New northside supper spot: 24/7 En En KKM opens in Sembawang with ke kou mian from S$5.90
Supper folks staying in the north: You can now get your ke kou mian much more conveniently now that En En KKM has opened in Sembawang!
This is the brand’s second outlet — prior to opening in Sembawang, En En KKM had already garnered a lot of attention with its first outlet in the (formerly) seedy Orchard Towers.
If you’re familiar with KKM or ke kou mian, you’ll know that one of the OG viral spots for this was Hai Xian Zhu Zhou (also known as Uncle KKM) at Bukit Panjang.
It was a popular supper spot in the west that many millennials grew up with, particularly those who studied in NTU or were frequent clubbers.
When it’s late at night and you are out with friends, a simple “Let’s go to Bukit Panjang ke kou mian” would probably get the entire squad’s cheers of approval.
The nourishment of a piping hot bowl of soup, and slurp after slurp of shiok, bouncy noodles? Very few supper offerings top that — but it is a hassle to travel to the west.
And that’s probably one of the reasons En En KKM first went viral.
Besides boasting a more convenient location of Orchard, En En KKM was also open 24 hours, which meant more timings for you to address that KKM craving.
Its Sembawang outlet might not be as central, but given the lack of good supper spots in the area — speaking as someone who also lives in the godforsaken north — we think it’s a great addition regardless.
What is KKM and does En En KKM stack up?
So, what exactly is ke kou mian? The name translates to “delicious noodles” in Chinese, and is actually quite similar to ban mian, or your other soup-based handmade noodle dishes — just that it usually comes with Koka instant noodles.
The broth base is usually brimming with umami, with a tinge of sweetness to it, though many people also swear by the spicy version.
But how does En En KKM stack up taste wise, against the golden standard of Uncle KKM at Bukit Panjang?
We ordered the pork with original soup (S$5.90) and the combo with spicy soup (S$9.90) and overall, it’s not quite there, but not bad at all.
First, the noodles: En En KKM’s execution on the curly Koka noodles is sound, but we felt that it might be just a tad too mushy, lacking that springiness.
You also get choices of u-mian, shaved noodles, ban-mian and mee hoon kueh, but we were told only Koka noodles were available on our visit.
But when it comes to the soup base, En En KKM’s soup is honestly quite similar to the one at Uncle KKM.
We enjoy how robust and comforting the original soup is — the overall profile is rich with umami, but still contains a nice dose of sweetness.
For the spicy soup: Maybe it’s age, or a diminished spice tolerance, but we found the spice level a bit more intense compared to Uncle KKM.
That can be a positive or negative, depending on how you look at it.
Those looking for spice and punch late at night would be elated, whereas those who want something comforting might be disappointed in how it covers over the soup base’s flavours.
As for the toppings, En En KKM offers three different options between pork (S$5.90 for original soup), prawn (S$6.90 for original soup), razor clam (S$7.90 for original soup) or the all-in-one combo (S$8.90 for original soup). For the spicy soup version, just add a dollar.
Of the three, we enjoyed the pork option the most. Not only was En En KKM quite generous with the pork slices, but they were all tender, bouncy, and not at all tough!
The prawn and razor clam were pretty standard, and nothing to shout about. We barely remember fishing out any razor clams in our combo bowl, anyways — maybe just two or three.
Also, remember to add an egg (S$1), if you want it. We didn’t realise it wasn’t included in the price, since all of its signboard photos indicated that each bowl had an egg with it.
Is it as good as Uncle KKM? We don’t think so, or maybe we are just looking at it with rose-tinted shades.
But you know what?
En En KKM is a more-than-solid option, and this new 24/7 ke kou mian spot in Sembawang definitely feels like a great addition to the north, where most of the good stuff closes way before midnight.
For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the new bar that serves a decadent upsized Indomie goreng and where to get affordable S$19.90 pasta sets in the CBD!
- Sembawang
Evan started off writing about food on Instagram, before joining outlets such as Buro and Confirm Good to pursue his passion. His best work usually comes after his first whisky shot in the morning.
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