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KY eats – Seremban Style Pork Ball Noodle, Pudu

To be honest, when I first discovered this little old school eatery by the corner of Lorong Brunei 2 and Jalan 1/77c at Pudu, I don’t really know what they serve, but sometimes you need to be a bit adventurous when it comes to food.

the pork ball noodle stall is at the corner of Lorong Brunei 2 and Jalan 1/77c

Situated right under a big tree by the corner, the sign says Seremban Minced Pork Noodle (芙蓉肉碎面). Old marble tables with newish plastic chairs, the clienteles seems to make up of regulars who have been there for years.

I parked my bike, took a seat and ordered my noodle. Both times only choosing my choice of noodle (mee + meehun is my choice) and stating if I wanted it dry or in soup.

dry version, served with a side of soup and chili

I really liked the dry version (RM 5), a bowl of soup with deep fried pork skin and “three-in-one” meatballs on the side, and noodle with dark soya sauce base sprinkled by minced pork/chili (I am not quite sure what they really are, but it’s very delicious with the noodle). The chili paste in the small saucer tastes like a cross between HK dimsum style chili oil and Penang Curry Mee chili.

The combination is familiar yet different, I liked the execution and the different complexity brought by the chili. It is more fragrant than spicy though, a plus for those who don’t like their food too hot.

soupy version, everything’s in the bowl, side of chili paste

The soup version comes with pretty much the exact same ingredients, it was a bit lighter but tastes rather good nonetheless. This reminds me of pork ball noodles.

Either way, you can’t go wrong. Give this a try if you are in the area, they’re open for breakfast and I suspect, till around lunch.

Address:
芙蓉肉碎面
Corner of Lorong Brunei 2 & Jalan 1/77C
Pudu, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.137163, 101.712536

KY eats – “Pitt Street” Kuih Teow Th’ng at Lebuh Carnarvon, Penang

One of my favorite comfort hawker dishes in Penang is the kuih teow th’ng, or kuih teow soup. This simple dish is prevalent on the island, but isn’t exactly popular at all in Klang Valley, most likely due to its similarity with pork noodle and fish ball/ fish meat noodle places.

So whenever I’m back in Penang, I usually try to sneak in a couple bowls of yummy kuih teow soup.

the kuih teow soup that used to be at Pitt Street, now at Lebuh Carnarvon

One of my favorite places that offers a good bowl of kuih teow soup was the stall at by Armenian and Pitt Street, and in fact I’ve written about the place more than 6 years ago in this entry, which is due for an update anyway.

The same stall has since moved to Lebuh Carnarvon, a stone’s throw away in the opposite direction of the famous (and probably the best) fried oyster omelete at Seng Thor kopitiam on the same road.

simple, light, and delicious kuih teow soup

Over the Chinese New Year break, we stopped by there for a light lunch. For the four of us, we ordered kuih teow soup with extra “meat sheet” for everyone, and an extra bowl of fish ball soup to share. I’d have added intestines and other innards but unfortunately they’d ran out of those goodies by the time we were there.

The fish ball here is home made with eel (鳗鱼) as the major ingredient, which results in a unique softer texture and exquisite taste that is quite different from your run off the mill smooth wolf herring fish ball (西刀鱼)

we ordered extra fish balls and absolutely finished everything

We really enjoyed the extra “meat sheet” as well. It’s made of pork and carries a slightly salty but savory taste to it, a bit like a flattened smooth meat ball for the lack of a better description. The kuih teow soup also comes with fried garlic oil, lard, and duck meat. For only a few ringgit per pax including drinks, we were well satisfied with lunch.

Parking can be a bit of a hassle when you dine here, but nothing a bit of patience won’t resolve.

Address:
Pitt Street Kuih Teow Soup
183, Carnarvon Street,
10100 Penang
GPS: 5.414863, 100.334439
Tel: 017-479 3208

KY eats – Old School Wantan Mee at Jalan Brunei, Pudu

One of the biggest advantage of riding to work is the flexibility in breakfast choices. No longer am I confined to the route of LRT or just the food stalls within walking distance of the office. All I need to do is to leave home half an hour earlier, and so that’s what I often do these days, exploring breakfast places around KL in the wee hours.

old uncle’s been preparing wantan mee for a while now

The area behind Berjaya Times Square is one of my favorite places to explore. Being one older part of town, it’s littered with many old school eateries.

And it was by random choice that I ended up at this nameless kopitiam at Jalan Brunei just behind the Caltex gas station. Business always seems pretty brisk in the morning, so I thought I should give it a try.

bbq pork, minced meat, lard, pickled chili, wantan

There is only a stall operating in the morning, offering wantan mee and sui kao mee.

The wantan mee (a tad under RM 5) comes with everything you’d expect in a plate of wantan mee and some. There’s wantan, minced meat, spring onion, charsiu, pickled chili, and even lard. It can take 10-15 minutes before your plate of wantan mee is served, the noodle is springy, the combination of various pork ingredients work their wonders, and is everything you’d want in a wholesome hearty old school breakfast.

the sui-kao (dumplings) are very yummy as well

Their sui kao too are of top quality, packed with black fungus, minced carrot, pork, and prawns.

If you are a fan of wan tan mee or sui kao mee, this is a place to check out. I’ve been back several times since.

Address:
Ban Lee Hin Kee kopitiam
Jalan Brunei (behind Caltex)
Pudu, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.137286, 101.711544

KY eats – Curry Mee & Apom at Pulau Tikus

This is another one of my go-to curry mee places whenever I’m back to Penang visiting mom. If you love unadulterated Penang curry mee, you would enjoy this one.

kedai kopi new cathay has a pretty good curry mee stall

The kopitiam is located by the intersection of Jalan Burma and Lorong Kucing, offering many of your usual suspects when it comes to hawker foods from Penang – laksa, curry mee, char kuih teow, chicken rice and so forth. Parking isn’t usually a huge hassle thanks to the commercial centers right next door, but the shop can be quite a bit busy during breakfast/brunch hours.

yum yum, coagulated blood, loved by my niece too

For only RM 3.50 per bowl, the curry mee comes with cockles, one prawn, tofu pok, coagulated blood (my favorite, of course), a fish ball, and cuttle fish. You get to choose your favorite mee/meehun combination, and have as much of those fragrant and spicy sambal as you want.

I enjoy their almost mee-goreng style cuttle fish as well, brings a slightly different taste to the normal cuttle fish preparation. The prawn’s a bit smallish but hey, it’s RM 3.50.

Overall taste is superb and I’d have it any day. The only thing missing is a couple mint leaves, but I guess you can’t have it all every time.

good old fashion apom, get them fresh and warm here

And since hawker dishes in Penang are usually only 70% of what you get in KL in terms of portions, it make perfect sense to add some apom to the meal while you’re at it. The stall claims to be offering the best apom manis in town and will happily trade 6 steamy hot apom for RM 3.00. These too are yummy especially when consumed piping hot, slightly crispy on the outer layer, and sweet, creamy inside. Try it!

Oh, the steamed otak otak here is not too shabby either. If you’re in Penang, this kopitiam sure is a pretty decent place to visit for breakfast or lunch.

Address:
Kedai Kopi New Cathay
Lorong Kucing off Jalan Burma
10350, Pulau Tikus, Penang
GPS: 5.432376, 100.309504

KY eats – Tomyam Seafood, Curry Chicken & more at Restaurant Gou Lou, Jalan Alor

I can categorize my friends into 3 groups when it comes to spicy food. Those who can eat spicy food, those who can’t, and lastly, the one who can’t eat spicy food but will embrace it like a Winnie the Pooh to honey pot if it’s tomyam, no matter how hot the soup is. Case in point, Yuki.

So when she enthusiastically suggest that Haze (another tomyam fanatic) needs to try the tomyam meehun at Restaurant Gou Lou at Jalan Alor, I was certain that it won’t be a disappointment.

Restaurant Gou Lou at Jalan Alor

Jalan Alor is usually filled with tourists at night, but in the afternoon, more than half the restaurants are closed, and those that are in operation usually caters to locals instead – both price and taste wise. As a bonus, parking too is a lot less troublesome in the morning/afternoon.

The restaurant has air conditioned indoor, as well as the more “traditional” kopitiam set up with a retractable roof/umbrella at the semi open air alfresco area. They start early, and ends pretty early. 7 am to 4 pm.

tomyam seafood meehun, and curry soup version too

Though labeled more clearly as a fish head noodle shop, my first experience here was their tomyam seafood meehun (RM 7.50). The dish is loaded with plenty of squid, cuttle fish, lala, and one pretty decent size prawn. The seafood were good, and the prawn especially sweet and juicy (you can order extra prawns for extra $).

As for the tomyam broth, Yuki was right and Haze concurred. It was spicy, flavorful, and perhaps one of the best out there from a Chinese hawker stall. I like they didn’t spare the usage of Chinese parsley.

Kerol chose the curry soup and had hers with extra foo-chok, and the picky girl was satisfied too.

absolutely love this dry curry chicken noodle

My favorite from restaurant Gou Lou though, is this dry curry chicken noodle (RM 5.50) that I had on a separate visit (they ran out before 2pm on our first visit). The dish consists of  thick chicken curry poured over your choice of noodle with dark soya sauce base at the bottom. The noodle comes with chicken, potato, bean sprout, and topped with spring onion and fried shallots, it was fantastic.

Highly recommended for anyone who loves curry chicken, this was fantastic and I stopped over for breakfast this morning just to have this again.

dry curry mee with pork ball, curry mee, and fish swim bladder soup

The menu is actually pretty big here, and they are pretty flexible and allows mix-matching different ingredients of your choice. Horng tried dry curry with pork balls in soup before, and my colleague and I also shared a bowl of tasty fish swim bladder soup that tasted very fishy, but in a good way, if you know what I mean.

The curry mee (not Penang style) too was reported to be very palatable by another colleague of mine, Lee, who almost always order curry mee at every kopitiam we go.

Horng, Yuki, Kerol, and Haze

While a lot of locals sees Jalan Alor as a tourist trap with pricey but sup-bar food destination, the place really did not rise to fame purely by travel magazines or junior feature journalists. There are really some hidden gems nested within this busy little street at Bukit Bintang. Give it a try some day!

Charn Kee tasty corner and Sister drunken chicken noodle are another two places worth visiting if you find yourself around the area.