We went to a Singaporean restaurant in Monterey Park, California, because the line was too long at the more popular place voted up by Yelpers. We ordered the famous dish known as Singaporean rice noodles, and to our surprise, it was not curry yellow!
The real authentic Singapore rice noodles dish that has become popular in Chinese and/or Cantonese restaurants, apparently, is not what you would get in Singapore. Here’s what our investigation turned up::
- Singapore style noodles (Chinese: 星州炒米粉; pinyin: xīng zhōu chǎo mí fěn), a dish featuring fried rice vermicelli flavoured with yellow curry powder, is not commonly found in Singapore. It is popular with Chinese takeaways in the West as well as Hong Kong. (wikipedia entry for Singaporean cuisine)
- The dish appears on the menu of almost all Chinese-style (mainly Cantonese-style) eateries in Hong Kong, and is also very popular in English, Australian, Canadian and American Chinese cuisine. Despite the name, this dish is virtually unknown in Singapore. (wikipedia entry for Singapore-style noodles)
- Singapore rice noodles is essentially just curry rice noodles. From what I hear, it’s not an authentic Singaporean dish at all but a Chinese/Cantonese invention. (playingwithflour.com)
- Singapore-Style Rice Vermicelli (星洲炒米) (Singapore rice noodles or Singapore Mei Fun) is part of the identity of Hong Kong cuisine. … Now, listen, you can’t find this dish in Singapore. It’s not that they don’t eat stir-fried rice vermicelli there (they DO!), it’s just not the same thing with the same taste. (saucy-spatula.com)
- … Singapore Style Fried Rice Noodles is really a Singaporean take on that delectable and perhaps more well known version of stir-fried rice noodles popularized by Taiwanese joints, i.e. “tsao mi fun” if you speak Mandarin, or “tsa bi whun” if you are OG and speak in Taiwanese, or if you are hardcore and read/write Chinese … 炒米粉. … Here in the States the versions of Singapore Style Fried Rice Noodles is not really Singaporean. … in Singapore (or most of SE Asia) … this dish is made with ketchup and chili sauce. But having traversed the Pacific to make it here, the Singapore Style Fried Rice Noodles you find here in SGV is made with … curry (chowhound.com)
- The type of “Singapore noodles” known outside of Singapore does not actually exist in Singapore. … The main difference between Westernized versions of Singapore noodles and the real thing is that there isn’t any curry powder in a Singapore bee hoon dish. The noodles are also served up pretty mild in flavor—not spicy at all. (seriouseats.com)
- Although this noodle stir-fry bears Singapore’s name, it was actually invented by Cantonese chefs who wanted to honor the country’s vibrant cultural mix. (finecooking.com)