News

With the hot and sticky evenings we’ve been having lately, our late-night hunger pangs have been steering us towards something a little more piquant.  Enter Low Seng Kim, a mee siam stall at Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre that opens at the rather peculiar hour of… 1.30am. When intern dropped by one morning to investigate, the manning the stall simply handed over a name card and suggested reaching out to his boss directly. Despite multiple attempts, we’ve yet to receive a response, leaving Low Seng Kim’s operating hours a mystery for now. The stall opens from 1.30am to 10am While Google Maps lists Low Seng Kim’s hours as to 2pm, a netizen has pointed out that the stall actually operates from 1.30am to 10am instead (see above FB post).  Low Seng Kim has a sister stall under the same name at Blk 216 Bedok Food Centre & Market, which maintains regular opening hours from 6am to 2pm (this possibly explains the confusion with the Geylang Bahru outlet). 1 6 Unusual menu includes bak kwa The menu is pretty unconventional too. In addition to mee siam and mee rebus, which are pictured on the signboard, the stall offers packets of nasi lemak from a supplier as well as otah. 2 6 Also on display: jars of pork floss and random packs of bak kwa. According to Makansutra , the stall owner makes the bak kwa in a friend’s factory, giving it an “honest own-made touch”. 3 6 Prices are very wallet-friendly here. Main dishes like mee siam, mee rebus and nasi lemak with fried fish cost $3.50 each, while otah is $1.30 per piece. Our intern sampled the following items: 4 6 Mee Siam, $3.50 According to the stall’s menu display, the mee siam served here is Nonya-style. Our intern notes that the tangy and sweet gravy is “creamier than usual” with the addition of coconut milk (which is not typically used in Malay mee siam) and goes well with the house-made sambal, which leans on the sweeter side. Apart from the usual toppings like a hard boiled egg, beansprouts and fried beancurd, he enjoyed the unique garnish of chopped peanuts, which added a pleasant crunch to the noodles. Overall, our intern found the dish to be comforting and filling, especially for supper or an early breakfast. 5 6 Nasi Lemak with fried fish, $3.50; add-on Otah, $1.30 The supplier-sourced nasi lemak failed to impress as the rice was not particularly fragrant and the fried kunning fish was nothing to shout about.   He recommends adding the otah, as the “larger than average” slab added a spicy, lemak punch to the otherwise lacklustre meal. 6 6 Low Seng Kim is at #01-53 Geylang Bahru Market & Food Centre, 69 Geylang Bahru, S330069. Open daily except Mon, 1.30am – 10am.  Photos: Dominic Toh,