A couple weeks ago, Suan made me wake up at 6 in the morning on weekends, just because she needed a trail walking buddy to go to Chilling Falls (we went many years ago). She’s a friend for over two decades, I had no choice but to comply.
fried pan mee in all its glory
So we made our ways from PJ to Hulu Selangor way too early on a Sunday morning, and stopped by Rasa (yes, it’s a real town) for a pretty unique type of breakfast – Fried Pan Mee at Happy Like Coffee House.
Rasa is a pretty small town, and being situated less than 30 mins from Chilling Falls makes it a perfect destination for pre-hike stopover. The town area is plenty small and you won’t miss the time capsule of a kopitiam.
So, how’s the fried pan mee?
It is almost exactly like how you would imagine. Literally pan mee, but fried, with plenty of the same type of vege you’d find in normal soup version of pan mee. The portion here is way too big but makes for good carbo-loading pre-exercise routine. I was impartial to the taste, but Suan loves it.
Happy Like Coffee House, Rasa, Hulu Selangor
If you’re heading to Chilling Falls or any of the hiking trials nearby Hulu Selangor, this would be a worthy stopover.
bonus pic of me freezing my ass off at Chilling Falls
Address: Restoran Happy Like Coffee House Taman Rasa Jaya, 44200 Rasa, Selangor GPS: 3.496102, 101.632591
When it comes to food in Klang, one would usually point to bak kut teh, but if you dig in a little bit deeper, there are other gems hidden in this older part of the valley which you may not find in other places – one of such treasure is mee hoon kuih, or Klang’s own interpretation of pan mee.
Kah Ping hawker stall at Jalan Gelegor food court
The most well known of such dish this part of town has got to be Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih located at Taman Berkeley, a shop that’s almost always packed, hot, and requires a long wait time.
However, if you ask some of the locals, the best Mee Hoon Kuih is arguably the version served at Jalan Gelegor’s food court by a stall with the name of Kah Ping.
You may have recognized this particular food court for it’s famous Jalan Batai char kuih teow which I’ve penned on this space some time ago, yeap, you can have them both at the same place!
Klang style mee hoon kuih (or pan mee)
My mee hoon kuih took a little over 10 minutes to arrive (much faster than Fatty’s). The bowl of goodness comes with hand pinched dough, pork slices, liver, an egg (optional), vege, spring onion, dried anchovies, and curiously, some small shrimps.
pork, veggie, and even prawns
The dough was as solf and silky as it comes, and I thought the soup base was even sweeter than Fatty’s version, most likely due to the addition of those shrimps (much like the OUG pork noodle). I find myself enjoying this version quite a bit. As per usual Klang style, there’s only chili padi & soya sauce as condiment instead of those home made chili sauce you find at KL’s pan mee, but they do compliment the dish well if you like to add some kick.
A worthy mee hoon kuih to try, I’ll bring mom next since she loves a good bowl of mee hoon kuih!
Whenever food and Klang are mentioned in the same sentence, the topic of bak kut teh is often inevitable, however, Klang offers more than just bak kut teh. Lets look at four different places you should check out if you’re at Klang, just in case you’ve just had your bak kut teh the day before.
Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih at Taman Berkeley
Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih at Taman Berkeley is the most famous pan mee restaurant in all of Klang, the version here is slightly different from those served at other part of Klang Valley, instead of chilli paste you get chilli padi and soya sauce, and lettuce is used as vegetable of choice.
Expect long wait time as each bowl is cooked individually. Starting at RM 3.50 per bowl, this place offers great value too.
Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih | Address: 19 Lebuh Bangau, Taman Berkeley, Klang | Tel: 017-336 6183 |Opening hours: 10am to 10pm daily. | GPS: 3.060055, 101.463443
Peng Heong Hakka Paikut, love their sour & spicy vegetable
If pork ribs fancy you, Peng Heong Hakka Paikut will surely deliver. The corner shop not far from the central bus station at Klang offers one of the most delicious and succulent fried pork ribs you can find anywhere.
delicious pork ribs, asam fish, pork stomach soup, sour and spicy vegetable
Their menu is quite extensive as well, I especially love their sour and spicy vegetable soup that hits all the right spots. Asam fish and pork stomach soup are two other dishes worth checking out as well. However, their bak kut teh is subpar, so don’t waste your time or stomach space for that.
Peng Heong Hakka Paikut Restaurant | Address: No 2, Lorong Gudang Nanas, Off Jalan Pasar, 41400 Klang | Tel: 019-260 0855 | GPS: 3.048, 101.4448 | Operating Hours: brunch till late lunch
you don’t have to go to Melaka for delicious pohpiah
Melaka is famous for many hawker delights, with one of my favorite being the pohpiah at Jonker Street, mainly due to it’s pork lard infused ingredients. So you can imagine I was more than happy to find out that you can find very similar pohpiah right at Eng Ann Hawker Centre, Klang, which neighbours Taman Berkeley.
the pohpiah is infused with pork lard and lap cheong too
There are two pohpiah stalls here, and both are comparable in taste. The ingredients include pork lard and lap cheong, which really gives this otherwise simple snack an extra kick. If you like the Melaka version, this one won’t disappoint.
Tan Kee Pohpiah or Eng Ann Pohpiah | Address: Eng Ann Hakwer Centre, Jalan Pekan Baru & Jalan Kawasari 8, Klang | GPS: 3.058001,101.460022 | Hours: lunch till tea time, daily
made-to-order black sesame glutinous ball with ginger soup
For after dinner dessert, head to Taman Berkeley again for some freshly made black sesame glutinous ball in ginger soup. This classic Chinese dessert Kedai Kopi Tech Le is pretty much made to order here with a choice of black sesame or as the ingredient. This stuff will clear up your sinus immediately. I love it.
Tong Kee at Kedai Kopi Tec Le | Address: Kedai Kopi Tec Le, Lebuh Bangau, Taman Berkeley, Klang | Opening hours: supper, closed on Monday and Thursday | GPS:3.060006, 101.464115
While not being a huge fan, I do occasionally enjoy a good bowl of pan mee every now and then. So when Haze’s friend Angel told us that she was going to bring us to the famous Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih House at Taman Berkeley, I jumped on the opportunity.
Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih (Pan Mee) at Taman Berkeley
The Klang style pan mee, or what locally referred to as mee hoon kuih (麵粉粿), is not very similar to the version you find at KL, with a few distinctions – lettuce is used instead of potato leaves, there’s pork innards, and the dish is usually served with soya sauce and chilli padi on the side instead of home-made chilli sauce.
you can also add a poached egg, and pork liver comes standard
Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih House is certainly one of the busiest restaurants I’ve ever been. Sharing table is a norm here, and if you don’t have the patience to wait up to 45 minutes, the primary reason of this long wait is due to the fact that each bowl is cooked separated from scratch. A sure sign of hawkers taking their craft seriously.
The claim of fame here is the hand torn noodle itself, they are silky smooth and absolutely fantastic. The soup is subtle and sufficient, but I do miss not having some hot chilli sauce and the potato leave, though that’s maybe just a habit I need to kick.
the “Michael Jackson” here is barley + cincau
A bowl of mee hoon kuih here goes for only RM 3.50, for RM 0.50 more you can add an egg, extra vege, or fried onion goes for RM 1, more ikan bilis? RM 1.50.
Rather cheap and plenty good hawker food, but do schedule at least an hour or more for a meal here.
Address: Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih House 19 Lebuh Bangau, Taman Berkeley, Klang Tel: 017-336 6183 GPS: 3.060055, 101.463443 Hours: 10:00am – 10:00pm daily
Pan mee is one of the few underrated hawker dishes originated right around here in Klang Valley that has seen some revival as of late, most notably due to chili pan mee places such as the famous Kin Kin pan mee, and restaurant Super Kitchen (which I prefer largely due to better service).
Hock Thai restaurant, at the less glamourous area of SS 2omb
While I occasionally enjoys chili version of this dish, the true pan mee connoisseurs will always tell you that to taste the real pan mee, you need to get back to it’s origin and have the good old fashion hand peeled version.
The quest for good old school pan mee brought me to this relatively obscure row of shop lots at SS 2 that is situated somewhere behind the Bomba building and Tropicana City Mall – a corner kopitiam by the name of Hock Thai Seafood Restaurant (they serve seafood tai chao at night)
dry and normal soup version of pan mee, with hand made noodle
I met Michael there and we ordered both the dry and soup version of pan mee (RM 4.50). The ingredients aren’t fancy, you get the usual pan mee leave, flavorful minced meat, crunchy fried anchovies, slices of mushroom, and those sweet potato leaves.
What is special here though, is the hand made noodle. The pan mee was very soft and smooth, almost bordering the texture of koay chap yet unmistakably pan mee. It was positively delicious, the soup that comes with weren’t overly salty either, just subtle and flavorful. Furthermore, the chili paste that is served as the condiment was not a disappointment either.
This was one pan mee that I actually enjoyed eating without overloading the dish with chili.
Michael ordered an extra bowl of kolo mee
Update 2021: Aubrey kolo mee & Sarawak Laksa is no longer here
A quick check on foursquare revealed that the Sarawak Kolo Mee (RM 5) too is recommended. We ordered a bowl to share, and sure enough it was another awesome choice. The thin noodle reminds me of angel hair spaghetti and I love the mixture of minced meat and deep fried garlic with the taste of char siu oil in it. Would definitely come again for this too.
If you are a fan of traditional pan mee or kolo mee, Hock Thai kopitiam is definitely a place worth checking out.
Address: Hock Thai Seafood Restaurant Jalan SS2/103, Petaling Jaya, Selangor 47300 GPS: 3.12653, 101.62593
