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The husband and I were at City Square Mall over the weekend when we were attracted by this ‘row of shophouses’ on the 4th level of the mall that was filled with nostalgic charm.Indeed, this was a new concept by Food Republic to recreate the New World’s good old days when street hawkers on mobile stalls were common then. All the stalls at this food atrium were replicas of vibrant Peranakan shophouses.We explored the food court to seek out new lunch options but ended up at my favourite ban mian stall instead. A light and soupy meal was exactly what I needed.Qiu Lian Ban Mian was set up in 1988 by Madam Ong Qiu Lian who inherited the family recipe from her grandmother. Every bowl of their noodles is homemade-style, straightforward and unpretentious. That’s why I’ve been patronising them (outlets are located island-wide) for years whenever I crave for ban mian.Noodles are freshly made everydaySo what exactly do I like about this? The soup is rich but not overly salty. It is not oily either and overall it’s pretty healthy. The ikan bilis (anchovies) and shallots are fried to crisp, making the soup more flavourful with a nice crunch. There are lots of crunchy chye sim – love it! The noodles are chewy and springy, exactly the way I like my noodles. The little clumps of minced pork are well marinated with a lot of flavour. Seriously, what’s not to like?For full review and pictures, please go to http://www.springtomorrow.com/2014/02/14/qiu-lian-ban-mian-food-republic-city-square-mall/
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The newly opened Food Republic has a very 40s feel, with the shophouse paintings on the walls. Qiu Lian Ban Mian is famous for their ban mian and they do have several oulets across Singapore. One bowl of You Mian is $4.20, while the dumpling noodles are $5.80. (The discrepancy in the prices arent really justified in my opinion ... :/)One thing to note about their noodles -they're really springy! It has the taste of freshness with every bite and $4.20 gets you a hearty bowl of noodles, minced meat, vegetables and a cracked egg. The soup is tasty without being overly salty, and the MSG was pretty minimal. The cracked egg gives the soup a slightly cloudy quality -yum.The dumpling noodles are pretty much the same as the ban mian, with the exception of the dumplings replacing the minced pork. The dumplings are really huge -at first I was wondering why there were only 3 dumplings, but the size more than made up for it. Even though the skin of the dumpling was a little thick for my liking, the filling was really tasty!!! Filled with tasty pork, carrot strips and some chinese chive, the texture of the filling was flawless. Had the skin not been so tough/thick, this dumpling would have been perfect!
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