Mee siam mai hum
A plate of mee siam, a Southeast Asian dish that does not contain cockles (hum in Hokkien) to begin with | |
| Date | 20 August 2006 |
|---|---|
| Venue | National University of Singapore |
| Location | Singapore |
| Participants | Lee Hsien Loong |
During his speech at the 2006 Singapore National Day rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong criticised political podcasts. In an apparent reference to a noodle-themed satirical podcast by local blogger mrbrown, Lee used the phrase "mee siam mai hum" (Hokkien for "mee siam without cockles").
Many Internet commentators pointed out that mee siam never contained cockles to begin with; the Prime Minister's Office gave Lee's words as "mee siam mai hiam" (Hokkien for "mee siam without chilli") in its transcript of his speech, before clarifying that he had meant to say "laksa" (a local dish that does contain cockles) instead of "mee siam". Singaporean writer Gwee Li Sui described Lee's phrase as "Singlish for being out of touch".