Category / KL City
To be honest, I found out about the beef noodle at Lai Foong kopitam relatively recently via instagram posts of some friends I follow. Perhaps a bit of an embarrassment for someone who love street food, but better late than never, right?
Lai Foong kopitiam, Jalan Tun H S Lee
Located at Jalan Tun H. S. Lee (just across the entrance of Petaling Street), Lai Foong is wedged in some of the busiest areas in downtown KL. Parking is non existence, but luckily for those on motorcycle on a weekday morning, situation isn’t nearly as bleak. Another proof that motorcycle is the best invention of all time!
a selection of beefy goodness
The beef noodle stalls does open for business bright and early (by 8 am or so) and all throughout lunch time. A bowl with everything will cost RM 10 but does include pretty much every part that you can expect, including beef slices, tripe, intestine, beef ball, and my favorite – tendon. Every part was tender, with the tendon having the perfect consistency that isn’t chewy nor it is overly hard.
flank, beef, intestine, tendon, take your pick of have them all
The soup base is light yet flavorful, with a hint of soya sauce base yet having enough depth to satisfy. The chili sauce provided too does its job well and did not disappoint.
The beef noodle at Lai Foong certainly live up to its reputation, and has definitely earned yours truly as a customer who’d come back again.
Address:
Lai Foong kopitiam
138, Jalan Tun H S Lee,
50050 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.145424, 101.696846
Tel: 03-2072 8123
One of the harder thing to do when it comes to food is to have an open mind, of not having a preconception of reputation and who “should” be able to produce what sort of cuisine best. It is something that I personally struggle with from time to time, for example, I’d order Penang char kuih teow in Klang Valley using Penang style Hokkien, casting a doubt whenever they fail to reply in the same accent.
So you can imagine that I had my doubts when approaching this rather busy joint operated by three foreigners (Burmese perhaps?) just off Jalan Pasar in KL.
Jalan Seladang off Jalan Pasar, next to RHB
After riding past the area a few times on my way to Pudu, I thought I give it a try since it looked rather busy every single time I paid attention to it.
As it turns out, this little yellow stall a stone’s throw away from the famous Chen Chen Roast Goose offers fish head meehun.
Unlike fancier places like B & Best (one of my favorite joints), the options here are simple, “soong fish head” (RM 7) or garupa fish head (RM 13), and the choice of noodle.
For both my visits, I picked meehun to go with the different types of fish. The portion were pretty decent, and the fish did tasted rather fresh, but above all, the execution were simple yet on point, with a good soup base, copious amount of parsley, just the right amount of fried garlic and raw ginger to make a very enjoyable bowl of fish head noodle.
fish head noodle with “soong fish”
If I didn’t sit there and see these guys cook it, I’d have thought this was prepared by some old Chinese uncle with 30 years experience.
Sometimes suspending our preconception can bring about good surprises.
Address:
Fish Head Meehun
Jalan Seladang off Jalan Pasar
55100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.135574, 101.715417
KL city has no shortage of places to choose from when it comes to classy restaurants offering quality adult beverages and delicious food, around KLCC and Bukit Bintang area, you’d be spoiled for choice – Mosto Wine Bar & Restaurant is one of such places, and one with a very important distinction compared to the rest.
Mosto Wine Bar and Restaurant, One KL
Located at the ground floor of One KL, the condominium building with the tag line “94 units, 95 swimming pools“, Mosto is a restaurant with almost over-the-top fine-dine style decoration, and fortunately, not over-the-top prices for what it has got to offer.
For me though, the most important distinction this place has is the availability of some dozen or so free parking space right in front of the eatery, something that is rarer than pink unicorn in the heart of the city.
Gran Tegliere Di Salumi E Formaggi
We started the night with Gran Tegliere Di Salumi E Formaggi (RM 99), the fancy name stands for Italian signature cold cuts served with assortedcheeses, honey & house made focaccia bread. The way the prepare this is a bit of a show, with the chef operating a semi-automatic type of meat slicer that churns out those delicious meat & salami with consistent thickness.
The type of cuts you get may vary as it depends on what the restaurant can its hands on. For our session, I particularly like the cut with embedded olives.
Cocktails & Risotto Con Salsicola E Vino Rosso
While we did not have wine at Mosto, we did sample two of their cocktails – Amaro Tonic, and Junglebird (RM 38 each), the former was a more masculine drink with Amaro Montenegro, Prosecco and tonic water, while Junglebird is made from dark rum, campari, pineapple juice, and simple syrup, giving it a sweeter, more fruity taste.
Back to food.
After the cold cut we had the Risotto Con Salsicola E Vino Rosso (RM 48), or Carnaroli risotto with salsiccia & red wine reduction. A comforting food that does well to fill up the stomach in a warm, fuzzy way. I do enjoy the chunks of cheese on top.
Rigatoni All’ Amatriciana
If you are a pasta person, Rigatoni All’ Amatriciana (RM 38) should satisfy, there’s bacon, tomatoes, and pecorino cheese in the dish. It is proper al dente, so if you don’t like your pasta firm to bite like the Italians do, you’d want to specify it to your server.
Pancia Di Maiale; Cassoeula, Verza Maiale E Pollo
Those who know me well would have guessed that Pancia Di Maiale (RM 58) is my favorite dish of the night, and that would be a correct statement. Roasted pork belly with apricot jam, honey mustard & garlic sauce perfectly executed with those super crispy skin and meat/fat layers that were done just right. Love it.
Cassoeula, Verza Maiale E Pollo (RM 78) or slowcook pork prepared in casserole with chicken, pork sausage & cabbage was a dish that I found perhaps packed a bit too much meat of differing texture, giving me a feeling of something with a sort of identity confusion.
Garlic Prawns, Deep Fried Chicken Parmesan
For those who aren’t looking for something to go along with beer or cocktail and not a proper full meal, there is a selection of bar snacks as well. We sampled two from the menu – Garlic Prawns (RM 25), and Fried Chicken Parmesan (RM 19), I can imagine both going very well as happy hour companion dishes for sure.
molten chocolate cake, tiramisu
The dessert menu here isn’t extensive, we tried the Molten chocolate cake (RM 25) and Tiramisu (RM 20). The cake molten chocolate cake was competent, but if I have to pick one, the tiramisu would be the one to go for, they did not skim on the alcohol making this.
Address:
Mosto Wine Bar & Restaurant
Ground Floor, One KL
50450 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.156023, 101.710542
Tel: 03-2386 6029
While having one of my favorite wantan mee at Lucky Garden a couple weeks back, a slightly older Sikh gentleman politely asked to share the table, which of course I agreed. As usual, my breakfast was then accompanied by a single serving side dish of stranger conversation.
Pudu wet market, KL
It was during this exchange that the I was told about his favorite curry chee cheong fun place at Pudu wet market, and how all his decade old ex-classmates drools over the pictures on WhatsApp group chat whenever he posts them. So naturally, I decide to pay a visit to see what this is all about on the very next day.
It was actually my first time to the Pudu wet market, and to be honest I wasn’t really prepared by how big, busy, noisy, wet, and smelly this place is. This may turn off quite a few people, but I thought it brought a sense of nostalgia and live to the city. I kinda liked it, but if you drive there, do try to park some distance away instead of barging through the super congested streets surrounding the market.
curry chee cheong fun stall, Pudu Market
The curry chee cheong fun stall is right next to the Northern part of the wet market building and manned by a lady. You can ask for pure curry chee cheong fun (RM 2 for small portion, as in pic), or if you so fancy, add some yong tau foo pieces.
And yes, the curry chee cheong fun was on a league of its own, the curry has a bit of that kurma aroma to it which is rather distinctive, while also being a lot thicker than most. On top of that, there’s these little crunchy bits they put on top of those perfectly soft & smooth chee cheong fun. It was all well balanced and very, very satisfying.
curry chee cheong fun goes great with yau char kuai
My experience that morning was made more memorable by yet another stranger who came and shared table, this time another single serving conversation which ended up with the kind stranger offering me half a yau char kuai to go with my leftover curry sauce. Match made in heaven.
Address:
Curry Chee Cheong Fun
Pudu Market
Jalan Pasar Baharu
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.134275, 101.715213
One of the best things to have on a breezy night is a good bowl of herbal soup, and for that, the number one trusted place to be has got to be Keong Kee Herbal Soup in Pudu. In fact, I had an ex-housemate that would bug her boy friend to drive her all the way from PJ to the heart of KL whenever she had the craving for these home-made soup.
Keong Kee Herbal Soup, Pudu
The restaurant, or stall I should say, is located on a semi open air area under a zinc roof that has rudimentary weather protection, there are no walls or air conditioning, but it is well lit and has ceiling fans serving the customers to counter the tropical heat.
The menu at Keong Kee is not a large one, and resides only in the memory of the waiters. For the two of us over dinner, we ordered a portion of stewed lamb, a plate of “oily vegetable”, ginseng chicken soup, and a bowl of terrapin soup. Yes, terrapin, or freshwater turtle.
2 soup, vege, stewed lamb
Service was rather prompt, and quality of these soup were really as good as their reputation, the herbal taste were strong, with the meat in both soup dishes as well as the stew cooked to a very soft, tender texture. We really enjoyed it. (the vegetable wasn’t overly “refined” though..).
Dinner came to RM 35 for two pax, pretty cheap for what you get. So if you’re up for some good old fashion double boiled soup in the city, this is surely a place to check out.
ginseng chicken soup & terrapin soup
Address:
Keong Kee Herbal Soup
Changkat Thambi Dollah,
Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.140476, 101.712528
Tel: 03-2142 0304
