Bee hoon, or rice vermicelli, is one of the most common food ingredients in Singapore cuisine which manifests itself in multiple delicious forms. Cheeky Bee Hoon gives it yet a few more creative twists, bringing truly unique flavours to adventurous foodies — like me.
Bee hoon is one of the most ubiquitous food ingredients in Singapore's food scene, and we all have our own favourite renditions of it. With a dining concept to create not-so-ordinary dishes out of this ordinary food ingredient, ex-fine dining restaurant chef Darwin Wong was determined to create unique flavours that would redefine what bee hoon could be.
And that led to the advent of Cheeky Bee Hoon in mid-2023, which serves up fusion local bee hoon dishes in a restaurant that's peppered with nostalgic memorabillia that will instantly transport you back to the 70s-80s in Singapore.
Soup been hoon with a peculiar "smoked" flavour
Above: Boasting a thick, flavourful broth and generous portions of ingredients, the Soup Cheeky Bee Hoon also has a peculiar "smoked" flavour that will surprise you
This is not your run-of-the-mill soup bee hoon. Sporting a thick and flavourfully umami pork broth, this soup bee hoon dish has an interesting flavour profile and it comes with loads of ingredients including fresh lala (clams), homemade meatballs, sliced lean pork, and minced pork.
It also has a peculiar "smoked" flavour that will potentially surprise you. For a moment, I thought I was tucking into a bowl of what smelled like barbeque meats. And I even asked the staff if the stock contains any beef at all, as my tastebuds were tricked into thinking that it does. But as it turns out, it's just a well made pork broth through and through — with a hint of smoke. Interesting, like I said.
Delish dry bee hoon with chunky braised pork
Above: Love the Dry Cheeky Bee Hoon with Braised Pork, which comes with generous slices chunky braised pork that topped the bowl of delicious and super springy bee hoon
This may look like thin yellow egg noodles, or mee-kia, but it's actually bee hoon that's curly and super springy in texture by virtue of its curliness and softness. And believe me, the curliness of the bee hoon makes a great difference to the mouthfeel, compared to most dry bee hoon dishes out there.
Its bouncy texture, combined with the delicious seasoning and chunky slices of braised pork, makes this a really fun and tasty dish to eat. In fact, I would much prefer this to the soup version anytime, although I truly enjoyed the broth for that. But you know what, I actually get a bowl of that tasty broth for this dry version too. So it's the best of both worlds for me!
Above: This may look like mint sauce, but it's actually the chef's own creation of a coriander-peanut sauce that could serve as a condiment or a stir-in sauce for your noods
I was drawn to a vibrantly green sauce while I was picking up the cutlery and really curious why the restaurant would serve what I thought was a mint sauce with their food. But it turns out that this is actually a sweet, tangy, and aromatic coriander-peanut sauce that's created by the chef as a condiment.
The aromas of coriander in this sauce wasn't overpowering and it was well balanced by the flavour of the peanuts. In addition, the tartness of the sauce really helped to alleviate any uneasy sensation from the greasiness of the deep-fried food, which them even more palatable.
Being my adventurous self, I chose to stir the sauce into my bowl of dry bee hoon, and surprisingly, it was delish and added more dimensions to its flavours!
Crab dumplings are a must-order
Above: "Full of crab" is the best way to describe the moreish crab dumplings. And the broth makes them even better
It's probably the first time I've encountered dumplings that are bursting with crab meat, like this one. Very umami and full of natural sweetness from the crab meat, this easily made it to my list of top-ten comfort food. And the broth that comes with it was so deliciously soothing that I believe I could drink this all day!
Above: Fried crab dumplings that offer a totally different way of enjoying these seafood parcels
And if you absolutely love your dumplings deep-fried, the good news is that there's also a deep-fried version of the crab dumplings. This is perfect finger food for me, and it goes very well with the coriander-peanut sauce! Just can't stop munching on these.
Don't miss dipping the youtiao in broth
Above: Charcoal youtiao and the flavourful thick broth are a match made in heaven
Youtiao or fried dough sticks are another common hawker snack in Singapore that's been popular for generations. In fact, I'd say that it's sort of a nostalgic food that's still commonly sold till this day. And the chef has cleverly included dark-coloured charcoal youtiao in his menu, knowing for sure that foodies will get a real kick out of dipping it into their delicious broth. And pow-wow, they got it right!
The youtiao serves as a deliciously edible sponge that soaks up the yummy broth, and they pack a yummy punch of flavours in every single bite!
Fusion flavours for adventurous foodies
Food can be whatever your imagination leads you to. And Cheeky Bee Hoon is a testament to that. From fine dining cuisine to reimagined fusion local noodle dishes with a touch a nostalgia, Chef Darwin Wong has proven that it's OK to seek and explore possibilities in food because there will be similarly adventurous foodies out there who are willing to give new flavours a chance. And I'd say that his reinvented bee hoon dishes turned out pretty well.
To me, his attempt was not a cheeky one, but a measured move that created tasty new food.
Locate it
Address:
Cheeky Bee Hoon
37 East Coast Road
Singapore 428755
Operating Hours:
Opens daily, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Call:
8644 2108
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