IAAI Malay Food - Mee Siam @ Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre

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I have a funny encounter with the nenek of IAAI Malay Food at Havelock Road Cooked Food Centre.

It all started when I ordered a bowl of mee siam with her at the stall. I spoke to her in English but she replied to me in Malay which I did not understand.

I simply smile and nodded at her words. After I received my bowl, I chose a table in front of the stall and started snapping away with my camera.

Then, I heard nenek giggling. I turned to look at her and she gave me two thumbs-up with a big grin on her face. I gave her two thumbs-up in return.

She came to my table with a packet of assam in her hands and began telling me what I believed to be how she used it in the mee siam I was having. I wished I understood what she said so I could put in the extra info here.

After finishing my food, I walked up to nenek to tell her that her mee siam is "sedap" and ordered another round of mee siam and mee rebus to take away for the folks at home. Then, I finally understood why she keep talking to me in Malay - she thought that I am a Indonesian tourist because I was taking photos.

But why Indonesian of all places? Well, technically she isn't wrong as I do have some Indonesian blood in me though I cannot speak a word of it to save my life.

I bade farewell to nenek and she was still grinning from ear to ear.

Anyway, back to the review.

My mee siam is topped with so much bean sprouts, I could not see what lies underneath except for the whole hard boiled egg by the side. After giving the contents in the bowl a good stir, the bee hoon, chives, peanuts and tau kwa surfaced.

I realized nenek's mee siam is a little unusual.

The most obvious difference I noticed is the plain white bee hoon which does not seemed to have gone through the frying process with the mee siam paste that gave the rice vermicelli its unique orange hue.

Also, the tiny squares of tofu puff is absent here. Instead, what I had were three big squares of tau kwa.

Finally, the addition of fried peanuts is something I have never seen in any other mee siam before.

Tastewise, I have a feeling she did not follow the recipe to a tee. It tastes homely, just like how our nenek cooked at home in their own ways while injecting new elements into the dish. It is not bad at all, just a little different from what we are accustomed to.

Apart from mee siam and mee rebus, the stall also offers mee soto and nasi lemak. These used to cost only $2 a bowl but now there is a slight increase to $2.50.

Despite that, the mee siam is still value for money because the portions are quite substantial.

You will walk away with a filled tummy, just like after a visit to nenek's house.