Wang Cai Ipoh Curry Mee: Authentic Malaysian curry noodles with pork belly & char siew

It’s been ages since my last curry fix, so when Aaron pointed me in Wang Cai Ipoh Curry Mee’s direction, there was no question of whether I’d be dropping by and just a matter of when. One afternoon, on the precipice of erupting into a curry-lusting frenzy, I stormed my way to Telok Blangah.

Alright, there was in actuality, no obnoxious stomping and roaring (obviously). I was in a chill mood thanks to the merciful weather. Plus, Telok Blangah Mall’s heartland location was much too convenient to build up a foul mood on the way from the station.

The coffeeshop that Wang Cai Ipoh Curry Mee occupies is on the second floor. Once you figure that out, it’s an easy find. Thanks to an extensive coverage of bird nets, there were no annoying pigeons prancing about in their usual high-and-mighty show-of-force.

Before their sole Telok Blangah location, Wang Cai Ipoh Curry Mee used to operate 2 outlets, one at Jurong West and the other at Gambas Crescent. Now, the owners run this outlet exclusively.

What I tried at Wang Cai Ipoh Curry Mee

I’ve become accustomed to expecting a distinct milky fragrance assailing my senses when these heavy curry dishes are served. Instead, the bowl of Ipoh Curry Noodles (S$5.50) had a rich, spice-laden aroma that was somewhat familiar, but lacked the tropical notes. Strikingly, there was a garnishing of mint leaves on top of the pork belly and char siew with some tau pok settled on the side.

After performing a scoop-and-splash test, the Ipoh curry broth can only be described as runny. When I took my first sip, the wave of curry left light, peppery prickles on its travel across my tongue. The deceptively light broth made repeated sips so ineffectual that chugging it was actually plausible.

Each pork belly had spent an unjust amount of time in the pool of curry through no fault of theirs. My lengthy photoshoot had allowed the crispy exteriors to soften by taking on the curry. Despite being deprived of this critical element, the pork belly pieces punched well above their weight class with a robust, pork-ey scent, meat that had absorbed the curry’s flavours and fat which eased the chew.

The char siew pieces were bordering on tough, yet were still lax enough that they drooped as I lifted them with chopsticks. Expecting irredeemably rigid and chewy slices, I was pleasantly surprised that they instead returned a wondrous sweet profile that didn’t take too many bites to swallow. The slightly thicker slices weren’t too tough either.

The yellow noodles had absorbed a good amount of the curry’s light flavours, their slightly soggy texture making each bite a lot like drinking the curry broth. I could definitely see myself finishing the whole bowl even without accompanying ingredients.

The tau pok’s skin was tougher than what I am used to. While the insides had soaked up an enormous amount of curry broth, it made biting through the beancurd pieces just a little tougher. As I readily sucked curry from the porous chunks, it got me thinking — aren’t tau pok just edible straws?

There were a few pieces of long beans buried in the curry. Not too substantial, but the texture was appreciated. Or maybe I didn’t bother dredging hard enough for more greens.

The Curry Chicken Rice (S$5.50) appeared to have the same curry broth. That was true, for the most part. According to the stallowner, both curries use the same paste but are prepared using different methods. The bowl of chicken curry had a few sizeable chunks of potato and, notably, 2 significant portions of chicken.

We detected a stronger presence of coconut milk from sipping the broth on its own. Was it just the placebo effect that the curry tasted a touch creamier?

The chicken wasn’t mind-blowingly tender but still fatty and offered big bites of meat to go with the curry — the most important aspect of this traditional pairing.

Don’t forget to dip the rice fully in the broth for the quintessentially Asian way of enjoying curry.

Shredded Chicken Hor Fun (S$3.50) is topped with shallots and has 2 prawns for company in… wait, why is there soup in my hor fun?

Like the curry mee, this is prepared Ipoh-style, producing a dish that looks nothing like our version of hor fun. The soup had hints of umami and was savoury, leaving a very delicate impression on my taste buds compared to the ‘exuberant’ curry. We had tainted it somewhat by using our curry spoons to take repeated sips.

Sadly, the prawns kept our reception of the hor fun lukewarm. Both were way too resilient to be enjoyable and quite tasteless.

The shredded chicken pieces were savoury and packed with soup, having been submerged for a while. The bowl of hor fun could have used more of them as the picture above shows all I could pick out from the bowl’s surface.

The best part of the hor fun, barring the soup, was the flat rice noodles since I could dunk them in the curry.

If it wasn’t obvious, we aren’t the biggest fans of the Shredded Chicken Hor Fun. As a healthier option at that price point, it wasn’t all that bad. For a typical meal, the Penang Prawn Noodle (S$4/S$5/S$6) or the Ipoh Dry Curry Mee (S$4.50/S$5.50/S$6.50) are just much more appetising choices.

If you’re seeking a different curry experience, though, Wang Cai Ipoh Curry Mee’s Ipoh Curry Noodle and Curry Chicken Rice are absolutely worth travelling to Telok Blangah for.

Expected damage: S$4.50 – S$6.50 per pax

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