Have you heard of a particular Ah Lian Bee Hoon that is located at the far western part of Singapore, inside a coffee shop right beside Pioneer MRT Station?
Notorious for their rude service, it is akin to our version of Karen's Diner, where customers willingly succumb themselves to bad service.
Due to the information online, I always thought this economic bee hoon stall is a "supper spot" that only cater to the dinner crowd. Little did I know they operate from 6pm till 11am the following morning!
The hours are rather odd for a economic bee hoon stall hence, I am unsure if this timing reflected on Google is actually accurate? Nevertheless, I decided to take the risk and visited on a morning.
To my delight, the stall is indeed opened for business! In fact, it is near closing time when I arrived around 10am.
I promptly ordered a plate of fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli) with fried noodle. I also chose a fried chicken wing and a piece of otah-otah to go along with the meal. I do not know the breakdown of the individual items but the total adds up to a little over $4+.
It seems like the fried chicken wing is their specialty as they are in a customized glass display above all the other ingredients (refer to last photo below).
The glass display is placed right at the middle hence the stall is separated into two different queues each with a designated staff to take your order.
Actually, I wanted to order a veggie as well like cabbage or tau kok (long beans) to make the colors on the plate more aesthetically pleasing however, I did not see any greens on my side of the queue.
The glass display makes it difficult to see what other ingredients they have on the other side.
I did not want to take up too much time to pick my order so I chose only what I can see on my side.
So, how did Ah Lian Bee Hoon fare?
I like that the bee hoon is not oily but it can be a bit more flavorful. The noodle on the other hand, come with a bit of kansui (lye water) smell which is not unexpected. Also, while the bee hoon was lukewarm, the noodle is dead cold. To me, there is nothing more depressing than having cold food to start the day.
As for the fried chicken wing, it is well-seasoned but unfortunately not very meaty as it is on the smaller side. It would be nice if they had used XL-sized chicken wings instead. I do not mind paying more for quality.
The otah-otah, a spicy fish cake with origins from Southeast Asia was disappointing as well. Perhaps due to the lack of temperature, the aromatics of the spices were barely noticeable.
The only thing that stood out for me in this meal is the sambal which complimented the bee hoon well.
I do not get the hype behind this stall at all. While the meal was decent, nothing is memorable enough to leave an impression. This is quite different from what I had read in the reviews.
It is just a standard fried bee hoon stall available everywhere if you ask me.
For the benefit of doubt, maybe Ah Lian Bee Hoon was really as good as what is being described back in the days that is, before Ah Lian's disappearance from the stall.
Her current whereabouts is shrouded in complete mystery. Did she wash her hands off of the worldly affairs?
Perhaps, she should come hold the fort again, to keep everyone - staff and customers alike - on their toes in order to uphold the honor of Ah Lian Bee Hoon.
Wow! When was the last time you see a marquee? After all these years, I finally found the excuse to use it again.
The coffee shop is located below the multi-storey carpark just outside Pioneer MRT Station.
BAI LI XIANG ECONOMIC BEE HOON 百里香经济米粉
Kimly Coffee Shop
651 Jurong West Street 61
Singapore 640651
Business Hours
Mon - Sun: 6pm -11am
Google Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Zgi4tXzhkYMUQvHGA