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I don’t remember when, but at some point several years ago in my quiet Serangoon neighbourhood, I saw a little board outside Hing Yuen Electrical Co advertising something interesting: Mum’s Ngoh Hiang. I would walk past that electrical shop almost every weekend, and slowly watched half of the space begin to transform into what looked like a little cafe.
At first, the business offered just ngoh hiang with different fillings, like pork and prawns, chicken, or mozzarella cheese. I eventually got curious and bought a box of frozen ones to try at home. They were smaller than what I was used to, shaped like little pillows or cushions. When fried, their petite shapes lent themselves to crisping up beautifully, and they were quite addictive. It was easy to polish off an entire box on my own.
Mum’s Ngoh Hiang was started in 2020 during the pandemic, when fashion designer Samuel’s label, Evenodd, was affected. This led him to start a home-based food business offering ngoh hiang made by his mum, Ellen. At first, the brand took orders through Instagram only, but it has since grown into a physical dine-in location with a menu offering more than just ngoh hiang.
What I tried at Mum’s Ngoh Hiang Cafe
Despite the cafe’s small interior, it doesn’t feel cramped and is actually very comfortable – the vibe feels very much like “someone’s house”, a feeling emphasised by the vintage furniture. The menu also has a small selection of drinks, such as coffee and tea. Orders were written down by hand on a notepad and manually calculated.
I decided to get a Latte (S$4.50 for hot, S$5.50 for cold) because what is a day without coffee, right? It was a decent cup, not too sweet. A little stronger coffee kick would’ve been my preference.
For the meal portion, I initially wanted to try the Mum’s Chicken Curry (S$8), but the auntie at the counter told me that it would only be available on Fridays and Saturdays. What a bummer! I settled for Mum’s Pork Chop (S$8) instead, and got the Mum’s Ngoh Hiang add-on (S$2.90 for 2 pieces).
The pork chop took a while, ostensibly because it was being freshly prepared. The plate comes with rice, a fried egg and a decently-sized pork chop, doused with some sort of tomato-based gravy.
The pork chop itself was fine – warm and crisp on the outside, not overly salty and not greasy. It also had a “home-cooked” quality to it that’s a little hard to put into exact terms. However, it was a bit plain for my liking as I couldn’t really taste any seasoning or marination in the meat.
What I wasn’t really a fan of was the gravy. It was kind of watery and tasted a little like rather diluted ketchup with more sour notes, and didn’t have any savouriness to it. It wasn’t offensive but I think if it was slightly thicker in consistency and had a stronger flavour, it would be really good.
Fire Rice: Superb sambal fried rice with fragrant wok hei & huge pork chop in Toa Payoh
The signature item, the ngoh hiang, were crispy little brown pouches of meaty goodness. Having had these several times before, I thought I knew what to expect. The skin had a great crunch, but the taste of the filling was unexpected.
Instead of the meaty savouriness I had experienced with past purchases, the pork had a strange sour quality to it. I wasn’t sure if it was from the gravy that accompanied the pork chop, but another bite confirmed that the sourness was actually from the ngoh hiang filling. Not a good sign, but likely an unfortunate fluke as my previous experiences were always positive.
Final thoughts
I’m glad to see that Mum’s Ngoh Hiang has been able to grow beyond just Instagram preorders. While the pork chop wasn’t my favourite, I’ve read good reviews about the other offerings, especially the curry, so I hope to be able to try it next time.
According to the brand’s Instagram, there are plans to offer baked goods, also based on Ellen’s recipes. I’ll be looking out for those as well!
Expected damage: S$8 – S$20 per pax
Order Delivery: foodpanda
