Legacy Pork Noodles: Addictive KL-style pork noodles that sell out before dinnertime
Let’s talk about pork noodles. No, I’m not referring to our local favourite bak chor mee; I’m talking about the Malaysian staple, otherwise known as 猪肉粉 (zhu rou fen). While it can be found just about everywhere in KL, it’s a different story on this side of the border. With only a handful of stalls that offer it, the dish has flown under the radar here.
That was until Legacy Pork Noodles came into the picture. Despite their relatively recent opening in Mar 2024, they’ve been making waves all over social media. Why? None other than their perpetual hour-long queues and KL-style pork noodles that sell like hotcakes. I had no choice but to make a special trip down just to see what the fuss was about.
Legacy Pork Noodles is situated in Potong Pasir, along Tai Thong Crescent — yes, the same stretch of road as the ever-popular Macpherson Minced Meat Noodles.
My hands were clammy as I made my way to the coffeeshop on an early Thursday evening. Yep, not even weekdays are safe. Was I going to succeed at procuring myself a bowl of their pork noodles or not? The sparse crowd in the coffeeshop when I arrived 30 minutes after their dinner seating was certainly reassuring.
I wasted no time in placing my order, and was informed that they were out of pig organs for the soup. “I can live with that,” I thought to myself. More importantly, it was a mission accomplished. Mere minutes after, the ominous ‘sold out’ sign was placed out front. Time check: 6.30pm — it was barely even dinnertime!
What I tried at Legacy Pork Noodles
I went for their Signature Pork Noodles (S$6.50) and opted to have it dry and with mee kia noodles. Judging by the bowls atop just about every table in the coffeeshop, my choices were sensible.
I also topped up an additional S$0.50 for more Pork Lard on top of the portion that would’ve already crowned the noodles. No shame in a little bit of indulgence, okay?
The brown-hued mee kia was topped with some minced meat, a dollop of chilli, spring onions, a sprinkling of pepper and a generous helping of golden brown fried pork lard. Oh, I was in for a treat.
Although the noodles had already been lightly tossed in sauce before it was served, I made sure to give them a more thorough mix for good measure. After each strand and ingredient was plentifully coated in an even-richer dark brown sheen from the sauce that lay beneath, I was ready to tuck in.
Where do I even begin? These noodles were just so tasty. Texturally, Legacy Pork Noodles had these down to a tee. The mee kia was springy and possessed a satisfying firm bite — the perfect al dente, if you will.
While there were discernible hints of alkalinity, they weren’t unpleasantly overpowering and were nicely masked by the sweet-savoury dark sauce mixture. The fragrant aroma of lard and shallot oil permeated each mouthful as well. And how could I forget the chilli? The crunchy house-made blend imparted umami notes of hae bee and sharp hints of spice that added oomph to the dish.
Having ‘blessed’ myself with the gift of more pork lard, I had the liberty of topping off each spoonful with a nugget or even two of it. The combination of chewy, sauce-laden noodles and crunchy, unctuous pork lard was a wonderful blend of flavours and textures. Very addictive!
As I just about walloped the noodles in their entirety, I almost had to remind myself that I had a whole bowl of soup I had yet to tuck into.
The broth had a cloudy appearance, speckled with tiny bits of pork fat and pops of colour from the scallions and vegetable stalks floating on the surface. While I could barely make out what was beneath, the soup alone looked rather inviting.
Taste-wise, the broth had a savoury flavour profile with notes of pork bone and briny ikan bilis. I also detected a subtle tang reminiscent of pickled vegetables in pig’s organ soup, or perhaps that was just my mind at work.
However, my main gripe was that the pork soup failed to wow me like the noodles did, especially since it’s where the pork element should’ve best shone. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy it; I just felt that the flavours were a little less robust than I’d have preferred. It lacked an X-factor that would’ve set it apart from other similar-tasting broths.
Nonetheless, it was indeed light and comforting. I also appreciated Legacy Pork Noodles’s generosity with ingredients here. My bowl of pork soup, although sans organs, brimmed with a medley of pork slices, minced pork chunks and meatballs. I got my money’s worth after all.
The ingredients themselves were delectable, too. Of all, I enjoyed the meatballs and the hefty minced pork chunks the most.
The meatballs were firm and dense, with a surprisingly soft bite. Similarly, the minced pork chunks were incredibly tender, with an almost buttery consistency — I kid you not. They were also well-marinated, infused with the moreish nutty essence of sesame oil.
Although I’m barely an offal-enjoyer, I couldn’t help but wonder how much better the soup could have been with its presence. Oh well, I suppose there’s next time.
Final Thoughts
Legacy Pork Noodles may be a pretty new kid on the block, but I can see them becoming a cherished fixture in our hawker scene.
Overall, I’d say that their Signature Pork Noodles is a solid take on zhu rou fen. Although I did personally feel that the soup could be richer, the tasty dry-tossed noodles and the generous portion of delectable, tender meat more than made up for it. In my humble opinion, it might just get Singaporeans falling in love with the Malaysian staple.
While wait times are said to go up to 1.5 hours at this point, a little polishing here and there could very well lower the numbers soon enough. Until then, I can only recommend you to swing by early, or if you have the time to spare.
Expected damage: S$4 – S$6.50 per pax
The post Legacy Pork Noodles: Addictive KL-style pork noodles that sell out before dinnertime appeared first on SETHLUI.com.
