Have a bowl of fishball mee pok (flat noodles) with coffee by day, and yakitori with Japeratifs by night
What do you get when you put local old skool fishball noodles, coffee & toast with modern Japanese yakitori? An interesting coffeeshop with two different identities located in a nostalgic part of Singapore called Tiong Bahru.
Started way back in the 1940s, Hua Bee is a cultural institution located at the base of Block 78 of Moh Guan Terrace. Many living in Tiong Bahru would remember buying fishball noodles and coffee & toast from Hua Bee (that’s all the coffeeshop ever sold for over half a century). It was also the set for Eric Khoo’s 1995 movie, Mee Pok Man.
When restaurateur Loh Lik Peng took over the premises, this ‘Chipanese’ oddball combi was born to address the laments of the residents who felt that neighbourhood icons such as Hua Bee were being displaced by monied upstarts keen to have a stake in the increasingly hip neighbourhood – it will continue to exist as Hua Bee serving its well-loved fishball noodles and coffee by day, and morph into a trendy Japanese yakitori bar called Bincho at night.
The original mee pok seller was persuaded to come back and continue serving her fishball noodles.
For us, the noodles were a bit clumpy for our liking – we preferred it firm and springy. Still, it’s worth a visit down memory lane.
The traditional way of drinking coffee would be to pour & sip it from the saucer. People in the past used to do that to cool the coffee faster. Prop up a leg as you sip to up the old skool quotient.
Say hello to Uncle Lim (in cap) at the coffee stall
The front half of the 1,500 sq ft space looks exactly like how regulars remember it, while the back half will house Bincho, a modern open-concept yakitori bar helmed by Chef Asai Masashi as well as a cocktail bar featuring playful Japeritifs by Stefan Ravalli of The Library.
Bincho, which means charcoal in Japanese, has a 12-stool dining counter with three table seats. So do make reservations before turning up.
Featuring 3 different sets – Sakura, Bincho and Miyabi, the menu changes daily to feature fresh ingredients.
Cocktail Area
I’ll come back to try the yakitori at night. And definitely the Japeratifs.
HUA BEE
Blk 78 Moh Guan Terrace
#01-19 Singapore 160278
Tel: +65 6438 4567
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/binchohuabee
FISHBALL NOODLES and COFFEE & TOAST Opening Hours:
Tue-Sat, from 7:00AM to 3:00PM
Closed on Sun & Mon
BINCHO Opening Hours:
Tues to Sun – 12:00PM to 3:00PM (weekends); 6:00PM to 12:00AM
Closed on Mon
