SINGAPORE – Of late, the tiny black specks clinging to pale strands of Hokkien mee have sparked lively debate online.

In a post on the Hokkien Mee Hunting group on April 13, Facebook user Curtis Khor charged that some Hokkien mee stalls do not brush and clean their woks, resulting in the charred black bits.

The post drew 132 comments from Hokkien mee lovers here, with diners divided on the issue. Some shrugged and ate on, while others said they will not return to stalls serving noodles with the black specks.

What are these black bits? Harmless char from high-heat frying, signs of a dirty wok or something diners should be concerned about?

The Straits Times posed this question to hawkers, a culinary consultant and medical experts. Here is what they said.

Four Hokkien mee hawkers interviewed say the specks are not metal scrapings from the wok, but burnt food residue from high-heat frying.

Madam Lucy Chng, 65, who helps her husband, Mr Ong Cheng Hoe, 70, at Hoe Hokkien Mee at North Bridge Road Market & Food Centre, says he prefers to fry up Hokkien mee with as few black bits as possible.

The couple have served a wet style of Hokkien mee – cooked with prawn stock, pork belly, sotong and prawns – since 2016.

The wok is washed after every batch of about four plates, she says, though black bits still appear when garlic burns over high heat.

“We want to present customers with a version of Hokkien mee that we enjoy eating ourselves,” she says.

“When a plate is full of black bits, it is a sign that the wok is not cleaned.”

At Ah Jie Hokkien Mee in Ang Mo Kio, co-owner Teo Jun Jie, 28, says the black bits in his wet-style Hokkien mee are charred particles of noodles, egg and garlic.