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Tucked away in the heartlands, at 477 Tampines Street 43 is 1-week-old Mee+, a cosy, hole-in-the-wall eatery opened by 2 friends who are hell-bent on keeping the spirit of local Malay street food alive.
37-year-old Sydi (pictured right above) learnt the tricks of the trade from his parents who run a nasi padang store, while Arrell, 26, left his air steward profession to pursue his love for cooking (and eating) Malay cuisine despite his Chinese roots.
The space has a small air-conditioned seating area that accommodates about 14 people while the outdoor area sits about six. Mindful that the neighbourhood is home to many seniors, the duo has kept their menu accessible, with all dishes priced between S$3.80 and S$4.50 — and notably, no GST or service charge.
Everything from the nasi lemak sambal and lontong gravy to the thick mee rebus sauce and mee soto broth are made from scratch in-house. Mee+ is also in the midst of attaining their Halal certification in the near future.
At just S$3.80 for the Lontong, some may assume that the portion is just enough to feed a kid. But nope, not at Mee+. The quantity is generous with large chunks of rice cakes, a whole boiled egg, sambal, and the usual veggie suspects — long beans, carrots and cabbage. They even included that one special element that makes lontong sedap — the serundeng (spiced grated coconut).
The gravy is rich and perfectly balanced, and even after 4 to 5 mouthfuls, I wasn’t left feeling jelak. It tasted exactly like how my Nyonya grandmother used to prepare it before her dementia, so thank you, Sydi and Arrell, for bringing back those memories.
We learnt from Sydi that their Mee Rebus (S$3.80) is prepared in an authentic way, where the gravy uses sweet potato that keeps it thick and prevents it from getting watery. It’s served with boiled egg, tau pok cubes, bean sprouts, fresh spring onions and green chilli.
The gravy carried a mild sweetness with an earthy depth, coating each strand of yellow mee beautifully. This is, without a doubt, one of the top 3 mee rebus I’ve had in my 40+ years.
Next, we tried their most pricey dish — the Nasi Lemak (S$4.50). By default, it’s paired with a crispy chicken wing, anchovies (no peanuts), fried egg, their signature sambal, and cucumber.
To zhush it up even further, customers can choose a series of add-ons such as Sambal Quail Egg (S$1.80), Hotdog (S$0.80), Beef Bagedil (S$1), Plain Bagedil (S$0.80), and Fishcake (S$0.80).
Basmati is used for the coconut rice which was light and fluffy, infused with a subtle coconut flavour and hints of lemongrass. In my opinion, the rice could do with a little more punch of coconut flavour but I really enjoyed the sambal.
The chicken wing was juicy, moist and decently crispy — no complains at all.
We concluded our meal with the Mee Soto (S$3.80) — yellow noodles topped with shredded chicken, tau geh, and fried onions, bathed in an aromatic spiced chicken broth. This is usually our least ordered option whenever we go for Malay noodles, but I have to admit that the version here is very palatable. The soup is light yet robust, perfumed with just the right amount of coriander and cumin notes.
Honestly, before heading down to Mee+, I didn’t expect Sydi and Arrell to dish out such authentic dishes that had that unmistakable makcik touch — but they both did. It’s as though they’ve been cooking for decades!
Even though they’ve only been open for less than a month, they’ve already nailed the flavours and textures to a tee. If local Malay dishes are what you crave, Mee+ is well worth a visit. Come say hi to the smiley and friendly duo.
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