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Just less than 5 kilometres away from KLCC is a time capsule that is Ayer Panas, a suburb that seems to be trapped in time, oblivious to the rapid development of Kuala Lumpur. It is also a place where I stop by in the morning to enjoy traditional hawker fair from time to time.

Here are three of the most popular hawker stalls within the Ayer Panas wet market worth checking out.

very delicious home-made wantan at this stall

The wantan mee stall here serves unpretentious wantan mee in either soup or dry version, all for only RM 4 per bowl. Seating area is rather premium, but thankfully most customers here order them to-go.

only RM 4 for this delicious plate of wantan mee

The home-made wantan here is one of my favorites, with soft, thin skin wrapping that flavourful minced pork. The dark sauce used here too does not overpower the noodle which is springy and delicious.

the pork noodle stall is one of the busiest around here

The pork noodle stall is one of the busiest hawker stalls in the whole wet market, offering pork noodle, yee mee, fish ball noodle, loh mee, and mee suah with quite a choice of porky ingredients. You can mix and match the type of soup & ingredients to your liking.

dry version with Vit’s noodle and a side of soup

For dry version, I like Vit’s noodle that is served with a side of soup packed with fish ball, meatball,  minced pork ball, liver, intestine, and even some fuchuk. The combination is a bit like dry instant indomie on steroid, for the lack of a better comparison.

soup version of pork noodle is plenty delicious as well

Traditional soup-based pork noodle starts at RM 4.60 here are packed with the above mentioned ingredients as well. For the carb of choice, you can choose from kuih teow, yellow noodle, meehun, yee mee, Vit’s, or mee suah.

the yong tau foo stall has been in operation for some 30-40 years

The third hawker offering worth checking out is the yong tau foo stall that has been operating for at least some 40 years. The man behind the stall is in his 70s, and still has a pair of quick hands offering his craft.

RM 0.70 per piece, simple yet tasty

There aren’t a huge variety of yong tau foo here, just a couple type sof tofu, a few variations of fish balls, fuchuk, and chee cheong fun. The home-made fish ball here though was one of the bests I’ve tried, springy and flavorful, so be sure to grab a few extras if you’re here. Each piece costs RM 0.70.

Address:
Pasar Ayer Panas
Jalan Ayer Keroh
Taman Ayer Panas,
43000 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.189279,101.718704
Hours: breakfast and brunch

Breakfast is of course, the most important meal of the day, so I usually make it a point to wake up a little earlier to feed myself before heading to the office.

Riding to work enable me to have quite a lot of flexibility when it comes trying out new places for breakfast, and for a while, Pudu, or more specifically, the area behind Berjaya Times Square was the where I was exploring. Here are four different places with four hawker offerings I find worthy of repeated  visits.

All of these places operate from before 8 am and most have been in business for decades.

Hakka noodle at Jalan Sayur

The Hakka noodle at Jalan Sayur is originated from Dabu county, a district of Meizhou, Guangdong Province of China, center of Hakka culture. The noodle comes with a side of wantan soup and serves with minced pork, chasiu, and vegetable.

The minced pork is the key ingredient here that some prefer over the chasiu, but I like the varying texture provide by both types of meat. Business is brisk in the morning, table sharing is common.

“Da Bu Mien” (大埔面) | Jalan Sayur, Pudu, Kuala Lumpur | Hours: breakfast to late lunch

wantan mee at restaurant good friend

For those who loves a plate of old school wantan mee, the stall at Restaurant Good Friend is a definitely a place worth visiting. The ingredients is similar to the Hakka noodle above, but they do taste rather different.

The noodle is springy, wantan delicious, and it is every bit a great execution of wantan mee if you’re a fan of one. There’s even a bit of fried pork lard as well, one of my favorite ingredients in any food.

The guy manning the stall looks to be at least in his late 60s of 70s, and I’m guessing he’s been doing this for a long time.

Wantan Mee @ Restaurant Good Friend | Jalan Brunei (behind Caltex), Pudu, Kuala Lumpur) |Hours: breakfast to lunch

Seremban style pork noodle at Lorong Brunei 2

At the corner of Lorong Brunei 2 and Jalan 1/77C, you’ll find a pretty old school shack under a tree that offers something pretty unique – Seremban style pork ball noodle.

Like most other pork ball noodle, there’s a choice for dry or soupy version. There’s the home made pork balls, ‘fuchok’, and your choice of noodle. What you also get here is the rather interesting chili flakes on top of the noodle that gave it a very different kick. Those who loves spicy food will enjoy this a lot.

Seremban Pork Noodle | Lorong Brunei 2 & Jalan 1/77C, Pudu, Kuala Lumpur | 016-396 8976 | Hours: breakfast to lunch

pork noodle at restaurant Yuyi

For those who prefers a bowl of pork noodle with everything thrown in, the pork noodle stall at Yuyi kopitiam is the one to go.

Pork slices, minced pork, coagulated blood, liver, intestine, and even pork kidney are all available. I also love the fact that they serve meesuah in addition with your usual choices of yellow noodle, meehun, and kuih teow. The only down side at this place is the wait time. If you can’t afford to wait for at least 15-20+ minutes, this place isn’t for you, and they probably have too many customers to handle anyway. It is very delicious though!

Pork Noodle at Restaurant Yuyi | Jalan Brunei & Lorong Brunei 2, Pudu, Kuala Lumpur | Hours: breakfast to lunch

The area behind Berjaya Times Square is a bit of a time capsule in one of the busiest part of KL. Activities usually starts at around 7:30 in the morning, with various old school restaurants (aka coffee shops) serving breakfast to the early risers.

pork noodle at Restaurant Yuyi, Pudu

One of the busiest restaurants at the area is Kedai Kopi Yuyi located at Jalan Brunei, a coffee shop I have the privilege of visiting quite a number of occasions.

Whenever in a kopitiam I’m not familiar, my instinct always tell me to order from the busiest stall, which in this case, it’s the pork noodle.

glorious bowl of pork noodle with everything in it

Wait time is actually quite substantial and can be up to 20+ minutes even in the early mornings, but the resulting pork noodle is quite excellent – there’s pork blood, liver, kidney, minced pork ball, intestine, and pork slices; basically everything you could ask for in a bowl of pork noodle. To top it off, the broth is very sweet & savory as well. I love it.

pork blood and kidney, two of my favorite ingredients

The pork noodle goes for RM 6 per bowl and you can choose from meehun, meesuah, mee, or vits noodle. Happy eating!

Address:
Kedai Kopi Yuyi
Jalan Brunei, Pudu
Kuala Lumpur 55100
GPS: 3.137573, 101.712120

Ahh, the joy of discovering a new place to eat by completely by chance, something that I haven’t had for a while.

See, I ride a bike to work and whenever possible, I like to explore new places for breakfast en-route to the office. While trying to get a smarter route to work via Duke to Jalan Tun Razak by the way of Jalan Semarak, I got off one turning too early and ended up at this time capsule of a village just a few KMs away from the most developed part of KL.

this place is like a time capsule, stuck in the 80s

The place looked like it’s been stuck in the 90s – poorly paved road, half broken zinc roof, plenty of bikes by the road with helmets left on the seats. That’s when I thought I should stop to pull out my phone with my trusted Google Map app to figure out where I was, and since I was going to do that, I might as well grab breakfast.

That’s how I ended up at Wenl Senh kopitiam at Taman Ayer Panas and ordered by bowl of pork noodle with mee suah (you can have meehun, noodle, or kuih teow)

kidney, minced pork ball, intestine, and liver with meesuah

The pork noodle turned out to be rather good! It’s got 4 major ingredients – intestine, minced pork ball, liver, and my most beloved ingredient – kidney! I also particularly like the way they seasoned the minced pork with sesame oil that gives it a distinct taste.

The best part? This bowl was only RM 4. You’d be hard pressed to find pork noodle in other parts of Klang Valley that still goes for below RM 5.50 or RM 6, but here at this kopitiam next to Taman Ayer Panas wet market, someone hit the pause button 20 years ago.

I think I should check out the wet market in the morning next.

Address:
Wenl Senh Kopitiam
Jalan Ayer Keroh
Taman Ayer Panas, 53200 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.18909, 101.71917

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