To not bring dishonour to my Eurasian heritage, I tried 11 different spice levels at TamJai SamGor

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There is a running joke within my Eurasian family that if you cannot take spicy food, you will be disowned.

As we pride ourselves on our ability to handle spicy food, weakness (in the spice arena) is often not tolerated.

That’s why I was determined not to bring dishonour to my family when I was tasked to head to TamJai SamGor to try out their mixian (rice noodles) with 11 different spice levels.

Accompanied by Fiona, my fellow spice-loving colleague for moral support, I braced myself for the test.

What is TamJai SamGor and where did their mixian come from?

TamJai SamGor mixian originates from Hong Kong.

For the uninformed, mixian is a type of rice noodle that is gluten-free and made in China before being flown to Singapore.

In 2008, the first restaurant under the TamJai SamGor brand in Hong Kong was opened.

Now, TamJai SamGor has over 70 outlets throughout Hong Kong and their mixian is considered one of Hong Kong’s favourite noodles.

With a wide range of spice levels, TamJai Sam Gor caters to everyone and anyone, no matter their spice tolerance.

In 2011, the restaurant received its first “Bib Gourmand” distinction from the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and continued to do so for three consecutive years.

TamJai SamGor has since expanded beyond its borders, opening its first outlet in Singapore in 2020.

There are now 10 TamJai SamGor outlets scattered all over the island, with the one in Parkway Parade being an express outlet.

Spoilt for choice

At TamJai SamGor, there are 10 different spice levels (and a secret 11th level), six soup bases,  an alternative vegetarian option and numerous toppings you can add to your mixian.

There are also many options to customise your experience.

All soup bases start at S$6.80 and come with beansprouts, beancurd sheets, chives and mixian.

However, if you’d like to eat a smaller portion, you can request for less mixian and get S$0.20 off.

This helps to cut down on food wastage as the portion size for the mixian is very generous.

Currently, TamJai SamGor has the following soup bases:

• Ma La (Hot and Numbing) Soup
• Wu La (Charred Pepper and Spices Soup)
• San Suan (SamGor’s Hot and Sour Soup)
• Tangy Tomato Soup
• Suan La (Hot and Sour) Soup
• Fragrant Clear Soup

Those who prefer a vegetarian meal can opt for a vegetarian clear soup or choose to have a vegetarian option for the other soup flavours.

You can also add different toppings such as vegetables and meats or fish balls and fishcakes flown in from Hong Kong, ranging from S$1.50 to S$2.80 per topping.

The fun part comes when choosing your spice level.

TamJai SamGor offers 10 different levels of spice, ranging from non–spicy to “Hell-Fire” on their menu.

There is even a secret 11th level called “Double Hell Fire” that is not on the menu but will require you to top up an extra S$0.30 to try the fiery broth.

Besides this, TamJai SamGor also offers a wide variety of appetisers and snacks that can complete your meal.

There are TuFei Chicken Mid-Wings, Roasted French beans with Minced Pork, Roasted Eggplant with Garlic, and even Century Egg.

There is even an option for those who might want a bit of everything in their mixian.

TamJai SamGor has a Guo Qiao (Cross-Bridge) Mixian that includes a bunch of toppings and that allows you to choose your soup base and spiciness level.

This makes it great for meal sharing.

From now till the end of February 2023, a special dry mixian is available that is not on the permanent menu.

The SamGor Zha Jiang Mixian is priced at S$12.80 with cod fish maw, roasted chicken chunks, minced pork, and pickled cabbage.

How spicy?

Fiona and I were pretty ambitious when it came to what we ordered, especially as we had to try the different soups with different spice levels.

Here’s what we ordered:

• Sliced Pork Belly with Mashed Garlic (Small)
• Century Egg (Pepper-tipped)
• TuFei Chicken Mid-Wings (Large)
• Cod Fish Maw Zha Jiang Mixian (Promotional item)
• Tangy Tomato Soup Mixian (Mild) with pork belly
• Ma La Soup Mixian (Hot) with pork liver
• Wu La Soup Mixian (Extra Hot) with fishball
• San Suan Soup Mixian (Fiery) with Fishcake

We also ordered an iced Lemon Tea and a hot Yuan Yang to quench our thirst.

Appetisers:

The TuFei Chicken Mid-Wings (S$7.80) were juicy and marinated well with spices, making the chicken tasty and flavourful.

As century egg is something that I have never tried before, I was a bit iffy when Fiona ordered the Pepper-tipped Century Egg (S$4.90).

Seeing the darkened egg in chilli oil made me feel wary, but I decided to be brave and try something new.

I was unsure what century egg tastes like, but the special chilli and garlic topping with the egg in chilli oil made it delicious.

The chilli and garlic had a good kick,  truly complementing the dish well.

Fiona noted that the chilli oil and topping made a typically “jelak” dish into something more manageable.

In addition, it was a great way of introducing this intimidating preserved egg to someone who had never tried it before.

If you are a big fan of garlic, the Sliced Pork Belly with Mashed Garlic (S$5.80) will be right up your alley.

The thin pork belly slices come drowned in chilli oil, with a mountain of minced garlic sitting atop the meat.

A special vinegar sauce at the bottom brings the dish to a whole new level.

SamGor Zha Jiang Mixian

From now till the end of February 2023, there is a special promotion where you can get dry mixian.

The SamGor Zha Jiang Mixian (S$12.80) comes with cod fish maw, pickled cabbage, roasted chicken chunks and minced pork.

When you mix everything together, the generous amount of sauce from the minced pork gives it a good sweet and savoury taste.

The cod fish maw was fresh and the chicken chunks were big, tender and juicy.

The star of the dish for me, however, was definitely the mixian.

It retained a great amount of sauce and was a little chewy, adding another layer of texture to the dish.

Soup Mixian

Fiona and I tried different soups with different spice levels to determine the best combination.

As we are not big eaters, we opted to have less mixian for all the soups.

Despite ordering less noodles, the soups all came with a generous portion of mixian.

One bowl of soup and noodles was enough to make a good, hearty meal.

Tangy Tomato Soup (Mild) with Pork Belly

The Tangy Tomato Soup (Mild) with Pork Belly is a great soup if you cannot take spice.

As its name suggests, the soup was sweet and tangy with big chunks of tomato.

While you can opt for a spicier soup, we were warned that making the dish too spicy might alter the mixian’s texture.

We were fortunate that our noodles were able to retain enough flavour of the soup without absorbing too much of it and becoming soggy.

Ma La Soup (Hot) with Pork Liver

TamJai SamGor’s Ma La Soup is different from the usual mala tang you would expect.

This version is not very oily and has a hint of milk, making it appear paler than usual.

While it may not come across as potent, one bite is enough for you to feel a numbing effect spreading across your mouth.

Despite the numbing effect, choosing the “Hot” level made the soup enjoyable as it did not “kill” our taste buds, and we could really taste the flavours.

For only S$1.50 more, we added pork liver to the meal.

While we weren’t sure how generous the restaurant would be with the portion, we ended up getting a whole soup bowl full of pork liver, cooked to perfection and without the iron-y taste.

Wu La Soup (Extra Hot) with Hong Kong style Fishball

Wu La Soup is one of TamJai SamGor’s signature soups, with its charred pepper and spices that add a kick to the soup.

One sip of the soup and you can feel the heat, but it is still something you can continue eating without hurting your stomach.

The pepper from the soup is also great for clearing your sinuses. The Hong Kong style fishballs were S$2 for three pieces, and tasted nothing like the ones you get off the shelf.

These fish balls were made in Hong Kong and flown into Singapore.

Their texture is a bit more dense and chewy, but tastier.

SamGor Hot & Sour Soup (Fiery) with Hong Kong style Fishcake

This is another signature TamJai SamGor soup base.

We decided to go for the “Fiery” spice level as we wanted to taste something with more kick.

The soup had a nice balance of hot and sour, and surprisingly, for the third hottest soup, it was not as spicy as we thought it would be.

While the spice is stronger than the sour taste, it was a good combination that made the broth addictive.

The Hong Kong style fishcakes, like the fish balls, were S$2 for three pieces.

They were also flown in from Hong Kong, and were nice and chewy.

Personally, we felt that the Wu La Soup was a lot spicier than the SamGor Hot and Sour Soup.

Bonus: SamGor Hot & Sour Soup (Hell-Fire)

After trying all the soups, Fiona and I thought the “Hell-Fire” would not be so bad.

So we tried the Hell-Fire SamGor Hot and Sour Soup, the spiciest item on the menu (barring the secret “Double Hell-Fire”).

Not gonna lie, I really felt the heat when trying the soup; as intimidating as its dark red appearance suggested.

But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the soup was not spicier than the fiery soup.

Both of us preferred this as it felt a bit more sour, evening out the spice in the soup.

Afterthoughts

All in all, the different levels of spice at TamJai SamGor make it an excellent place for everyone to dine at, from spice lovers to those who just want to dip their toes in the world of spice.

If we had to name the highlight of our entire experience, it would definitely be the mixian.

Along with its chewy (and thus yummy) texture, the noodles never got soggy even after stewing in a bowl of soup.

Instead, they remained firm and retained their flavour, without compromising on texture.

Our favourite topping had to be the pork liver just for how perfectly cooked it was.

We only wished that there were more vegetable toppings available.

Special shoutout to the drinks, as they helped to quell the spice.

Overall verdict? 10/10 would return for the noodles and the Pork Belly with Mashed Garlic.

All photos by Hannah Martens and Fiona Tan

This sponsored article by TamJai SamGor made the writer dream of the Mixian.