Ace Ban Mian
I found quite a gem at a new coffee shop nearby at Upper Serangoon View. At the end of Upper Serangoon Road and across the junction of Hougang Ave 7 where there are new condos and HDB apartments there is some interesting places at and around Block 476.
Nestled at a NTUC food court, there is a stall "Ace Ban Mian". Not every one who call themselves Ace are really aces. Where ban mian is concerned, it is now kind of like a staple food where it is found in almost every coffee shop or food court. There are a few more famous and popular ones that cost a little more and they probably taste better because they simply use better ingredients or give you more ingredients.
I find that Ace Ban Mian looks interesting and different and there is often a queue.
Two items stand out from its menu.
A mushroom version comes complete with abalone mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms and enoki mushrooms which is fabulous. Most people should like this. This is a winner!
For me and I am sure for many, the other winner that you will love is the dry version with pork belly. It is served of course with some ''pek chye'' which I like, minced pork and very good pork belly.
The dark sauce adds a bit of flavour to the noodle but it is the chili that endears you to it. The combination of the noodle bathed in a little dark sauce with a spicy chili paste together with the pork belly makes this a fabulous choice for lunch or dinner. Even the quality of the orangy-red chili sauce for dipping is very good as it is not a watery version provided by other ban mian stalls. I think there is some garlic added in this chili sauce too.
There are ban mian and there are ban mian but this one takes the cake for me. It is something that I could now eat over and over again especially if I am in a quandary what I should have for my next meal. Either the wet one with mushroom or the dry one with pork belly. Well, you could always add pork belly to your soupy version of mushroom noodles too. I am not really a ban mian guy but this is for me the best ban mian and could be a more regular feature in my diet. I like the quality too. It is always quality for me and never quantity. This is a star rating.
There are more to discover at this new corner and there could be a few interesting things lurking around the corner.
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