The Dead Cockroach: Selamat Datang Warong Pak Sapari Mee Soto @ Adam Road Food Centre

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With reviews touting it as "unbeatable" and "unparalleled" in Singapore, Selamat Datang Warong Pak Sapari Mee Soto & Mee Rebus at Adam Road Food Centre is reputed for serving one of the best mee soto.

Being an ardent fan of this Malay noodle dish, I have to come try it for myself to see whether they really live up to those claims.

I was there an hour earlier before the lunch crowd arrive so there were only a couple of people in the queue which cleared pretty fast. When it came to my turn, I ordered a bowl of mee soto ($3.50) and added a bergedil ($1).

After receiving my order, I scooped two tablespoons of sambal kicap into my bowl for the extra kick.

My bowl of yellow noodles is topped with shredded chicken, fried shallots, coriander and of course my precious bergedil.

I gave the noodles a good toss to mix everything together except for the bergedil which is safely perched at the top of my fork. While the color of the broth may not seem the least appetising, it is richly flavored and aromatic. I find the taste of star anise slightly overpowering though.

The sambal kicap is one of the most potent ones I have come across and it certainly added some dimensions to the flavors. I normally have a high tolerance for chili but this is my first time having beads of sweat rolling off my forehead as I eat. Shiok!

As for the bergedil, it is firm and did not fall apart despite being half submerged in the broth. According to my research, the bergedil was selling for $0.50 a piece in 2016. Two years on and price have since doubled to a dollar. Damn inflation!

So, is this mee soto as formidable as they say?

In my opinion, no.

Without a doubt, this is still one of the better ones among those that I have tried but I have eaten even better ones.

My favorite mee soto have to be the one from the GSMB canteen located at Ayer Raja where I used to frequent when I was serving my NS. To me, that mee soto is legendary.

Unfortunately, I can no longer enter the premises without any authorization. I wonder if the stall is still operating there and do they have a stall outside in the civilian world? I would love to have another bowl of that awesomeness complete with a bergedil.