more contemporary design. However, there’s still no air-conditioning, LOL! It could have been the perfect Ban Mian spot if they had installed one. Since it was quite warm, I decided to order the version without chili paste, otherwise, it might have been a little too intense to enjoy.
When the dish arrived, I could see that they had loaded it with all the best toppings you could want in a noodle dish. Of course, I’m not talking about luxury ingredients like lobster or caviar, LOL, but for hawker-level food, giant prawns, pork ribs, fried dumplings, ikan bilis, minced meat, and vegetables already make it an elevated version. I’d say it truly deserves the name Champion Ban Mian for that reason alone.
The only question was, were all the toppings cooked properly?
To my surprise, yes! Every component was of good quality. The prawns were perfectly cooked and still moist, fresh too. The pork ribs, which I initially thought looked dry, turned out tender and juicy. Maybe they were braised or pressure-cooked, then seared afterward, which gave them that perfect tenderness. The fried dumplings were freshly deep-fried, with warm and moist fillings. Kudos to the chef for the attention to detail and for serving such a satisfying meal!
It was already 8 PM, and at first, I thought there weren’t many customers. But halfway through my meal, more people started coming in to order Ban Mian as well. That was a good sign, a clear hint that this dish is their bestseller. Some ordered the regular Ban Mian with soup, while others went for the dry version. Regardless of which one they chose, Ban Mian remains a timeless classic that will never go out of style.
Overall, my visit to Food Yo was a delightful reminder of how comforting a good bowl of Ban Mian can be. It’s heartwarming to see local chefs adding creativity while keeping the soul of this classic dish alive. If you’re ever in the Aljunied area, this Champion Ban Mian is definitely worth a try!
