Beef noodles have always been a popular hawker food in Singapore with many different iterations -from Hainanese to Teochew to Hakka and also Taiwanese. The dish is said to have originated from Swatow in the Guangdong province of China but has since evolved.
The earliest documented beef noodles were sold by the Teochews. Hock Lam Street Beef Kway Teow was started in 1921 by father-and-son team, Tan Chee Kok and Tan Jin Seah. Originally from Chaoshan in Guangdong province, Chee Kok continued plying his beef noodle soup on foot before they settled at Hock Lam Street, which was then at the back of Capitol Cinema.
Three generations of the Tan family had set up stalls are various places including Far East Square, Purvis Street and Empress Place but all have since closed. Fourth-generation descendant Edwin Tan is now running the sole outlet at North Canal Road.
Some trade secrets in this version of Teochew beef noodles include adding pandan leaves to moderate the beefiness of this soup and adding pineapple to the chili sauce. There is no salted vegetable in the soup nor is it given as a condiment.
The Teochew version also has a sauce made from freshly made chilli paste with a sprinkle of grated galangal which would “tone down” any overpowering beefy notes to the dish.
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Where to find Teochew beef noodles
- Authentic Hock Lam Street Popular Beef Kway Teow
13 North Canal Road, #01-01, Singapore 048826
- Kim Huat Teochew Beef Noodles
90 Whampoa Drive, #01-51, Singapore 320090
The beginnings of the Hainanese beef noodles
Kian Teck Huan is regarded by many as the ‘father’ of Hainanese beef noodles in Singapore. Kian started out in 1945 at Bain Street and then moved to its famous location opposite Odeon Theatre. What distinguished his Hainanese beef noodles from the others was the thick black sauce made from boiling down beef bones and thickened with sweet potato starch.
The condiments accompanying the thick white noodles included a shrimp paste made in-house, which was fermented in urns until, purportedly, worms appeared on its surface. Initially, chilli sauce did not appear as a condiment. This omission also made them different from the Teochew version.
This iconic Odeon Beef Noodle by Kian was later renamed Hwa Heng Beef Noodle.
The second and subsequent generations of the Kian family have continued the Hwa Heng legacy. Although the flavours are the same, I prefer the Hwa Heng at Earnest Coffeeshop as it’s a more comfortable dining option and quieter, especially during dinnertime.
The prices are slightly higher than at the Hwa Heng Beef Noodle at Bendemeer, now run by the granddaughter of the founder.
The other Odeon beef noodles
Another name that is associated with Singapore’s Hainanese beef noodles history, is that of Madam Lee Suan Ling. As the creator of the ‘herby’ beef soup, she understood that many patrons justified the eating of beef as drinking tonic to boost their health.
She did not add any salted vegetable to the herbal soup. Madam Lee supported her son, Richard Kian when he opened a branch at the Sin Chew Jit Poh canteen in the late 1970s together with an ardent customer, Daniel Mok.
Richard, Daniel and their friend Eric Ng eventually expanded the business overseas under the name Odeon Famous Beef Noodles.
Some of us are old enough to recall patronising the very crowded Nam Wah Heng coffeeshop at 326 North Bridge Road.
My mother used to drag me there during my kindergarten days. I witnessed how wafer-thin pieces of beef were sliced and neatly layered alongside beansprouts, on the heap of noodles before being scalded by a big ladle of simmering soup, transforming bright red beef slices to opaque pink.
Ordered in combination with tripe or “sek bak” – the tougher cuts of beef softened from a longer time being stewed – this addition added texture to the dish.
The signboard at Hong Kee Beef Noodles, at the Amoy Street Food Centre explains that it was originally from Cuppage Centre at Tanglin Koek Road. The founder Tan Kee Hong, started a beef noodle stall, because according to his son, nobody else served this dish.
Today, son and daughter still use the same recipe as their father and the main change is that they use wagyu beef imported from Brazil. The hard work is in the preparation of the innards, tripe and tendons so that they are silky smooth and devoid of smell.
Where to find Hainanese beef noodles
- Hwa Heng Beef Noodles
Earnest Coffee Shop, 290 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208953
29 Bendemeer Food Centre #01-01, Singapore 330029
- Hong Kee Beef Noodle (Michelin Bib Gourmand)
7 Maxwell Road, Amoy Street Food Centre, #01-42, Singapore 069111
- Hai Nan Xing Zhou Beef Noodle (Michelin Bib Gourmand)
22 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh, #01-06, Singapore 310019
Hakka beef noodles
The main highlight of Hakka beef noodles is handmade beef balls. The Beef House makes two versions of beef balls: The normal beef balls which are springy and bouncy, and the beef tendon balls which have a firmer bite. Beyond the usual rice noodles options, yellow Hakka noodles are also available, and these are thinner than mee pok.
Where to find Hakka beef noodles
- The Beef House
217 Syed Alwi Road, Singapore 207776
Hong Kong-style beef noodles
Another variation of beef noodles getting increasingly popular would be the Hong Kong style of beef noodles or ‘ngau lam meen‘ in Cantonese. It used to only be available at restaurants but a Hongkong master, Cheung Sun Kwai, has been drawing fans with the Cantonese-styled braised beef brisket and tendon noodles under the Fatty Ox name.
Where to find Hong Kong beef noodles
- Fatty Ox Beef Brisket Noodle (Michelin Bib recommended)
335 Smith Street, #02-84, Chinatown Food Complex Singapore 050335
Taiwanese beef noodles
This national dish of Taiwan is very different from our local bowls. Cheaper cuts of beef such as shank, brisket, flank and tendon are generously braised till tender, in chilli bean paste with strong aromatic notes from star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, orange peel and sometimes even cardamon and spiced with peppercorn.
Taiwanese Michelin Bib Gourmard recognised beef noodles shop Niu Dian has reached our shores, offering deboned beef rib and spongy soft tripe, as well as their “golden coin” shank cut, which is served with satisfying thick noodles or rice.
Where to find Taiwanese beef noodles
- Niu Dian Beef Noodles (Michelin Bib Gourmand)
520 Balestier Road, #01-01/02 VIIO @ Balestier, Singapore 329853
Even up to a decade ago, the choice between having a bowl of Teochew ‘gu bak kway teow‘ and Hainanese beef noodles were markedly different culinary experiences.
We are now spoiled for choice in Singapore.
So for me, rather than making a conscious choice between the dialectical differences in preparation, my selection is more for the stall rather than the type, with Hwa Heng at Jalan Besar being my personal favourite when I want to have the beef noodles dry and Kim Huat when the craving for a bowl of beef noodle soup hits.
