The Dead Cockroach: Old Teochew Mee Siam @ Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre

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The husband and wife team behind Old Teochew at Ghim Moh Market & Food Centre serves the Chinese-styled mee siam and satay bee hoon.

I decided to order the mee siam ($3) since I am not too big a fan of satay bee hoon.

After placing my order, the friendly auntie began assembling the ingredients into a plate of bee hoon followed by adding hot broth to it. After checking with me if the sambal is enough, she even took the initiative to help me squeeze the lime so that I do not have to do it myself.

Such motherly love though I am sure she does it for everyone else. This is what I call service with a heart!

The mee siam comes with bee hoon, chives, bean sprouts, two halves of an hard-boiled egg, tofu puffs, a dollop of their sweet sambal and what I thought to be fried shallots (more on that later).

Because this is the Chinese version, the broth is not as intense as their Malay cousin. Although more sour than sweet, the sourness from the assam is still quite tame. On the whole, the taste is subtle enough for people who does not want their mee siam to be too sour or too sweet.

With the generous portion of bee hoon given, this plate of mee siam gives you so much bang for the buck. This is definitely enough to fill one up.

Now, back to the "fried shallots" I mentioned earlier. If you take a closer look, you would realize that they are actually some kind of crustacean. I believe they are not the usual dried shrimp because these are way smaller, crispier in texture and not as fleshy. I am more inclined to think these are krill and they play a pivotal role in flavoring this plate of mee siam.

While sipping the broth, I tasted something resembling the distinctive flavor of tee por (dried flat fish). I began digging around the plate, hoping to find any evidence to support my claims but all I found are these. Popping some in my mouth, they are indeed the source of the "tee por" flavor.

Tee por or not, these krills certainly add flavor to the dish. You should come have a taste for yourself and let me know what you think?