Thursday, October 14, 2010

Noodles @ Ban Lee

They said I must give it a try. Afterall, it’s only a short drive from home. And I did. Thank you, eager relatives.

As we approached Taman Ehsan, I still had no idea what exactly we would be having for breakfast that Sunday. Pork noodle, I was told. That’s a tricky one. This is KL, so it'll be either the liver sausage and pork balls type or those served with everything porky - intestine, liver, blood cubes, minced meat, etc. I asked no further and assumed that it’s the former. I wanted it to be! However, amidst the excitement generated along the journey, I was not informed of the one important feature of this coffeeshop - the erratic business hours. True enough, it was closed that day…and on our subsequent visit.

Some things are worth the wait, I guess. This is one of them. The gorn low (Cantonese for dry-tossed) dressing consisting of light and sweet soy sauces and sesame oil was quintessentially what I would have been able to formulate at home but of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. At Ban Lee, it was the really good noodle that had me. How would I describe it? Most probably a cross between yee and pan mee. So, on one hand, there’s the smooth, non-sticky texture of yee mee (sans the ubiquitous process of blanching in hot oil) and on the other, a hint of floury scent of pan mee. I’ve seen similar types sold at wet markets before but thought that they would not be any different from pan mee. Looks like it’s time to get a kilogram and make myself some gorn low mee. Or some mushroom ragout to go with it! The other ingredients complementing the noodles seemed pan mee-inspired; deep-fried beancurd skin and pork balls.

Don’t start eating yet! HairyBerry needs to shoot the food, said the relatives, almost in unison. Sweet.

Here’s a good plan for a Sunday morning – start the day with a workout at the nearby Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), replenish with some pork noodles at Ban Lee and head home for a peaceful afternoon nap. If Ban Lee’s closed, there are always other coffeeshops around Taman Ehsan. Good ones at that.


Kedai Makan Ban Lee
Jalan E 3/6
Taman Ehsan, 52100 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

11 comments:

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

everyone knows what to do as well once i whip out my camera!

yes, theres are quite a few variations of pork noodles isnt..

J said...

...".... Don't start eating yet!"?
Your relatives are so sweet lah. They know you so well. :)

jason said...

Hahaha, my colleagues and friends would say that too!

choi yen said...

My little niece also "warn" my mom like that too (don't eat, ah yi 1 2 take photo) haha!!

I had this noodle b4, my colleague introduce to me, love the texture of it!

qwazymonkey said...

Woah, I've never read such a romantic post on pork noodles such as yours. Only u can do it. Wonder what the child of Yee and Pan mee taste like. Can't quite imagine it. I'll find out soon

minchow said...

You've trained your relatives well, I see!! I still get the attack of the grouchies when I halt them in their tracks!

Simon Seow said...

Ah, I guess our relatives now understand us more when eating out lol.

Kenny Mah said...

Not many people can turn me on the way you do when you write about food, in a more rustic, straightforward Annie Proulx way and less of the overly obvious Nigella Lawson style.

By the way, I meant turn my TASTE BUDS on. Hee.

Kenny Mah said...

P.S. Cool relatives you got there! Mine would only look upon my food photography antics with a potent mixture of bewilderment and disdain. :P

HairyBerry said...

joe, hi5 yo! hehe. to more variations of zhu yoke farn, i say! ;D

j, yeah, they are a sporting bunch. of course, i try to make it quick also lah. hehehe.

jason, i hope our friends are not afraid of us...lol!

choi yen, you know, i had a feeling that you've tried this place before cos you stay nearby. glad you did! and liked it too! ;D

qwazymonkey, aiyoh! *blush* tarak romantic la...hehe. but the mee here is shiok, that's for sure. do give it a try. hopefully they'll work on the erratic hours la. a bit sian sometime....

minchow, that's what family's for, i guess. haha! i shoot fast, they wait a while. it's a happy compromise. ;D

simon, they'll be surprised if we dont take out our cameras one day, right? haha.

kenny, zomg! thanks so much for the compliment but i'm not worthy la....haha. ya know, i never knew who Annie Proulx was until i read your comment and wiki-ed it. teruk hor? hehe.

and forget the disdain part. bewilderment's good. ;D oh yeah, welcome back to KL! ok la, that sounds weird from someone based in sg. oh well..haha.

Babe_KL said...

i like the texture of the noodles here - bouncy!