Mee siam is a Malay masterpiece (rempah spice paste based) with Thai inspirations (tamarind and sugar) and Chinese intuition (fermented soy beans), and an all-star Southeast Asian line-up of galangal, lemongrass, and chili. This super-stocked broth is lavishly ladled onto rice vermicelli, then bean sprouts, chopped chives and tau pok (tofu puffs), hard boiled egg, and calamansi are plopped atop.