Thursday, March 20, 2008

Ngau Kee

Somewhere across the globe, supper is a mere warm soup affair.
Or a cold croissant with jam, fresh from the refrigerator.


You sniggered.

For you know somewhere between me and you lies a nocturnal city where supper breathes a life of its own. An afterhour escapade for the urban dwellers. Of plethoric diversity.

Even a simple chilli vinaigrette can prove to be an appetizer by itself.

An elaborated stall by the fringe of Tengkat Tong Shin, Ngau Kee has been serving the night crowd for as long as I can remember now. Ask even the youngest of clubbers at Jalan P. Ramlee and chances are they will synonymise this stall to supper (or breakfast, for some).

The wanton mee-like egg noodle was firm and springy. Plus a minus of the dreadful alkaline water taste made it even more enjoyable. The blandness of the noodle was complemented by a generous topping of minced, marinated pork. Wait, let me rephrase that. Shredded, marinated pork. An old technique, the meat was cooked and shredded to preserve the texture and flavour of the pork. And absolutely flavourful it was. A blend of optimal sweet and savouriness, the taste was very different from your everyday minced pork topping for the soup noodles. The meat was sticky (almost maltose-laden-like) and flaky. As you munch on the fibrous shreds, the taste of pork naturally oozes, sending orgasmic signals to your brains through your tastebuds. Be adventurous. Pour in a tablespoon or two of the vinaigrette for a contrasting taste. You'll love it.

The clear soup was rather bland and the colour very much resembled a pork (or snake) stock. If you are one who dislike beef dishes for fear of the pungency, this is for you. I for one, stand by the densely flavoured type. The meatballs were firm and fresh while the strips of tripe were smooth and crunchy. The beef cut did not disappoint as it was flaky and tender. A wonderful ensemble of textures, definitely. Not the taste though.

Since they said the standard has dropped, I certainly didn't expect my coming resulted in a blown-out-of-orgasmic proportion experience. How much better was it back then? I dare not imagine.

And this is just an example of the city's many mouth-watering, unique offerings.

....while somewhere along the Causeway, a KL boy currently working in Singapore who plans to eat as much as he can and travel as far as possible is making his way back to the nocturnal city to be serenaded by the city's gastronomical supper repertoire.

Ngau Kee
Tengkat Tong Shin,
50200 Kuala Lumpur

* For price list and other details, do visit the following links:
Precious Pea
WMW
ling239の咖啡花园
Bernsy

23 comments:

Xiu Long Bao said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Xiu Long Bao said...

U sure it's pork meh, then why isit called 'Ngau Kee' leh

Sugar Bean said...

The wanton noodle topped with minced pork look so so so delicious! Perhaps I'm really hungry at this time. Haha! Guess this place is worth visiting!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

wah bland soup?? looks like they really read our comments on their MSG LADEN soup..

i prefer chee cheong kai 1 lar..

Big Boys Oven said...

hmmmmmm . . . . i think their beef is average as it is a bit bland compare to other beef noodle. I truely agree of the black pork topping which is really tasty!

ling239 said...

next time pls visit the one at Petaling Street!! taste much better oh... ^_^

Jason said...

Pork? Not beef?

choi yen said...

Visit a few times but never blog abt it... I like their chili sauce

Precious Pea said...

When you come back, let me bring you to the one in OUG.

JOjo said...

Wah! Wah! Minced pork like paste la...
Wat's chilli vinaigrette btw?

Anonymous said...

That black mass of porky goodness... tempts me like none other. I'd give up a date with a rare beauty to taste this delicacy... hehe.

Eh, maybe they should rename themselves "Chuee Kee"? (How to hanyupinyin 'pork' leh?)

backStreetGluttons said...

we remember Spore has a street famous for this thing too ( with a sourish tang) guess its popular here as well. We always feel funny when the best tasting Malay/Muslim daging soup is avoided by the Indians and many chinese , the quirks of an entire misculinary sub-race or issit ah

ai wei said...

Lol, so many ppl mistaken the topping for noodles as beef. it's actually pork. haha

i used to 'loiter-ing' at ngau kee with family every weekend for dinner 8 o 9 years back. their minced pork noodles really good. then since we converted... we then dun take beef d. i miss it a lot~

wmw said...

I only eat here if Ngau Kee or Ngau Soh themselves are at the stall. Precious Pea, don't forget to take me too! :o)

HairyBerry said...

xlb, confirm it’s pork…was even told in an episode of ho chiak! Hehe…but of course the main ingredient is beef lar..hence, the ngau-ngau name… :)

wenching & esiong, yupe, I enjoyed the minced pork a lot…haha, if you plan to go to bukit bintang, do stop by this place!

joe, ya lar, dude…the soup was quite bland…I expected the dense type but it turned out to be clear instead…which part of chee cheong kar ar? lai foong is it?

bbo, yupe, yupe, I agree with you! The taste is rather bland…and the black topping is really good, eh? Go well with rice too, I think! :)

ling239, which part of petaling street ar? the only one I know is lai foong. The coffee shop opposite petaling street where they sell tong kee egg tarts also..hehe

jason, yupe, the black topping is pork but beef is part of the ingredients in the soup…the irony being the attraction to the topping rather than the beef..hehe…

mimi, glad you share my view! I like their chili sauce cos it’s really acidic and tad spicy as well…I campur sekali with my noodles…hehe…

precious pea, welcome back to kl..hehe…ohhh!!! Nice!! Never been to OUG for beef noodles before…ok, ok, will contact you the next time I’m back..thanks! :)

jojo, yupe, it does resemble a paste…a tasty one, that is…hehe…chilli vinaigrette is just a fancy term I use to describe chili sauce…something like the dipping for kway chap..hehe…

kenny, a rare beauty? Wah, bro, I’ll go for a rare beauty instead cos ngau kee is open daily, I heard..hehe…but then again, that black mass is really tempting…let’s go there one day lar!

In mandarin, I think it’s pinyin”ed” as zhu…but in canto, really no idea..hehe

team bsg, really? Which street? Now this is something that I should explore here in Singapore…the beef noodle here is great. And yes, I share your view on the misculinary phenomena. But then again, I guess it’s the sub-races that supply the city with so many cuisines of different authenticity and hybrids that add a spectrum of tones to the city’s palette…appetizing!

ai wei, yupe, at first I thought it was beef too..haha! wow, you are one “happening” gal to loiter at ngau kee…it’s a haven for clubbers and working adults in the bkt bintang area…no beef? Ok lar, just ta pau the noodle with pork! I think it’s already very appetizing!

wmw, I think ngau soh was cooking that night…then again, after a few drinks, ngau sok or ngau soh or the foreign helper look the same to me…..hehe…oh, lets go together to OUG!

sc said...

went there years ago..found it average though. guess it didnt tempt me for another visit.

fatboybakes said...

i quite like the one on jalan silang, soo kee i think its called. i've heard so much about ngau kee, but have never had it.

so, "I certainly didn't expect my coming resulted in a blown-out-of-orgasmic proportion experience."...
gufffawwwwwwwwww!!! have others just chosen to ignore that or is my imagination just a tad too fertile?

~Christine~Leng said...

pork?? eh, wmw, I thought you said beef before? no? ;P
btw... the shredded pork on the springy noodles looks yummy!

Simon Seow said...

It's been a while now that I haven't been to Ngau Kee or Lai Fung. Missed those beef.

Unknown said...

my fren hates me for taking her there for lunch la..can see rats running around the alley

HairyBerry said...

sc, haha, i agree that the soup was average. i guess location is also one of the factors that kept the customers coming back for more.

fatboybakes, oh, i passed by Soo Kee a few times but never tried before.

sweat not, man. guess you are not the only with a tad too fertile imagination...hehehe...

christine, haha...i think it's pork lar...yupe, it's really yummy..now that your exams are over, do check it out! ;)

simon, yah! lai foong! have not been there in a very very long time. that is really one of the best beef noodles in the heart of town...

kampungboycitygal, hehe, lucky for me, i went at night...drunk somemore...so, i didnt really notice any crawlies and was happy walloping the noodles..hehehe..

Julian Si said...

Ngau Kee is really rather poor, and nothing like its legendary past!

A recent visit ...
http://juliansi.blogspot.com/2008/03/ngau-kee-supper-beef-noodles-kl.html

Cheers!

HairyBerry said...

julian, yupe, that's what i was told. well, i thought the noodle (with the topping) was good but the soup could have been more flavourful. have you tried lai fong? it's good!