Rong Fa (Mui Siong) Minced Meat Noodles

Rong Fa (Mui Siong) Minced Meat Noodles is a well-known stall in Bukit Merah, Singapore. It traces its roots back to 1970 at the now defunct Rochor Centre under the name Mui Siong. Today, the stall is run by second-generation sisters Jasmine and Jennifer Tan. They moved from Redhill to Maddox Canteen near Bukit Merah Central in 2022 located just beside the Spring Singapore building today. The stall is famous for its traditional Bak Chor Mee, especially the pork liver.

Notably, the store only serves and specialises in Bak Chor Mee (translated into Minced Meat Noodles), a Singapore staple noodle dish which typically comes with minced pork, sliced pork, fish cake, and generous pieces of pork liver. Also, the stall has a humble, old-school hawker setup. There’s no air-conditioning and seating is basic but clean. The service is efficient and focused, no frills or chat, with the food served hot, more on that later.

The standard bowl includes minced pork, sliced lean pork, fish cake slices. The accompanying soup is cloudy, pork-based, and full-bodied. It’s savoury with a natural sweetness from slow-cooked bones, lifted by fried garlic and fresh coriander. The soup is where the flavours truly shine. It is tad comforting, deeply flavourful, and consistent in quality. Most diners agree the liver soup alone is worth the trip.

Have it dry or soup, with soup preferred

Furthermore, you can order the noodles dry or soup (wet) style. The dry Bak Chor Mee version has springy noodles tossed in vinegar, chili, and pork lard. It’s then topped with crispy garlic chips and bean sprouts. A bowl of rich soup with pork ingredients comes on the side. The dry version highlights stronger chili and vinegar notes. While the dry version offers a punchier flavour profile, it tends to be hit-or-miss. The noodles are pretty much run of the mill and can be bland, especially if the chili and vinegar aren’t mixed evenly.

In contrast, the soupy version blends all ingredients into one comforting bowl. It has milder flavours, more focused on the porky broth. It gives a more unified and comforting experience. The thick liver cuts perform better in the soup, absorbing and contributing to its rich broth. Between the two, the soup version is generally considered the better choice.

Moreover, I tend to prefer the soup version as the standout choice as it gives you more of the pork-based, cloudy with bits of minced pork, and very full-bodied soup. The soup is savoury, slightly sweet, with notes of fried garlic and pork essence.

Additionally, a generous amount of minced meat and pork slices are served in the broth. Fried garlic bits and coriander round off the aroma and taste well. The tip here is to go for the pork liver soup version. It’s hearty, rich, and showcases the stall’s specialty best. Skip the dry version unless you’re a fan of strong vinegar bases mixed in the dry noodles.

Thick pork liver cuts

Additionally, standout feature of their signature dish is the pork liver. They are thickly sliced and skillfully cooked. Unlike most stalls that serve thin, overcooked slivers, Rong Fa’s version comes creamy, tender, and slightly pink in the center.

This texture showcases precise control over timing and heat, resulting in liver that is rich yet not grainy or rubbery. I found the star component in both their soup and noodle dishes is the liver as the unique selling proposition which distinguishes Rong Fa noodles from the rest. Also, I found the thick liver slices really shine in the soup version. Between the two, the soup version is more consistent and satisfying, and great on a cold rainy day too.

Also, while pork liver is not for everyone, especially if you do not like the taste of offals, the pork liver here is cut unusually thick compared to most hawker stalls. Each slice is tender, creamy inside, and slightly pink at the center. It’s cooked juicy-well without being too bloody, dry or rubbery. Precision in timing is clear from how consistent the texture turns out.

Fair but bit pricey for hawker dish

Moreover, the portions are reasonably priced for the quality and ingredients provided. Each basic bowl costs $6.50 to $7 per bowl which comes with all the stated bells and whistles including the generous portions of pork liver. This is tad on the pricer side in the realm of hawker Bak Chor Mee typically costing $3.50 to $4.50 per bowl.

Mee Pok dry noodles

Soup noodles

The Maddox Canteen at Bukit Merah

Though weirdly, the stall does not advertise their pricing at the front of their stall, so it’s anyone’s guess that how much you be paying for. You can also request additional liver or noodles for an extra charge. The prices are reasonable considering the quality and portion, and are consistent with other premium-level hawker stalls, and food court prices. Interestingly, the stall also sells al-la-carte items out of them menu with 500g of Pork Liver going at $14.50, as well as Fuzhou fishballs, and loose pork meat balls as takeaway sides.

Be prepared for a long wait

Moreover, do come early if you want to avoid the peak hour crowd or be prepared for a wait, especially during peak lunch hours. Dining at Rong Fa requires some patience with typical wait times can stretch from 30 to 60 minutes.

The stall uses a buzzer system, so you can be saved from the ordeal to wait at the store front while their orders are being prepared. Strangely, even arriving past peak weekday lunch hours at 1:30pm with 3-4 orders in front of you also requires you to wait about 30 minutes for your meal. Maybe the stall owners are just really slow at food preparation.

Wrapping up

All in all, that wraps up our dine-in at Rong Fa (Mui Siong) Minced Meat Noodles at the Bukit Merah district. I would put their Bak Chor Mee up as one of the few better ones worthy of a recommendation. The store, offers a unique and wholesome take on the familiar Bak Chor Mee, with their soup and thick livers as selling points.

However, I would take off some points off my recommendation due to the long waits. Do cater at least a wait time of 30 minutes when dining here. It is not really a place I would recommend if you are short on time or have a tight lunch break. The store is predominantly a breakfast and lunch place serving only from 7:30am to 2:30pm. If you are in rush of time or past 2:30pm, I can recommend a pretty good nearby Ban Mian store in Bukit Merah Central area as a nicer and cheaper alternative.

This review is not sponsored by the establishment nor did they provide any editorial input or reimbursements into the content and outcome of this review. All meals were paid for in full out of my own pocket as a regular and anonymous patron.