SHEN Bakmie Noodle, Golden Mile Food Centre: Fusion Bakmi that’s simple but sumptuous

Over the years, we’ve unearthed and reviewed a number of gems in Golden Mile Food Centre. From claypot rice, to mac ‘n’ cheese burgers, to sinfully indulgent banana fritters, Golden Mile is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

And we’re not stopping any time soon.

Despite the current pandemic situation (yes, it’s been six months and yes, it’s still ongoing), a number of F&B operators have bravely set up shop in the midst of this chaos. SHEN Bakmie Noodle at Golden Mile Food Centre is one of those brave souls.

Started in March 2020, SHEN Bakmie Noodle is a one-man-show. If you’re wandering amongst the labyrinth of stalls, the bright, blue-on-white sign might catch your eye. Simple yet clearly stating what the stall offers, what you get here are variants on the Indonesian dish, bakmi.

Traditional bakmi (Hokkien for ‘meat noodles’) comes with minced pork meat, char siew and vegetables—similar to our local bak chor mee.

What I tried

Here at SHEN Bakmie Noodle, we get much more bountiful noodle dishes, packed with premium ingredients. I first tried the Soy Pork Stew Noodle (Special) (S$9).

S$9 might seem a tad pricey when it comes to a simple noodle dish, but let’s take a look at the sumptuous ingredients SHEN Bakmie Noodle offers, and it just might change your mind.

The Soy Pork Stew Noodle (Special) came with three large handmade meatballs, a generous portion of seasoned minced meat, a smattering of water chestnut chunks, a slice of pumpkin and half of an ajitsuke tamago (ramen egg). All of these ingredients lie on a bed of curly noodles and bean sprouts, and the dish came with a bowl of soup on the side.

I immediately went for the meatballs, which were juicy, had just the right amount of gameyness, and carried good bite. Really, what more can you ask for?

The minced meat came in larger chunks than other places, and I really liked the seasoning—though I found that because of the size, they were a little tougher than I expected. Taking a bite of the curly noodles, the springy texture reminded me of Indomie, though the seasoning and sauce had much more depth in flavour. Mix the noodles well, and each bite will come with refreshing crunch from the water chestnut bits.

If you prefer your noodle dishes with seafood, the Roasted Prawn Noodle (Special) (S$9) is the one for you. Served with three large prawns, seasoned minced meat, black fungus, a heap of nori, lots of beansprouts and half an ajitsuke tamago. I chose to have this with thick noodles instead of the curly variant.

The prawns came de-shelled, with the heads separated. One of my favourite things to do when enjoying prawn is to break off the head first and slurp up the incredibly savoury juices. Not everyone’s cup of tea, to be sure, but a quirk that’s definitely made easier by the dish’s presentation.

I found the addition of black fungus to be rather surprising—it’s uncommon, after all—but its unique texture and flavour actually worked quite well in the dish.

While I tend to gloss over the bowl of soup on the side for most noodle dishes (they usually just taste like MSG in water anyway), SHEN Bakmie Noodle manages to pull through with a light, peppery soup. Clean on the palate and not overly heavy with the salt, this really helped to cleanse the palate as I was slurping up the noodles.

One of the dishes that really surprised me was the Spicy Herb Dumpling(S$4). It looked a lot like regular dumplings in a spicy sauce, reminding me of my favourite 红油抄手 (Sichuan spicy wanton in red chilli oil).

The dumplings were really juicy, packed to the brim with well-seasoned filling. What took me by surprise was the spicy sauce.

I generally pride myself on my ability to handle spice. Mala 大辣 (high spice level)? No sweat. Double McSpicy? I could have that for breakfast.

But the spicy sauce from SHEN Bakmie Noodle was fiery from its first contact with my tongue and lips. Not to say I didn’t enjoy it, burning and all, but fair warning—the tingling gives way to intense heat after the first few mouthfuls.

Final thoughts

SHEN Bakmie Noodle really surprised me—in a good way—with its dishes. And just when I thought we’ve discovered all that Golden Mile Food Centre has to offer!

Slightly pricey to be sure, but you do get what you pay for. Alternatively, they have lower-priced noodle dishes too, ranging from S$4 to S$6. But definitely get the Spicy Herb Dumpling if you’re a spice fiend like me.

Expected Damage: S$4 – S$9 per pax

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