With the words ‘Selamat Datang’, meaning welcome in Malay, etched on its red and white signboard (eclipsing the actual name of the stall), it’s no wonder why queues are formed at a frantic pace at Warong Pak Sapari located at Adam Road Food Centre.
Formalities aside, Warong Pak Sapari is said to have the best mee soto and mee rebus on the island. Though my natural course of action was to be sceptical, the fact that it’s still running after five decades changed my demeanour.
It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to know how long 50 years is, back when we had only 4 billion people on Earth! What has stayed consistent are the recipes that have been used. Any basic homemade mee soto would probably take around 10 or at most 15 ingredients but here at Warong Pak Sapari, he uses a whopping 21 ingredients and that’s just the broth!
What I tried at Warong Pak Sapari
Warong Pak Sapari’s highlight dishes were the Mee Soto (S$4.50) and Mee Rebus (S$4.50) which was exactly what I got. I also added a Bergedil (S$1.20) to my Mee Soto. There were also other soup-related dishes such as Chicken Soup (S$6), Chicken Feet Soup (S$6), Chicken Gizzards Soup (S$6), Mutton Tendon Soup (S$7) and Beef Tripe Soup (S$7).
Simply put, Warong Pak Sapari is the common cold’s worst nightmare.
The Mee Soto comes with either bee hoon or yellow noodles, but I opted for the latter for the purist experience. It was also topped with spring onions and beansprouts, and at this point, I don’t really mind them as much. There was also roughly shredded chicken that wasn’t as fine as I expected.Â
You also had the option to add on sambal kicap pedas which is a spicy dark soy sauce, to which I excitedly agreed.
My first sip of Warong Pak Sapari’s Mee Soto broth made me wish my mouth had a higher tolerance for hot food, as I found myself wanting another without going through all the hassle of blowing it to ensure it cooled down.
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The soto taste wasn’t as prominent as the ones I had using pre-packaged mee soto starter packs. This had a surprisingly deep taste with subtle hints of sweetness, probably stemming from the chicken meat that was cooked with the broth.Â
The sambal kicap pedas, which by now had become one with the soup, added an expertly measured spice that complemented and not countered the savoury sweetness of the broth. This could be served as it is, with no noodles or toppings and I wouldn’t question it. It was that good.Â
It took me maybe seven scoops before realising I had yellow noodles in my bowl. It had a nice chew and didn’t get soggy even as I took my time to slurp away on the soup. As a recent beansprout believer, it added a delightful crunch especially when paired with the soup.
The key to eating Bergedil with Mee Soto is to allow the soup to soak into the potato fillet, allowing it to break down into mini-starchy goodness. And that was exactly how it went. It came with a welcoming creamy texture and taste.Â
As nice as it was, I thought that S$1.20 for a piece of Bergedil was a little steep, especially since it racked up the Mee Soto cost to S$5.70 per bowl.Â
The chicken was nicely cooked despite being a thicker cut. Although it still had a good chew, the flavours of the chicken weren’t rich, which I thought was a good thing since the broth was already that good.
Unlike the Mee Soto, the Mee Rebus was served in a standard fashion. There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary as it had your staple boiled egg, fried tofu, chilli slices and a slice of lime. As expected, the gravy was thick and required a good mixing to properly spread the gravy amongst the noodles.
Even though the Mee Rebus had a similar sweet and savoury taste to the Mee Soto, the texture was what made the difference. The viscosity made the Mee Rebus taste ‘heavier’ and had a hint of nuttiness.Â
Again, the toppings added so much to the dish, especially with the extra chewiness from the fried tofu and the creaminess of the boiled egg. However, the sliced chilli still had plenty of seeds in them so be careful as they can get pretty spicy.
Despite tasting good, after the amazing Mee Soto, good just doesn’t cut it anymore. As such, the Mee Rebus fell below the heights reached by the Mee Soto.
Final thoughts
If you’re still wondering if you should give Warong Pak Sapari a shot, then I suggest reading this review all over again, paying special attention to my assessment of its Mee Soto. Again, the Mee Rebus was no doubt overshadowed by its smoother and runnier noodle siblings, but do still give it a try.
To those who already know the answer, I wish you a pleasant noodle experience that I know you’ll surely have!
Expected damage: S$4.50 – S$8.20 per pax
The $2.50 Shop: Family-run hawker stall with $2.50 nasi rawon, lontong & $0.80 handmade kueh, opens at 3.30am
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