Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee: 101-Year Old Legacy That Stood The Test Of Time

Where can you get an affordable bowl of noodles with a history that’s more than a hundred years old? Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee (BCM), that’s where.

As of this writing, Famous Eunos’ BCM is probably the hawker store with the longest history in Singapore, even beating the likes of Xing Ji and Seng Hiang at Bedok Block 85 hitting three digits (!!).

*Even Uncle Roger is impressed with Famous Eunos BCM’s 101-year legacy.*

Now, buckle up, and take out your history textbooks as we embark on a journey 101 years back to witness a success story of the Singapore immigrant tale.

Brief History

Famous Eunos Bak Chor Mee’s modest beginnings can be traced back to Mr. Tan Lian Hock (1st generation), who arrived in Singapore in 1923. Like most hawkers back in those days, the business started off as a street hawker around the Kampung Chai Chee area. As peddling around the Eunos on foot while having to carry his portable kitchen on a pole can affect posture, the noodles eventually grew a reputation where they were called Kiao Gu Mee, or hunchback noodles among the locals.

The store later changed hands to Mr. Tan’s son (2nd generation) that was still selling the noodles at the Kampung Chai Chee area, while his daughter established the business further down at Changi Ten Mile Road, the same area where Hong Seng Choon Fishball Kway Teow Mee is located. Over the years, relatives of the two siblings went on to open two stalls at Feng Shan Food Centre (also known as Bedok 85 Market). This is where the 3rd generation started expanding and opened up many stores around Tampines, Bedok and Eunos, each with their derivatives and faint links to Famous Eunos BCM.

How did the original Famous Eunos BCM stall settle at where it is today? The answer lies in Ler Jie Wei’s grandfather, Mr. Sim, who began selling bak chor mee at the previous Eunos market in the 1980s onward. But the stall’s location didn’t last long, as a great fire broke out in 1990 and here it is where they finally settled at their current location at Hong Lee Coffeeshop with Madam Sim Bee Yong (4th generation) taking the reigns.

As of 2024, the stall’s currently in its 5th generation, with Ler Jie Wei as the current head of operations since 2016 – 2017-ish¹. Not many food establishments, let alone hawkers, can claim this impressive credential for being a centenarian (or longer) that exists much longer than Singapore as an independent nation.

Experience

I actually had their BCM a few times in the past, one time at Chinatown at the currently-defunct Chinatown Food Street a few years ago. I’ve tried their BCM at the original location, but that was ages back, long before I conceptualized For The Love Of Noodles and set in stone my mission to try as much noodle stores as possible in Singapore and beyond.

So I recently tried the Famous Eunos BCM at a branch store at ION Orchard’s Hawkers’ Street with a friend from overseas this September, and the both of us were enamored with their signature BCM soup, me being super impressed with the high standards even in their branch stall. Meanwhile, my friend instantly loved the dish at first taste, so much so that she finished the bowl till the last drop and planned to ask her parents if they could try to prepare some BCM back home. Mind you, she’s tried mostly famous hawker food around Singapore, and Famous Eunos BCM ranked the highest on her list, an unexpected winner of her ‘best food in Singapore award’ for a non-local.

From this experience, it gave me an idea to try the original store at Eunos and compare whether if it’s as good, if not better. Furthermore, it was also a good way to return to old places that I used to often commute to during my formative years.

It’s a good thing visiting Famous Eunos BCM was a convenient task, as it’s located at Hong Lee Coffeeshop, a coffeeshop close to Eunos MRT station and Eunos Crescent Market and Food Centre nearby. Upon reaching the coffeeshop, the first thing I saw was a long line of customers waiting to have their orders taken and I joined the queue, hoping that the line moves quickly as I take a closer look at their other offerings besides their signature dish.

Much lesser known to most people, the stall also serves fishball noodles soup/dry and fishball soup and dumpling soup alongside their signature dish. Not sure how they taste compared to their signature BCM, but I can always return one day to try it out.

Taste Test: Signature Eunos Bak Chor Mee Soup + Extra Noodles (Mee Kia, $5.80)

Like their sister branch at ION Orchard’s Hawkers’ Street, Famous Eunos BCM contains dumplings, minced meat and fried pork lard, a combination of all the toppings I’ve seen in other BCM stores. Famous Eunos BCM does things the old school way by having all the ingredients included, while most other stalls leave out a topping or two (no lard in Tai Hwa, no dumplings or giao in Seng Hiang etc.).

Soup has strong garlic flavours with the amounts of garlic used in the soup, as well as a condiment can be overpowering, but for garlic lovers like myself, this is considered heaven for us. Same goes for their lard, which they gave a copious amount and gave the dish a slightly crunchy texture.

One thing I noticed about their noodles compared to their sister branch was that the mee kia here was flat but slightly wrinkly, unlike the former where the noodles were a lot straighter, similar to the ones at Seng Hiang. That said, it didn’t hinder the overall experience when soaked in the broth for a short period of time, with the mee kia still very fragrant and slippery smooth. This texture allowed the minced meat to cling to the noodles effortlessly, so that’s a combo I love.

When it comes to the minced meat which was made using minced pork thigh, there wasn’t a significant gap, which is a good sign. Still tastes super tender thanks to a balanced mix of lean meat and fat, just like I remembered at their ION Orchard Hawkers’ Street’s bowl.

Now, onto the flaws. If there’s one glaring miss in this dish, of all the ingredients in my bowl it would have got to be the dumplings. Having the dumplings throughout my meal was like playing a game of Russian Roulette; you’ll never know which ones are the decent ones and which ones are the not-so-good ones.

Unfortunately, some of the dumplings I ate had an uneven texture on the dumplings’ skin, where some tasted and looked more under-cooked on the inside. Fortunately, the filling was still properly cooked as the thinner part of the dumpling was able to cook the insides.

*Notice the uneven shading between the outer skin and inner skin.*

Strangely enough, the OG stall does not come with pork balls, while the one at ION’s Hawkers’ Street outlet do come with them. Not sure why with the discrepancy between the main stall and its branch, but it would be nice if all the Famous Eunos BCM stores are consistent with their offerings.

No one may know the reason behind this seemingly minor omission, but for those who wants everything in one bowl, ION Orchard’s Famous Eunos BCM is the place to be. Otherwise, those who value authenticity and supports the original store would be better off at the Eunos home ground.

Left: ION Orchard Hawkers’ Street Famous Eunos BCM
Right: Original Famous Eunos BCM

Final Thoughts

From a branding perspective, the bright pink motif makes them stand out from other BCM stores, or most hawker stalls in general which I think is a brilliant move. I see pink, I associate it with Famous Eunos BCM (or Foodpanda lol). Taste wise, this is a place I’ll highly recommend for multiple visits, even more so at their price point. But if you’re someone who can’t stand strong garlic flavours, then Famous Eunos BCM may not cater to your preferences.

For the budget-conscious, Famous Eunos BCM also offers a budget meal of traditional bak chor kway teow soup at $3.50. Ingredients are a lot more stripped down compared to their main menu, but at least the essentials are there and your stomach will be grateful for having food to keep you going for the rest of the day.