Loh Mee, one of the few hawker dishes that can mean different dishes at different region in Malaysia. Today, we’re going to concentrate on one particularly unique Northern version of loh mee found at EUPE Food Court in Sungai Petani.
Eupe food court Loh Mee stall
For those who aren’t familiar with EUPE, it is this huge food court occupying 28 different shop lots joined together in Sungai Petani, and as you can imagine, it is quite big in size. The modus operandi for most stalls here is by self-service, which can sometimes bit a bit inconvenient, but that’s.. er.. life.
be sure to ask for dark vinegar too
The loh mee stall here specializes only on loh mee, but it does come with three different main ingredients to choose from – loh bak, chicken feet & mushroom, or fried fish.
The queue for this stall is often long (second only to the curry mee stall), but the reward is absolutely worthwhile. The broth is thick and flavorful, with the loh bak giving it that extra omph you don’t find in other versions of loh mee. There’s also half a hard boiled egg, bean sprouts, fish cake slices, and your choice of yellow noodle or meehun, with chili, garlic, fried shallots, and green onion, and a dash of vinegar making up the rest of the ingredient list.
A delicious treat for sure, and all for less than RM 5 per pop.
yeap, there’s loh bak in this loh mee
If you find yourself at Sungai Petani, do give this a try.
Address: Eupe Food Court Jalan Gamelan 5, Taman Ria Jaya, 08000 Sungai Petani, Kedah GPS: 5.652733,100.517535 Hours: 9 am till around lunch time
Last weekend I had a mission to go get some feeder shrimps from an aquarium shop to serve as some sort of living filter cleaner for the newly christened water planter/pond filter for our garden. After that mission was completed, it was of course, time for breakfast.
char kuih teow stall at the food court opposite Sei Ngan Chai BKT, Klang
I went around Klang town a bit and ended up at the food court right across the road from Sei Ngan Chai BKT and the “Hilton” wantan mee place looking for something to eat, and this is when I realised I should give this char kuih teow stall a try, mainly just by looking at how many trays of eggs they have right next to the wok.
I took a seat next to the stall and ordered a plate without any specific instructions. About 20 odd minutes later, the plate of char kuih teow arrived, and it looked pretty legit I must say. There’s chives, bean sprouts, cockles, prawns, egg, and properly fried kuih teow that’s ever so slightly charred on certain pieces, indicative of good wok-hei.
certainly a respectable plate of char kuih teow
And yep, this is one char kuih teow worth eating if you’re tired of bak kut teh at Klang. The banner outside says “Jalan Batai” char kuih teow, which would suggest that perhaps it was from Seng Lee kopitiam which has since closed down after the revamp of the whole area. I did not ask the proprietor, but this version certainly tastes as good.
Due to the proximity of where I stay, Mingtien food court is my most frequented food court especially when it comes to late dinners.
This huge food court has at least 30-40 hawker stalls at any one time and operates 24 hours a day, which is rather convenient if you’re hungry at the wee hours and don’t feel like going to yet another mamak eatery.
Update: Ming Tien has since moved to Bandar Utama
new kuih teow soup and laksa stall at Mingtien food court
When I was first introduced to Mingtien some 10 years ago, most of the stalls were, for the lack of a better word, rubbish. But like many food court that manage to stand the test of time, the bad stalls were eventually replaced with better ones ala Darwinian evolution, and today, most of the hawker stalls actually provide more than decent dishes.
As a fan of Penang kuih teow soup, I was delighted to discover this new stall that offers this dish (in addition to Penang laksa which we haven’t tried). Naturally I had to give it a try.
kuih teow th’ng with coagulated blood and lard
What came was a version that is pretty true to the origin – with shredded steamed chicken, fishball, garlic oil, lard, and even coagulated blood, the rarest of all ingredient to be found in Klang Valley for this dish. The soup was subtle yet supple, and I bet it’ll satisfy any kuih teow soup fan.
I can’t say that the fish ball is top notch, but everything else hits the spot. For RM 5, this is more than just a “tahan gian” dish.
Address: Ming Tien Hawker Center
Jalan SS24/8, Taman Megah,
Petaling Jaya, Selangor GPS:3.114334, 101.611658 Hours; this stall operates from evening till late
Ampang Park is said to be the oldest shopping mall of such set up in the country. First opened its door in 1973, this place has been in existence since our current Prime Minister’s father was in office as the Prime Minster.
Recently, my office moved to Intermark, which is located just right across the road from Ampang Park, so naturally I went to check out some of the lunch options at this place since the two buildings are connected by a skybridge.
food court at Ampang Park, the oldest shopping mall in Malaysia
As it turns out, the oldest mall also has one of the oldest food courts at the top floor. There are a variety of hawker stalls at the area, but two that caught my eyes were the Korean and the Vietnamese food outlets.
Both of these places are pork free, and offers exceptional value.
Vietnamese beef, chicken or fish noodle at RM 5.00 to RM 6.00
The Vietnamese dishes are typically made from the same soup base, you can get beef noodle, beef stew noodle, beef ball noodle, chicken noodle, and like the example above, fish noodle for the price of RM 4.50 to RM 6.00.
There’s mint leaves, fish sauce, and a soup base that’s undoubtedly Vietnamese, but don’t expect great cut of beef or beef tendons in them. A pair of spring rolls here goes for RM 2.50 and they are rather decent too.
The Vietnamese lady who operate this place doesn’t speak much English, but can converse in Malay, and of course in Vietnamese.
kimchi soup ramen for RM 7.00
If you fancy some cheap Korean food, just look at the busiest stall in this food court.
The menu here includes Korean glass noodle with soup (RM 6.50), seafood noodle soup (RM 6.50), mixed vegetable rice (RM 6.50), kimchi rice roll (RM 6.50), bibimbap (RM 7), kimchi pancake (RM 6.50), kimchi soup rice (RM 7), kimchi fried rice (RM 6.50), and more.
Most of these dishes come with side dishes that includes kimchi, vegetable, bean sprout, and an omelette lookalike thingy.
the ramen noodle comes with a side dish of 4 too
My favourite dishes from the Korean food stall is the kimchi ramen noodle that also comes with side dishes that goes for RM 7. The soup isn’t very intense, but for the price you can’t really ask for more. There’s plenty of kimchi and overall taste is rather decent.
The only complain I have is that the portion is perhaps overly huge though.
If you work or happen to around the area and want something cheap and decent for lunch, here’s a food court to check out.
Address: Ampang Park Food Court Level 2 Ampang Park Shopping Centre Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur GPS: 3.16054, 101.71947 Hours: weekday lunch
In my book, Lot 10 Hutong is by far the best food courts in Klang Valley, I will miss the convenience of being able to walk there in 10 minutes, we’re relocating the office to a building that’s perhaps more glamorous, but unfortunately a bit too far to be walking to the awesome food choices offered at Bukit Bintang..
Tai Lei Lor Kei pork chop bun stall at Lot 10 Hutong food court
I almost always order the char kuih teow, Soong Kee beef noodle, or different types of mee at Ho Weng Kee whenever I find myself at Hutong food court, but on my latest visit, I decided to try something else.
So I asked my sometimes lunch buddy Jean for pointers, and she suggested that I should try the pork chop bun at Tai Lei Lor Kei (大利来咖啡室).
signature frill pork bun, and sawdust cake dessert
Originally from Macau, the branch here at Hutong enjoys pretty brisk business during lunch hours. The menu revolves around pork chop, but does offer chicken wings and curry fish ball as well. You can have these with rice, bun, or even noodles.
The value set meal for signature pork chop bun goes for RM 13.90 with inclusion of a drink, and on its own the bun costs RM 11.90, certainly within the accepted price range at this part of KL.
The pork chop is surprisingly succulent and not entirely too oily, with the portion being rather huge as well. Without any accompanying lettuce or cucumber, your tongue might yearn for a bit of green after a while, but it will definitely put a smile on any carnivores.
enjoying my pork chop bun, and jean with jealous eyes cos she had sore throat
As for the accompanying drink, I chose their Macau milk tea and was not disappointed. The other must-order item if you find yourself at this stall is their sawdust cake dessert. The cake isn’t exactly a cake but more like a slightly hardened tiramitsu with very fine grind peanut, it was very delicious.
I guess I’ll have to drive/ride to Hutong next time, which I think most likely will.
Address: Tai Lei Lor Kei at Hutong food court
Lower Ground Floor
Lot 10 Shopping Mall
Jalan Bukit Bintang GPS:3.146462, 101.711758
