Cheap & Good

Light ban mian full of flavour

Ban mian soup from Lao Ma Zi Ban Mian.
Ban mian soup from Lao Ma Zi Ban Mian. ST PHOTO: TAN KENG YAO

If your resolution for this year is to eat more healthily, you might do well to go to Lao Ma Zi Ban Mian at Amoy Street Food Centre for its ban mian soup ($4 or $5). This dish has been endorsed by the Health Promotion Board's Healthier Dining Programme as being lower in calories.

Some hawker versions of ban mian have soups made thick and hearty from egg and minced meat, but here, the soup is a clear broth that comes without an egg, which keeps it light and uncomplicated.

It is not bland, however. Fat slices of braised shiitake mushrooms lend flavour to the soup, giving it an earthy aroma.

The noodles are also served with crisped ikan bilis, fried shallots, strips of thinly sliced black fungus, bits of minced meat and - my favourite part - a more than generous amount of Chinese spinach. The vegetables, together with the black fungus, give the dish a nice crunch.

You get a choice of two kinds of noodles - a flat ban mian and a round you mian. I like the ban mian, which is bouncy and chewy, with a smooth and lightly gelatinous exterior. It is also firm enough to give a good bite.

The stall also has a dry chilli ban mian ($5 or $6), which is as fiery as the ban mian soup is light. It comes with a heaping spoonful of chilli padi-flecked paste, which packs a spice punch. It is savoury, fragrant and just slightly tangy, coating the noodles very well.

The chilli ban mian comes with minced meat, thinly sliced black fungus, ikan bilis and a poached egg, which is deliciously runny.

Unlike the ban mian soup, this one has just a modest amount of spinach served separately in a small bowl of soup.

There is also a dry ban mian ($4 or $5) for those who prefer things less spicy. But if you want to keep things light, go for the soupy version.

  • LAO MA ZI BAN MIAN

  • 01-07 Amoy Street Food Centre, 7 Maxwell Road, open: 8am to 8pm (Mondays to Fridays), closed on weekends; go to www.facebook.com/ grandmabanmee

    Rating: 3.5/5

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on February 23, 2020, with the headline Cheap & Good: Light ban mian full of flavour. Subscribe