Come this Oct 30, the restaurant will be opening its first Singapore outlet — also its first branch overseas — at Bedok Mall. It currently has 66 outlets in Hong Kong. 8days.sg gets a sneak peek at the eatery, and try the chain’s 10 levels of spicy soup with mixian.

TamJai offers 23 types of a la carte toppings and six types of soup, some with 10 customisable levels of spiciness. Diners can mix and match any of the aforementioned items to create their own mixian bowl. “There are 700,000 possible combinations,” says Daren Lau (pictured), TamJai International’s chief executive officer.   

Despite Singapore being its first overseas stop, the brand is rapidly expanding here. After its Bedok Mall opening this weekend, TamJai will open a second outlet at VivoCity, followed by a third one at Chinatown Point. “We hope to eventually open 40 stores here,” Daren shares. Next year, he plans to set up another “six to 10 stores, depending on the Covid-19 situation”.

The 64-seat eatery at Bedok Mall’s Basement 1 level doesn’t occupy a huge space, but it has ample cosy booth seats. It offers an ambience that’s similar to what you’d get in Hong Kong. “This is our first overseas outlet, so we brought the full experience here,” Daren says.

TamJai’s specialty gluten-free mixian resembles our local thick bee hoon at first glance. But it boasts a far more superior texture, like a silkier yet chewy version of al-dente spaghetti. It soaks up hot broth without turning into limp strands.   

The rice noodles are imported from a supplier in Jiangxi, China, which also supplies noodles to the TamJai outlets in Hong Kong. The ingredients used to make the mixian are simple — rice flour and water. But they’re manufactured in a highly-controlled environment. Daren explains, “The noodles go through a maturation process at the factory with controlled temperature and humidity levels. The rivers in Jiangxi are also protected ’cos the water used there is very important.”

The seven types of house-made soup bases offered are: Wu La Soup (a charred pepper-based broth), San Suan (Chongqing-style Hot & Sour) Soup, Suan La Soup, Tangy Tomato Soup, a chicken-based, mildly creamy Fragrant Clear Soup (with a Vegetarian option) and Ma La Soup. Other than the clear soup which is served by default, you can expect to top up between $0.50 to $1 for the rest of the soup bases.

There are 10 levels of spiciness for the soups, which ranges from Non-Spicy to Double Extra Hot. Only the clear and suan la soups do not have this spicy option.

We kick off our taste test by sipping on the 1/10 Mild spicy mala soup, which is just a wee bit spicy. Within the Mild category of spiciness, there are five levels: 1/10 Mild, 1/5 Mild, 1/4 Mild, 1/3 Mild and 1/2 Mild.

Things start to heat up once we get to the ironically-named 1/2 Mild; we could feel our lips swelling and our taste buds going numb . Good thing the mala soup here is less oily than the kind you usually get at hotpot restaurants.

If you like to live dangerously, go straight for the Moderate level; this is where we start to sweat and ask the waiter for more ice water. Extra Hot makes us antsier. But Double Extra Hot (pictured) is too much, not just ’cos it’s devastatingly spicy, but because the soup becomes too bitter from all the Sichuan peppercorns.

Each mixian bowl comes with one free topping, and you can add on more ingredients (from $1.20 to $2.50 per topping). There are two toppings exclusive to Singapore here: Tail-On Shrimp ($2.50) and Fish Fillet Slices ($2.50). But it’s worth going for the HK-imported Cuttlefish Balls ($2.50), chewy orbs stuffed with cuttlefish chunks. We also recommend ordering the Minced Pork ($1.70), a thick, mildly spicy bolognese-style sauce that’s meant to be savoured with a heaping of mixian, and the diaphanous, super-smooth Beancurd Sheet ($1.20) that caresses our tongue like silk. Other toppings include pork belly, chicken, beef, shrimp wontons, tofu puffs, shrimp wontons, and veggies like bamboo fungus, shiitake mushrooms and chives.

If you can’t decide which toppings to choose, this Yunnan specialty (named after a tale where a scholar’s wife was said to have created this dish to transport warm noodles to him over a bridge) is a good way of sampling a wide variety. You get 16 types of meat and veggie toppings like beef, pork liver and pickled cabbage in petite portions, along with mixian in clear soup. Pretty substantial for a meal under $13.

This dish has thin slices of pork belly luxuriating in chilli oil, topped with dollops of mashed garlic. Very shiok, though a tad too oily.

Tu fei means ‘bandit’ in Chinese, and TamJai SamGor’s most well-known side dish is named after an urban myth. According to the tale, Chinese bandits would make this chicken dish with their stolen spices.

The crispy grilled wings are flavoured predominantly with charred pepper and a blend of “secret spices” (we could taste a faint hint of cumin and five-spice powder in this). Pretty umami, and a refreshing change from the usual har jeong gai.

Slices of cold century eggs are arranged in a beautiful sunburst pattern, drenched in a pepper-tipped sauce and topped with green chillies. It's moreish and feistier than the standard pickled ginger served with century eggs, but its flavour gets muted for us after eating a bowl of mixian in fiery broth. Try this before you down your mala soup. 

To celebrate its opening, TamJai SamGor is giving away 300 free bowls of noodles for dine-in customers on Oct 30 (5pm-7pm), Oct 31 (3pm-5pm) and Nov 1 (3pm-5pm), with 100 bowls up for grabs per day. Diners have to follow the restaurant's Facebook page and obtain a queue number within the first 100 customers to qualify for the promotion. 

#B1-52 Bedok Mall, 311 New Upper Changi Rd, S467360. Tel: 6241-8323. Open daily 10am-10pm (last order at 9.30pm). www.facebook.com/tamjaisamgor.sg. 

PHOTOS: KELVIN CHIA