Mee Cik Ling: Halal-certified stall with oh-so-comforting fish soup and ban mian from S$5.50

If fish soup is your kind of comfort food, there’s a newish “fish” in Singapore’s F&B pond (pun intended) to check out. 

Launched in January, Mee Cik Ling is a halal-certified concept serving up hearty fish soup and handmade ban mian.

You can use your CDC vouchers here, too!

It’s run by longtime friends Andrew Oh and Dinie Elfian, both in their thirties and well-acquainted with the F&B scene. 

Andrew is part of the second-generation team behind well-known Xin Yuan Ji Fish Soup in Bugis. Meanwhile, Dinie is involved in his family business, Asyura, a homegrown ready-to-cook paste brand. 

For the duo, it started with a craving for a comforting bowl of fish soup. Given that halal options are still pretty hard to come by, they spotted an opportunity to fill the gap.

That led to the opening of Mee Cik Ling at halal-certified coffeshop The Coffeehood & Tea Hall in Sengkang East, and subsequently a second outlet in Bukit Gombak in May.

When it comes to the rather catchy name, Andrew is not shy about admitting that it’s a cheeky wordplay on “Michelin”.

“Mee” refers to noodles, “Cik” represents the aunties and uncles in the Muslim community, while “Ling” alludes to ling fish — a type of white fish that the brand hopes to introduce to more diners. 

Andrew points out that Mee Cik Ling’s version takes inspiration from Xin Yuan Ji’s, with a few tweaks made to better suit Muslim diners — and all of the ingredients used are halal-certified.

What we tried at Mee Cik Ling

Both of Mee Cik Ling’s outlets serve its signature dishes such as fried fish bee hoon soup (S$6.80), sliced fish bee hoon soup (S$6.90), and duo fish bee hoon soup (S$9.50). 

You can take your pick from thick or thin bee hoon, Koka noodles, or rice (extra S$1). There’s also an option to add evaporated milk to the broth for a creamy finish.

On top of that, Mee Cik Ling serves handmade ban mian in both dry and soup versions. 

Options include the original pan mian (from S$5.50), duo fish pan mian (from S$10.50), and its bestselling chicken cutlet pan mian (S$6.30).

Obviously, at a dedicated fish soup spot, the duo fish bee hoon soup (S$9.50) is a must-try. It gives you the best of both worlds, starring boiled and fried fish slices in one bowl. 

We went with thick bee hoon and had evaporated milk added to the broth, which gave it a delicate touch of sweetness.

According to Andrew, sole fish powder is also incorporated and cooked with each bowl, enriching the overall profile with a deeper, moreish flavour. 

The crowning glory of the dish is the satisfyingly thicc fish meat, with its firm and slightly flaky bite that’s reminiscent of halibut. 

We also tried the oh-so-hearty chicken cutlet pan mian (dry, S$6.80), where the delightfully chewy noodles work well with the savoury dark sauce. 

It also comes with minced chicken, a juicy chicken cutlet, an onsen egg, and a small serving of chilli paste on the side. 

As someone who doesn’t quite take spice — xiao la (mildly spicy) is my limit — I found the chilli pretty manageable, adding a nice umami burst without setting my tastebuds on fire.

As for the original pan mian (soup, S$6), we had ours zhng-ed up (upgraded) with tom yum broth for an extra S$0.80. 

The robust broth was much more intense than we had expected — and absolutely not for the faint-hearted. But if you’re looking for something with a prominent kick, the tom yum is a solid choice to go for.

To complement the carbs, there’s an array of sides such as homemade ngoh hiang ball (S$4), breaded Torpedo prawns (S$4.80), and fried cuttlefish ball (S$4).

All in all, we were satisfied with our meal at Mee Cik Ling, thanks to its generous portions. If you live around Sengkang East or Bukit Gombak, you know where to go the next time you’re craving  something hearty!

This was a hosted tasting.

For more places to eat, check out Maison Yoshoku, a new floating dessert omakase bar and Korean gamjatang chain Jomaru’s debut in Singapore.