When it comes to Italian food, I am quite skeptical that you can actually get good quality stuff for cheap cheap. Anything Italian is expensive. Italian cars, Italian shoes, Italian sounding coffee......... AND if you want to increase the value of your brand name, one sure way to do it is to give it an Italian sounding name like Lorenzo rather than Tan Kim Hock Furniture.
Good Italian food requires the use of good extra virgin olive oil, real parmesan cheese, quality pasta and fresh herbs at the minimum. All the good stuff has to be imported from overseas, unlike a plate of Hokkien Mee where everything is found here and the sauces don't come from a bottle that uses foreign language and eurodollar signs. So what can you expect from a $3.90 plate of pasta... really?
You know I have been setting you up don't you?
The pasta here is amazing for the price you pay! The taste is better than places like Pasta Fresca and Pasta Mania. Unlike most hawker style pastas which have that local taste, this one really tastes like it was prepared by Mario! Ma Ma Mia!
First up was the Mushroom Al Freddo. They only have one choice of pasta and that is Spaghetti. I was told their Spaghetti was imported from a town outside of Pompeii. Now, I don't know how significant that is, all I can say is that it is Al Dente and very good. The cream based sauce was rich enough but not overly thick such that you get real Jia Lard (Indigestion) after the meal. It would have been perfect with a little more Shitake Mushrooms and Parmesan Cheese. 4.25 High marks considering its only $3.90! (Note that the pictures show only a sampling portion, the real portion is twice the amount!)
The tomato based sauce was equally impressive. This is the Matriciana, which is tomato based sauce with hickory smoked bacon, herbs and chilli flakes. The sauce has just the right amount of tang and they really know how to use their herbs so that you don't get that kind of typical "spaghetti mixed herb" taste. You know, the type of taste you get when you try to make spagetti bolognaise at home and because you are lazy, you just use the McCormick Spaghetti Mix. And they don't use just any tomatoes, they use canned Roma tomatoes! 4.25/5
The Pan Fried Spaghetti was a hit with the older folks. (The in-laws) This was invented by Chef James to cater to the folks who prefer a more local taste. It is a hit with the older folks because it tastes more like a stirfried noodle. The Spaghetti is fried in olive oil and garlic with herbs and chilli flakes added for that extra kick. (This is to cater to those who like to put chilli in everything). Not bad, but if I wanted something local, I will go for hokkien mee. 4/5
Now I know of some guys who simply love their Al Pesto and would eat nothing else. Sorry guys, the Pesto did not make the grade for me because of the lack of Pine Nuts. I can't really blame them, Pine Nuts are really expensive and at $3.90, I can't really expect them to use lots of Pine Nuts. So I am only giving the Pesto a 3.5/5.
Conclusion
This is good value for money Pasta that actually tastes like Pasta you would find in a good Italian Restaurant. If you want a shioker (even more delicious) Carbonara, just ask James to upgrade it for you by putting extra slices of Bacon and additional Parmesan. It'll be really good and still be less than half the price you pay in a restaurant. Great place to get your pasta fix without having to use your Visa Card, and still get 10 cents change for your 4 dollars!
Mien by FirstPastaBukit Timah Food Centre
#02-195
Open 12pm-9.30pm
Closed on Tuesdays
firstpasta@hotmail.com
98583019 James Tan
Disclosure: I was reading about this place in the forum and amazed at just how much people were raving about it. See here. I told myself I have got to go down there one day to try it out. 2 hours later, I got this email from Damien inviting me to come take pics of his place!! You can call it fate, you can call it coincidence, but I call it divine intervention. Anyway the four plates of pastas were provide free by Damien (half portions, so he only blanja 2 plates) and I made a new friend who loves to eat!
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23 comments:
Great recommendation. Had the Carbonara and Pan Fried with Bacon and Mushroom.
Was really surprised they used the good' ol American bacon which is pretty costly.
Real deal man!
The real gem of Bukit Timah Food Centre. Had the Aglio-Olio pan-fried with mushrooms and bacon twice and was pleased with it both times.
It is true that you do not have to worry about the lunch time queue for this stall because Chef James gets the job done within a minute and still taste great.
Serving size and ingredients are generous and I really dig the use of larger pieces of onions in the pasta. Excellent.
just had the aglio olio for dinner today - very good! spaghetti was indeed al dente. my eurasian friend was disappointed that the tomato base sauce was finished by the time we got there. also, the amount of chilli added was just perfect.
Being a pasta lover, I went on to try Mien with much anticipation after reading this post.
I tried Mien on 2 seperate occastions. Unreservedly, both occasions left me a happy man.
During the first-dunno-what-to-expect session, I stood dumbfounded in front of the stall, going through James' chalkboard menu and his pretty framed pictures.
There I stood not knowing what to order, James asked if I preferred tomato sauce or cream sauce. He then asked me what toppings I like. Among the 4 choices were: Bacon, Mushrooms, Seafood and Chicken.
As Im a traditionalist (is there such a word?) when it comes to food, I always stick to my beef bolognaise. The fatty inside of me broke free and told him that I've always chose tomato sauce, so this time I shld venture out and try something else. Since there weren't any beef, I took Bacon and Mushrooms (yes, you can mix 2 toppings). He reccomended me the house cream sauce and since I was game and had an open mind at that time, I agreed.
I asked James as he mixed and stir fried my pasta, "what is the difference with his Carbonara sauce and his house Cream sauce?"
He replied that the Carbonara has added egg and xxxx (so sorry, xxxx is something else, but i forgot what he said. too hungry lah)
In less a minute, my pasta was prepared. I saw the little sign that said Soup of the Day $2.50 or with Pasta only $1.90 (i think its $1.90, but im definite it costs less than $2). So I ordered the soup and on top of the soup was some crispy bread.
There I went happily with my food to the table and I began to savour them like a hungry dog. Go figure.
In front of me was Linguine Pasta, this narrow and flat shaped pasta, house cream sauce that was fabulous and a proportionate but yet generous amount of bacon and mushrooms.
I dunno what ang mor pig that this bacon came from whom the above commentor mentioned, but it is damn good lah. Also the mushrooms, isit expensive Shitake mushrooms? It is also damn good lah.
As for the soup, it was some creamy thingy with some oil hovering on the surface. I don't really like it cos I thought that it tasted abit too oily as it probably had too much oil for its own good. Also, it was abit too diluted and not That creamy. However, the piece of bread in it made all the difference for me as together with the bread, the soup went down less oily and thicker. Maybe bcos the bread absorbed the oil?
Anyways, for $3.90 pasta and $1.90 soup, what more can you ask for besides a sexy waitress?
I am particularly fussy when it comes to pasta while dining out. Many of these poorly trained cooks or chefs or whomever they are, prepare them hastily, thus poorly.
The usual pasta preparation is done by cooking the pasta or heating up the already cooked pasta in hot water. Then, these pple will place them on a plate, and top it up with the desired sauce. The important part of this procedure is to drain the pasta properly. Some of these guys do not drain it well enough, hence the pasta remains wet.
When served, I observed many times that abit of water leaks out underneath the pasta. Even if you dont see it, you'll notice that when you mix your pasta with the sauce, your sauce suddenly gets diluted. Thereby your carbonara or bolognaise sauce isnt thick and creamy anymore. That totally spoils my pasta experience.
Back to Mien, because of the way it is prepared, stir fried, you wont have any of those diluted sauces. On top of that, your pasta is served hot off the hot hot pan onto a pretty white plastic plate. Unlike dining at certain pasta joints, the wet pasta goes onto the cold plate, sits there till the server brings it to you and gets cold while waiting under the aircon. A cold pasta tastes totally different from a hot one.
All in all, Cream Sauce Linguine with Bacon and Mushrooms 4.5+/5 Soup erm.... 2 to 2.5/5 ?
The portions arent bigger than pasta joints but at $3.90, it will fill your appetite about 80%. Luckily, dessert is within reach just a few stalls away.
On my 2nd visit, I ordered Bacon and Mushrooms again with tomato sauce. James added some chilli or spicy ingredient. My fren had the seafood Matriciana. I asked James is there a difference between my sauce and the Matriciana (tomato base too)? He said mine was better. Why? Only God and James knows why.
When I asked James how did he prepare his tomato sauce, and if there's any secret, because I frequently cook pasta at home too. He smiled and replied that I could search on the net and it would list down 'all the 8 steps of preparation'. 'Every individual got different preferences and cooking styles' Damnit! He didnt answer my question. After sharing with him that I squeeze in half an orange for a serving of sauce, he said not to forget 'Oregano' and some 'L and P sauce' or 'L and B sauce' (I couldnt make out what he said and Im trying to search for this ingredient. Anybody can verify?). There I took my pasta and didnt want to pursue any further as I wanted to devour pasta sooner.
When I took my tomato sauce Linguine with Bacon and Mushrooms, I noticed there were pepper, salt oregano and other stuff in front of the counter for you to add onto your dish. I shook the oregano (some green color chopped up leafy thingy) over my pasta and it did add on to the already wonderful tomato taste.
Spicy tomato sauce Linguine with Bacon and Mushrooms - 4.5+/5
I burped a happy man. Along with the yummy 'Thai Ruby' (just like Red Ruby but the Ruby is bigger and wrinkled) dessert that I ordered from the opposite stall. Costs $2, but its very yummy, served with coconut cream.
As for my fren's Seafood Matriciana, I guess it was pretty ok, but just dont expect a generous amount of seafood as seafood ingredients are costlier. So if you want more ingredients, either ask for a $1 top up? or get Bacon/Cheeken/Mushrooms instead.
Looking forward to bring more frens to Mien so that I got the excuse to eat it again.
-ushootieatishiokifat
L&P sauce is most likely Lea & Perrins' Worcestershire sauce. Some zi cha stalls do use them for some of the fried noodles/bee hoon dishes. Some variant of Ramly burgers too.
Hi, I actually ate here once and the portions were about as much as that in the picture(so much for half portions), plus I didn't know you could choose toppings. I ordered carbonara and it was a bit too salty.
I've eaten carbonara a few times before at other places. The best carbonara (ie not too salty)I had was in this hawker centre in Chinatown my Mum called Fu Hai. The stall is between a bak chor mee stall and a crayfish horfun stall(both had really long queues).
There's also this stall in changi airport terminal 2 staff canteen that sells really good pasta(at least to me). There's always a super long queue whenever I go there, quite a few types of pasta too. The stall's called wild olives if I'm not wrong.
The fish and chips there is supposedly good too. I tried, but maybe it's because I never liked fish in the first place.
Mien has moved to 02-197 if I remember correctly! Anyway it was in the 190+ region.
I agree with the previous commenter - the portion wasn't very big, about the same as those in the photographs! But worth trying.
Thanks. Its is actually #02-195. Have updated the blog
i just reckon extra virgin olive oil shouldn't be used to cook. makes the food taste different, weird different.
Great recommendation doc!
The pan-fried aglio olio is my favourite with the carbonara coming a close second :)
I went yesterday, had Tomato base with Seafood. really good! So much more better than those from Pastamania and Pizza Hut! and James just took a minute to prepare it(before I can change my mind)! I'm amaze!
And also at the Food centre I found Erdinger Beer 500ml for S$5.50!!!! in NTUC selling at S$6.78 a bottle! This go well with the pasta! Just close my eye I can feel that I'm in Germany.( As the 1st time I had Erdinger was in Frankfurt.Germany in a Italian restaurant) !
thanks Leslie for your recommendation! And Merry X'mas!
Best Regards,
Sunny
My best value quick Carbo laoding place.
Tastewise, the pastas at Mien is very similar to PastaManna, however, I prefer the Mien as the tomato-based and cream-based pasta is richer and tastier :)
They just increased their prices to $4, however, it's still great value for money.
Thanks for the recommendation!
That's because one is the See Fu and the other the Tu Di.
Anyway Mien has to be good cos our friend Damien is quite a foodie himself and I am sure he won't let the standards slip. Hoh Damien?
Hi I've tried it just on Sunday. The noodles were terribly disappointing and it was at 3 plus, ie not busy period. The noodles were soggy, it was too salty and the soup, where do I start. It was thick, tasteless and the "biscotti" was like a piece of white bread left out too long (just hard, not crunchy or crispy). I had high hopes for it - I wasn't expecting some great italian dish but this was way too bad. Had he tweaked his recipe to account for the change in standard since you seemed to have a great time?
Finally have the chance to try Mien - just had it for lunch. Decided to go for the Aglio Olio after reading all the comments - with bacon and mushroom added :) Service was FAST. My pasta was done in a min. It was al dente and tasted homestyle :) like how we will do it at home. No complaints about the taste at all. Good value for $4 a bowl and I think the portion is just right.
I will head back another day to try their cream based pasta - however I do not sight any tobasco sauce?
It shows here that they are closed on Tuesday but I went once On Monday to try to try but it was closed? Maybe need to verify the opening days again?
I have been informed that there has been a change of management recently so whatever has been blogged over 1 year ago may not reflect the current state of the food!
I've been patronising the stall over the years now. I must say that disappointingly, the quality has dropped over the past year. It is still decent for the price, but the standard of cooking is a bit inconsistent though. I will still recommend it as it is still one of the better pastas for that price, with the best variety of cooking styles found in hawker centres, & the pan-fried is still one of the best around on better days.
I must also add that James is also a friendly & obliging man, so you will have a pleasant experience at the stall. =)
One of the better pastas I've tried lately is another stall at Bukit Timah FC called Le Pasta @ unit 138.
I enjoy their Truffle Scented Carbonara ($5.50) and Frutti de Mare ($6).
The pasta was al dente and the truffle oil complimented the carbonnara sauce.
The Frutti de Mare came with very fresh squid, prawns, clams and mussels in a light tomato sauce.
Love the homemade mushroom soup too :)
squid, prawns, clams and mussels for $6?...must try! :)
Theres another italian pasta store called sfigato. Theres a branch nearby at the beauty world food center.
Large portions of food for 8 dollars and below.
I must say the standard of the pasta has drop significantly, over the years. i have patronised this stall since its opening days and i must say i was pretty good at the start. But ard 2-3 yrs ago the standard has dropped alot and its pasta was often over cooked,the sauces no longer as good, sometimes i must say it taste rather bad. I dont understand this, as its still the same person cooking the pasta , why such a huge difference in taste and quality?
Our good friend Damien left around that time. I first met Damien when I visited this stall. Now Damien is doing his own "Hire a Pizzailo" business.
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