Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee Review: Michelin-Approved Lor Mee By YouTube Personality Ryan Tan With Over 50 Years Of History

Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee for zhnged-up lor mee

Woe to lor mee lovers, especially those who had to travel to the East of Singapore for Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee at Old Airport Road Food Centre. It was just last year when the famed lor mee spot decided to thankfully branch out to more accessible locations such as Balestier, so that a wider variety of diners can now enjoy their lusciously thick and flavourful bowl of meat stock gravy and noodles.

Psst! Mothers dine free this Mother’s Day at the Xin Mei Xiang Balestier outlet. Dine-in from 1 May to 8 May 2022 and Mummy gets to enjoy a bowl of regular Signature Lor Mee on the house, with no proof needed and no minimum spend. The first 50 redemptions each day will also get to receive a special surprise! Head to their Facebook or Instagram for more details.

Food at Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee

There’s the iconic Xin Mei Xiang Signature Lor Mee ($6/$8) at the main branch at Balestier, but they also boast a very extensive menu, when compared to the one at the Old Airport Food Centre. 

We dived headfirst into their Signature Lor Mee With Cod Fish ($10), which included a distinctive addition of deep-fried codfish on top of the usual suspects of noodles, gravy, braised egg, pork belly slices and more.

I usually like to taste the components of my dish one by one, but lor mee is a dish that you have to give a good stir first, so that you can relish the smorgasbord of flavours in one big spoonful. The bowl came with liberal amounts of Chinese black vinegar, minced garlic, and house-made sambal chilli. 

On paper, lor mee seems intimidating with its strongly flavoured and thick gravy, combined with starchy flat egg noodles. However, Xin Mei Xiang’s combination of vinegar, garlic, and chilli makes it easy to wipe the Michelin Plate-awarded bowl clean in a sitting. The gravy isn’t too sweet, and there was also a refreshing bite thanks to the clever addition of fresh coriander.

Thickened with tapioca starch and simmered over a huge cauldron, the gravy was also rid of any lumps that you might sometimes find in other lor mees. The best part of this gravy is how it envelopes every noodle strand, giving each slurp a generous serving of the combination of flavours.

Other notable mentions include their iconic, thick cuts of pork belly, which felt more like a thoughtful topping than mere meat scraps. They were slightly chewy, adding an extra texture to the dish. 

The Old Airport Road stall offers the OG lor mee, but this outlet zhngs it up with deep-fried codfish, on top of the usual fish flake topping. Other than being another much-appreciated textural contrast, these nuggets of premium fish feature mildly sweet and firm flakes, though I wish they were twice-fried for a better crunch.

The menu also has a variety of flavoured fried codfish available as a side. These include Thai Tom Yum, Mentaiko, and Garlic Soy, all priced at $6 each. 

The Mentaiko was extra creamy thanks to the torched mayo-based sauce above, but our favourite has got to be the Thai Tom Yum. It was salty, sweet, and umami all at once. 

Here’s another thing to note! With the exception of the $10 codfish lor mee, the difference between Xin Mei Xiang’s $6/$8 regular lor mee and other lor mee in Singapore is that they don’t actually offer deep-fried fish nuggets. Instead, the fish is first deep-fried as a whole, then hand-flaked into thick chunks on top of the gravy. 

So for those who got the regular lor mee, if you’re hankering for that deep-fried crunch, try their sides. There are Shrimp Dumplings ($5), Five-spice Traditional Prawn Roll ($5), Seafood Fritters ($5) and more. 

Made with shrimp and fish paste, the Netted Seafood Spring Roll ($5) was a highlight for us as it was like an elevated fishcake that’s super crispy on the outside. When dunked in the accompanying chilli-mayo sauce, each morsel was extremely moreish. The chilli in the mix is actually the same chilli that is offered in the lor mee.

Ambience at Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee

This unassuming eatery along the bustling streets of Balestier boasts a space that can currently host at least 40 customers, and this excludes the extra outdoor seating area. As compared to the hawker setting at Old Airport Road, the spot here is blasted with air conditioning, so you wouldn’t have to worry about perspiring while enjoying the hot bowl of noodles. 

Other than Old Airport Road and Balestier, Xin Mei Xiang also has outlets at Holland Drive, Tampines Street, and Marsiling. 

The verdict

They’ve just opened their fifth outlet at Marsiling, located at Block 166 Woodlands Street 13, so lor mee fans in the area wouldn’t need to travel all the way down to the East anymore. You would know that food at Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee would definitely be worth a try, when it’s backed by YouTube personality Ryan Tan who is well trusted for his food reviews online. 

While the prices might seem a bit steep for a ‘hawker dish’, know that you’ll get a bang for the buck with the good quality of ingredients, hearty portions, and flavours that will have lor mee fans vowing to return.

If you’re looking for other eats around the two areas, check out our Balestier food guide or Woodlands food guide for more!

Address: 586 Balestier Road, #01-01, Singapore 329898
Opening hours: Daily 8am to 8pm
Website | Full list of outlets
Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Chew Yi En.
This post is brought to you by Xin Mei Xiang Lor Mee.