Update: Bukit Purmei Lor Mee has permanently closed.
By now, you might have already heard about the old Bukit Purmei Lor Mee reopening for business at Blk 501 West Coast Drive.
I was taken aback when I heard the news a year ago that the stall at Bukit Purmei had closed down due to Uncle Teo suffering from a heart attack. However, I am glad that he is back in action again after a year of recuperation.
The current hawker taking over his stall at Blk 109 Bukit Purmei (also selling lor mee) is in no way affiliated with him, as clarified on their FB page. I guess the clarification came about because some customers who did not know about the change of hands thought uncle's lor mee standard has dropped - quite drastically!
Hello everyone,The purpose of this Facebook page is to updates everyone on the opening hours and any updates on the...
Posted by Old Bukit Purmei Lor Mee on Saturday, 16 January 2016
Yes, Uncle Teo's lor mee stall finally have a social media account now so we are able to know their whereabouts should they move again!
I was unable to visit the stall earlier as they are not opened everyday but when they do, they closes very early. The stall is located at Blk 501 West Coast Drive inside "Food Loft" coffeeshop near the Ayer Rajah Food Centre.
I got there around 9.30am and the queue is already stretching outside the coffeeshop. I queued for about 45 minutes, which I feel is a reasonable time however, it could have been my turn earlier if not for the customer in front who let his friend jump queue and that person ordered 6 bowls with different requests.
For those who are wondering whether the people behind the West Coast Drive lor mee is from the Bukit Purmei stall, I can assure you that they are indeed the real macoy - same signboard and same uncle in the same signature white shirt.
That is him in the photo above (photo from here) during the pre-Bukit Purmei days and the video I took of him coming out from the toilet at West Coast Drive below...
After so many years, his hair is still jet black! Could the secret to his black hair lie in his lor mee? If this is true, then uncle is definitely giving Yun Nam and Beijing 101 a run for their money!
I am so glad to see Uncle Teo again and I cannot stress this enough. Even though he does not know me, I have already seen him toiling behind his lor mee stall when I was just a little boy during the 1980s. This was at the old Seng Poh Road Market way before it was torn down and rebuilt.
As my grandparents used to stay at Jalan Membina, we would visit them nearly every weekend but not without dropping by uncle's stall to have a bowl of lor mee first.
Due to his health now, uncle had been advised not to overwork therefore, the new stall will only be opened for business four days a week. Having the stall closed for the other three days means a loss of quite a substantial source of income. The inevitable way to sustain the business would be to increase price.
The Bukit Purmei pricing of $2.50 (red bowl), $3 (green bowl) and $3.50 (yellow bowl) is now $3, $3.50 and $4.50 respectively.
Bo bian lah. Still have to pay rental mah.
Since I traveled all the way there and queued for a good 45 minutes, I will be letting my mother down if I do not order the biggest bowl. The lor mee contains the usual fishcake, ngor hiang, lor bak, chopped slices of pork chop and everyone's favorite fried batter.
All these ingredients coated in a lip-smacking gooey sauce which does not turn watery despite after taking so many photos of it in any angle possible. I have eaten Lor Mee that tasted downright flat but this is almost three dimensional (if there is even such a way of describing food!).
All these ingredients coated in a lip-smacking gooey sauce which does not turn watery despite after taking so many photos of it in any angle possible. I have eaten Lor Mee that tasted downright flat but this is almost three dimensional (if there is even such a way of describing food!).
There are many reasons one may have for liking a particular food. For most, it could simply be the taste but for me, it goes far deeper than that because this lor mee bring back many childhood memories I had had of my deceased grandparents.Those who grew up eating Uncle Teo's lor mee (and I meant at least three decades), this is a price which we are most willing to pay and queue up for to keep him in business
Uncle Teo, please take good care of your health. I still want to have a bowl of your lor mee years down the road!
Business Hours (subject to changes):
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