Food Picks: Rich, warming Malaysian-style curry mee packed with toppings at Kangji Curry Mee
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(Clockwise from top left) Dry Curry Mee Special, Signature Curry Mee and Jumbo Curry Mee at Kangji Curry Mee.
ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
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SINGAPORE – Occupying a unit on the fifth storey of Far East Shopping Centre next to Liat Towers, the 20-seat eatery Kangji Curry Mee quickly fills up before noon and is packed to the brim until 2pm.
The eatery, which opened on Nov 14, has quickly attracted returning customers who are there for Malaysian chef-owner Lee Yee Kang’s elevated versions of curry mee.
The menu is tight with just three main items – Signature Curry Mee ($9.90), Jumbo Curry Mee ($19.90) and Dry Curry Mee Special ($5.90). Customers can choose from four types of noodles – yellow noodles, beehoon, thick beehoon and mee kia.
Chef Lee, 35, who has worked in Japanese restaurants since he was 16, presents his noodles like ramen.
He quit his last job as a chef at a Japanese omakase restaurant in Singapore in August 2023 to focus on two curry mee stalls he opened in Johor Bahru in 2022. One is in Bukit Indah and the other one is in Taman Gaya. The stalls, named Lee Ji Taiping Curry Mee, feature a rustic version of the dish with pig’s blood and blood cockles.
He started Kangji Curry Mee with Singaporean partners to present an amped-up version of the dish with his favourite ingredients.
Chef Lee, who is from Penang but moved to JB at age 15, learnt the recipe from the owner of a curry mee stall in Skudai.
He was struck by how the flavours of that curry mee tasted similar to the ones he grew up eating in Penang, and frequently ate there until the owner retired in 2018.
While chef Lee has dialled back on the intensity of the spices and heat to cater to the Singaporean palate, his curry gravy still packs a fiery punch.
The Signature Curry Mee is a play of textures, loaded with Thai crispy pork belly, fried pork skin, tau kee, thick spongy tau pok pieces which absorb the curry gravy well, slices of fishcake, long beans, half a hard-boiled egg and a deep-fried wonton.
He recommends a mix of yellow noodles and beehoon, which goes best with the curry gravy. Lightly blanched bean sprouts lend plenty of crunch.
Signature Curry Mee at Kangji Curry Mee.
ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
Seafood lovers will do well to splurge on the Jumbo Curry Mee, which is a souped-up version of the Signature Curry Mee with two fresh tiger prawns, perfectly blanched squid, cuttlefish and a generous portion of juicy cockles. The cockles appear cooked on the outside, but squirt sweet briny juices when you bite into them.
Jumbo Curry Mee (foreground) and Signature Curry Mee at Kangji Curry Mee.
ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
For those who prefer much less heat, go for the Dry Curry Mee Special with mee kia. The thin noodles, tossed in dark soya sauce, are fragrant with pork lard oil and the curry gravy. The most pared-down bowl of noodles on the menu, it comes with Thai crispy pork belly, bean sprouts, fish cake and a deep-fried wonton.
Dry Curry Mee Special at Kangji Curry Mee.
ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO
As the eatery does not accept reservations, go early to get a seat at the counter, where you can watch the chef in action.
Where: Kangji Curry Mee, 05-16 Far East Shopping Centre, 545 Orchard Road
MRT: Orchard
Open: 10.30am to 2.30pm (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays
