JB Ah Meng

Weekend nights B.P. (before pregnancy) used to be programmed-packed, occasionally double-booked, starting with early cocktails at new hip bars, followed by wine-filled dinners at up and coming restaurants, and more often than not, we'd end up till the early hours of the next day at our favorite clubs. These days, I'd very much like an early dinner please and be home by 10+pm in order to wind down for bed by midnight. Funny how life has changed. I still do the occasional late night, but whilst my energy level remains comparable (I'm extremely lucky to be the 10-20% of women to not have pregnancy sickness), I'm much happier conserving it for that "rise and shine" early morning high the next day.

JB Ah Meng would NOT have been a choice for Saturday night dinner B.P. The most obvious reason is that we would all be smelling from the recycled tze-char hot air blowing at us throughout dinner, and no way I'd want to mess up my outfit/make-up for the party after-dinner. But A.P, we had quite an enjoyable dinner in unadulterated Geylang alley (some say "lianpang") style. Dresscode: Street casual, and I do mean slippers and shorts.

There were 6 of us so we had a field day ordering.

Fried fish skin

Stir-fried snake beans and celery with deep-fried lotus root slices

Tomato with egg and black fungus

Sweet and sour pork ribs

White pepper crab

 San Lou bee hoon

All the dishes were very competently done. The dish I liked best was the vegetable dish. Loved the wok hei of the fry and how sweet and crunchy the peas were. Would go back just for that. The egg and tomato dish was very different from what we expected (more tomato and black fungus than egg) but very tasty nevertheless. As described by the auntie who took our orders, the sweet and sour pork was "very sweet" and "very sour". I couldn't resist seconds though I had a sore throat - very yummy and sinful. 

The white pepper crabs were smaller than we expected, but the meat was fresh and sweet so no complaints. I still prefer the version from No Signboard though. The San Lou bee hoon resembled a pancake and I liked how it was slightly crispy on top. Not sure if I'd order it again I'm very particular with my carbs, the boss bee hoon from New Ubin Seafood is better wok hei wise, and if I wanted texture, the Putien Heng Hwa beehoon rocks my boat. We also ordered chilli kangkong and fried fermented pork slices but I forgot to take pics. The kangkong was not bad, but the pork slices were reviewed as "excellent beer food" by A and B, who could not resist giving the sexy beer lady their business.  

Still, overall an excellent meal at less than $25 a pax. Good suggestion J! They do take reservations so if you have a big group you might want to call ahead. There's Rochor Beancurd a few streets up if you can still stomach dessert after dinner. We did that, then hurried on home to shower and prepare for bedtime. 

JB Ah Meng
2 Lorong 23, Geylang