An authentic taste of Taiwan: Noodle brand Lao Ma Ban Mian opens at West Mall serving tasty noods and pudding

We Asians love our noodles. Maybe not as much as we do rice, but everybody has their own classic noodle dishes, be it laksa for Singapore, pho for Vietnam, or ramen for Japan.

That’s why you know West Mall’s newest noodle shop, Lao Ma Ban Mian, is the real deal — it’s a made-in-Taiwan brand that has Taiwanese celebrities raving about it!

It claims award-winning Mandopop singers, such as A-Lin and Hebe Tien, as fans of its noods.

The English name might be confusing without the pinyin accents, but the name in Mandarin is 老媽拌麵 (basically dry-tossed noodles), not the 板面 (ban mian) we are familiar with.

Lao Ma Ban Mian actually started as a premium instant noodle brand in Taiwan back in 2013, though it eventually expanded into the eatery business, with outlets in both Taipei and Hong Kong.

The West Mall outlet officially opened on Apr 15 and will be Lao Ma Ban Mian’s first Singapore outlet!

Good noods, surprising desserts

One of the signatures of Lao Ma Ban Mian is the guan miao mian, a type of wavy noodles that is sourced from Tainan, where it is made traditionally before being sun-dried.

Guests can try it in dishes such as the chili oil preserved egg and meat sauce noodles (S$12.50), a unique dish that comes with a thick, creamy mouthfeel when the preserved egg and sauce is mixed in.

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The guan miao mian itself is delightfully chewy, with everything fragrant and punchy. The preserved egg is also balanced enough — even some of my dining companions who usually can’t stand it found this rendition enjoyable.

From Apr 15 to 29, guests can even enjoy it for just S$5, as part of Lao Ma Ban Mian’s Singapore opening!

On the other hand, if soup noodles are more to your liking, Lao Ma Ban Mian’s dried scallop huadiao chicken noodles soup (S$16.50) is an equally solid choice.

The scallop soup is rich, comforting and enlivened with a subtle splash of hua tiao-wine sharpness, while the noodles are silky and bouncy.

The ingredients, such as the chicken and mushrooms, are also tender and juicy!

Taiwanese food lovers would probably also be wondering if there is other classic Taiwanese grub available and yes, they are!

There’s the fried egg braised pork rice (S$5.50), Yipin braised beef shank noodles soup (S$16) and garlic fermented soy chicken chop (S$8.50).

Although people would likely be more familiar with fried chicken chop, Lao Ma Ban Mian also offers a garlic fermented soy pork chop (S$10).

The pork chop is juicy and crispy, with a nice touch of garlic aroma and is also featured as part of the garlic fermented soy pork chop noodles (S$15.50), which in turn comes with thin noodles coated in an addictive sweet-savoury sauce.

Considering it’s known for its noodles, it’s not surprising everything we tried was pretty solid.

The crazy thing, though, is that the desserts at Lao Ma Ban Mian are probably just as good.

Ice cream fans would really enjoy the milky oolong milk tea ice cream (S$2) that’s loaded with tea fragrance and not cloying at all.

Our favourite dessert here has to be the Showa pudding (S$4.50) that’s topped with chewy pearls and an intoxicatingly toasty caramel syrup. Yum.

If the promise of hearty noods and tasty desserts aren’t enough to get you to visit the west, there’s more: Lao Ma Ban Mian is also offering a free membership that lets you enjoy a 10% lifetime discount on all dishes!

This was an invited tasting.

For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the best spots to hit up for finger-lickin’ saucy chilli crabs and our cafe guide for Joo Chiat!

Enjoy up to 50% off when you dine with GrabFood Dine Out.

You can also book a ride to Lao Ma Ban Mian’s Singapore outlet at West Mall.