Just had my dinner, and somehow the choice of Loh Mee surprised me today although I dislike their À la carte. Loh Mee also known as Stewed Noodles, although close to its cousin Lam Mee, which has a different gravy. The dish known as stewed noodles because of the length of time to cook the noodle itself.
The noodle, yellow in color and thick like udon is used, although similar to udon, but it is a total different product. The noodles are usually boiled in a different pot while the gravy is being prepared. Once the noodles are prepared it is then stewed with the gravy for another 5 to 10 minutes.
The key ingredients are usually pork tenderloin, eggs, pork fat, chicken or mushroom stock, potato or corn starch (for the gravy) with seasonings such as soy sauce (both dark and light) and dark vinegar.
The preparation of the gravy is different from one to another but all ends with starch in making the gravy. Most hawker stall uses the basic key ingredients, but there are some which added mushroom, prawn and vegetables in making their 'unique loh mee'.
Loh Mee is easy to prepare (for the standard hawker stall time of 5 to 10 minutes), yet it is hard to make a real tasty dish out of it. The key difference of one Loh Mee to another depends on the various factors; the time and ingredients used in boiling the noodles, the amount of key ingredients used, the type of seasoning used and the additional ingredients which may change the overall taste and texture.
There is no best Loh Mee, but still there are some good ones around among the many bad ones. If anyone would like to eat Loh Mee, do go out and explore more. A pro-tip in eating Loh Mee is not to drink any other beverages other than plain (tap) water.
