Most people staying in the South would know of the famous Bukit Purmei Lor Mee who has been dishing out comfort food for our tummies for many years until the store closed. The store operated from Bukit Ho Swee since the 1940s and moved to the popular Tiong Bahru market in the 60s before settling in a more quiet neighborhood; Bukit Purmei. The stall owner Mr Teo closed the stall due to health reasons in 2014. Many true fans has gone around and done their own detective work to find out that the stall reopened in 2016 in Bugis but closed for good 2 years later
I regretted not trying the lor mee when Mr Teo reopened at Bugis as I missed this childhood dish so much. So when I heard news that the stall is reopening under the helm of his nephew in Bugis, I had to go and queue for a bowl. I waited for at least 3 weeks after the stall opened to avoid the crazy crowds of fans and foodies but there was still a substantial number of people queuing when I arrived slightly before lunch time
The stall is located in one of coffee shop along Queen Street which is famous for some very good food in the three coffee shops lined side by side. The Bukit Purmei Lor mee is in the same coffeeshop as the middle road prawn noodles which I reviewed here as well as the Heng Kee Curry chicken noodles so expect the coffeeshop to be extremely crowded.
The stall is obscure from view as it is partially covered by pillars but the huge light boxes and long queues make it hard to be missed. The offering is simple, just lor mee in small, medium and large sizes. Condiments like chilli and vinegar is available at the counter for customers who likes an extra oomph to their noodles. The lady boss takes the orders as well as pack the ingredients and gravy while the boss cooks the noodles
With hardly any seats, I opted for takeaway which is served in the waxed paper bowls with the gravy packed separately. At first glance, the nephew’s version is missing a lot of the crispy toppings which I remembered Uncle Teo and his wife was ever so generous in dishing out to customers. The braised pork belly was also sliced to a thinner piece compared to uncle’s thicker irregular sized ones
Now for the gravy and at first glance everything looked just like how I remembered. The color was dark and deep with savoury flavours of the braised sauced used. The texture was thick and gooey with bits of egg floating around. In terms of taste, I would say that it is at least 85% close to the one Uncle Teo cooked in his prime. This version was slightly lighter missing a deeper umami flavour I remember enjoying so much in the past
When mixed with the noodles, the gravy coated the noodles perfectly so you could have gravy with every mouthful of noodles. The noodles were cooked well with nothing to complain but the most disappointing was the crispy toppings. It should have provided a nice crunch and texture to the otherwise soft and gooey gravy and noodles, instead it was hard with a slight flour taste
Overall, this is an above average bowl of lor mee but sadly, it did not manage to meet the standards of the predecessor. Instead, those were very large shoes to fill and we can only hope that the nephew hones his skills further with Uncle Teo to bring us our favourite noodles again
Address: 269 Queen St, #01-236, Singapore 180269
Operating hours: 7.30 am to 3.30 pm
Bear Travels . Bear Eats . Bear Cooks 