Heritage Pork Noodles Review: Legit Sabah Pork Noodles In Tanjong Pagar

Heritage Pork Noodles has Sabah noodles at Tanjong Pagar Plaza

Pork noodle is one of my all-time favourite local dishes. There’s something so simple yet comforting about the springy noodles drenched in a vinegary sauce, and the medley of minced meat, sliced meat, and meatballs that just hits all the right spots. 

But sheng rou mian is slightly different from the typical pork noodles we’re familiar with. Translated to raw meat noodles, it’s one of the most notable dishes hailing from the Sabah region of Malaysia. Heritage Pork Noodles, newly opened at Tanjong Pagar Plaza, specialises in this particular dish and I was excited to see what was different about the noodles.

Food at Heritage Pork Noodles

At Heritage Pork Noodles, fresh raw meat is used to stand out from the standard mixed pork noodles you and I are familiar with, which typically use minced meat. Here’s the trick: thin slices of pork are blanched in a boiling broth. This doesn’t sound like an impressive culinary hack but is said to make a key difference to the dish. 

On the menu, you will find four variations of their signature pork noodles with varied meats such as innards and pork slices, depending on your preference. 

The first bowl we dug into was the Signature Noodles ($8), which features a variety of ingredients: meatballs, minced meat, sliced meat, loin tendon, liver, and intestine. 

A quick tip: if you’re like me and hate seeing your noodles turn soggy from sitting in the soup for too long, go for the dry version where you get your noodles in a separate bowl. 

For each dish, you get to pick your preferred type of noodles: mee pok, mee kia, yellow mee, or hor fun. We opted for the mee pok, our personal favourite, as we like how the thicker noodles better absorb the sauce.

The dark sauce that coated the noodles was a mixture of pork oil and black bean sauce, which gave it a nice savoury and salty combination. They also top your bowl with a heapful of minced meat and fried shallots, giving the noodles more textural variety. 

As they say, the secret lies in the soup. Upon the first sip, I was pleasantly surprised by how much flavour it was packed with, considering it was pretty light contrary to how it looked. 

The fresh pork and innards imparted a robust umami flavour to the broth. I could also taste a hint of sweetness, which could be attributed to the freshness of the meat used. 

Although I did enjoy the soup initially, it did start to get a bit too heavy for my liking. I recommend mixing some chilli into the soup, which helps to reduce the jelak flavours. They have two types of chilli here: the spicier chilli oil and the more aromatic garlic chilli. 

As for the innards, I was thankful they were cleaned well so we didn’t get any of that unpleasant gamey taste, which I am pretty picky about. The liver, in particular, had a sweet aftertaste. Texture-wise, it was also cooked just right—each piece was smooth and tender, without being too powdery or pungent. 

As expected, the sliced pork pieces boasted a subtle sweetness due to the long hours of being cooked in the soup. The meatballs were also substantial and juicy and tasted all the better after absorbing some of the broth. There wasn’t anything to shout about, but they were still decent and delicious nonetheless. 

There’s also the Meat Ball, Minced Meat, Sliced Meat and Loin Tendon ($6.50), which is recommended if you want all the types of meat they offer, except for the innards. 

Else, their most basic bowl consists of Meat Ball, Minced Meat, and Sliced Meat ($5.50), which is still a pretty satiating option if you ask me! 

If you want to customise your bowl, you can also top up $2 for any of the following add-ons: meatballs, minced meat, sliced meat, loin tendon, liver, or intestine. 

We also tried the yellow noodles and mee kia which both had more of a chew compared to the mee pok—something you might want to take note of if you prefer your noods chewy! 

A great way to end our meal was the Hakka-style Fried Pork Belly with Red Fermented Beancurd ($3.50). Each of the pieces boasted an amazingly crispy texture that contrasted the dishes we had previously. 

My only gripe with this dish was that the layer of fat took up almost half of the meat pieces. But if you want a side to substantiate your meal, it’s a good choice nonetheless.

Ambience at Heritage Pork Noodles

Heritage Pork Noodles is situated at a coffeeshop in the CBD. As the area is surrounded by office buildings, you can expect longer queues during lunch. My colleague and I arrived at the coffeeshop slightly after 1pm, and it was still relatively packed. 

The verdict

I recommend these pork noodles to innards-loving people, as the flavours really shone through the soup. And I think many can appreciate their dedication to cleaning the innards well, which played a huge role in elevating the overall flavours of the dish. 

Heritage Pork Noodles is at Tanjong Pagar Plaza, which is a five-minute walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station.

In other noodle-related news, check out our guide to the best bak chor mee. Else, read our Restaurant Aisyah review for authentic Xinjiang hand-pulled noodles! 

Address: Block 5, #02-04/05, Yi Ho Eating House, Tanjong Pagar Plaza, Singapore 082001
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 8am to 2:30pm
Tel: 8511 3683
Website
Heritage Pork Noodles is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Casandra Nicholas.
This was a media tasting at Heritage Pork Noodles.