Hokkien Mee Me!

Back in the 80s, there was a TV commercial selling cornflakes that I thought was misleading. Well, to me, at least. It started off by comparing a young kid’s reaction to two types of breakfast. On the right (yes, I even remember the layout!), he had a bowl of cornflakes and looked really happy. On the left, he was served some dark, fried noodles that resembled very much like Hokkien Mee. And guess what, he looked terribly disappointed. Every time that commercial was aired, I’d say (to the TV screen), ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I’m not against those tiny golden crisps fortified with dozens of nutrients but if the marketer decides to force supremacy against Hokkien Mee (or any stir-fried noodle, for that matter), it gets personal.

My affection towards this calorific, deathly dish is obvious, if you’d read my previous Hokkien Mee posts. Time and again, I'd mentioned that in the last decade or so, I’d never been wholeheartedly satisfied, even with some of the more established stalls in KL/Selangor. I was told that perhaps my ideal Hokkien Mee had never existed, that it’s all in an idea of perfection that I’m indulging. Definitely not. I remember how it tasted back in the older days – a savoury stock and slightly sweet dark soy sauce reduction done to a sticky consistency, coating every strand of thick egg noodle, sprinkled with the quintessential dried, pounded flounder, glistened and aromatized with a layer of hot lard oil. Sometimes, there's the additional fried shallot oil too. Let’s not forget a sharp, pungent cili boh/belacan dip that cuts through the sweet/savoury reduction, adding a new dimension to already exciting taste. Jaded that I am, with my ceasing torch, I continue to find that taste, good taste, long lost.

On an accidental night after a light shower, a few of us old kids decided to finally visit the two infamous Hokkien Mee stalls, located at the opposing ends of a stretch along Jalan 222, Section 14 in Petaling Jaya. Both were equipped with fast-paced and knowledgeable, mostly foreign staff. Ahwa’s version had a matte finish – an emphasis on dark soy sauce that ensued a sweeter aftertaste. What lacked, I thought, was the compulsory aroma (wok hei) of hot lard oil. Hence the missing shine as well. Peng Yuan, on the other hand, was glossy and aromatic. The sauce was less reduced and leaned towards the savoury side. Despite the loose consistency of the sauce, as a fan of all things savoury, I’d personally liked Peng Yuan’s more.

Ahwa's Hokkien Mee

Ahwa's What-Darn-Whore

So far in this blog, I’ve rambled too much about Hokkien Mee but not so on the other definitive Chinese noodle dish, Cantonese-style. I must say that I’m a big fan of its more popular variant - the (90% phonetically correct) what-darn-whore or thick rice flour noodles (whore fun) topped with an egg-starch sauce. The browning of whore fun is important to provide wok hei and separate the stacked strands. Ahwa did a good job at that. Their assembly with a smooth, sufficiently gelatinous egg-starch topping sealed the deal for me. I would have been more enthusiastic about Peng Yuan’s version if not for finding a broken toothpick (let’s hope it was unused) in the sauce.

Peng Yuan's Hokkien Mee

Peng Yuan's What-Darn-Whore

On a different occasion, the old kids decided to explore Sunway Giza on a Saturday night. The main complex didn’t excite us much but the young and fashionable seem to enjoy thronging here on weekends. Nearby, at an extended shoplot, we found a branch of yet another infamous Hokkien Mee institution, Restoran Damansara. This one offers a menu and additional fried lard bits. Perhaps due to an overwhelming amount of oil insulating the sauce and noodles, it turned out rather bland. But the shine and colour did look sinfully appetizing though. The Cantonese version fared better with a crispy web of fried rice vermicelli (bee hoon) and whore fun soaked in a subtlely flavoured egg sauce.

Restoran Damansara's Hokkien Mee

Restoran Damansara's Cantonese Stir-Fried Ying Yang Noodles

There are a few Hokkien Mee stalls left on our list but to be honest, I’m not too optimistic looking at the names. One of which I had frequented some years ago, way before they decided to go big with mediocre and expensive Hokkien Mee. I’d never been back since. Although the long lost taste may not be found in the near future (not never, hopefully), every outing with the old kids was fun, as we reminisced the days of being wild, young and free. Now, I wonder if they remember the cornflake commercial.


Restoran Ahwa and Peng Yuan Hokkien Mee
off Jalan 222 Petaling Jaya
Selangor, Malaysia

Restoran Damansara Hokkien Mee
35, Jalan PJU 5/9 Kota Damansara
Selangor, Malaysia

Hokkien Mee @ Restoran Aik Yuen

Maybe it's the excess calories burnt while grooving to David Guetta's recent string of hits in the club or the rubbers in the earlier badminton session or simply, the euphoric anticipation of the weekend, but Saturday nights or technically, Sunday mornings, seem like the hungriest time of the week for many. Unless one is working on graveyard shift, this feeling of weekend liberation often leads to a celebration that is usually food, good food, before slumbering with a comfortably full stomach and vegetate the Sunday away.

It does sound great but seriously, good food at night? Especially during the wee, club-closing hours? Of course, if one's other half (or mother) is Nigella Lawson, who keeps her refrigerator full of delicious leftovers, this is not an issue at all. Well, 99.5% of us are just not that lucky and we resort to food at stalls.

There are countless nocturnal or semi-nocturnal food stalls around and some have achieved superstardom with their apparently excellent food. Indeed, in the city that never sleeps, there exists some really good nasi lemak and wanton mee and fishball soup noodles. So, I want to believe. However, the skeptical side of me thinks that in the inebriated state, everything tastes good. I'm not saying this without basis, of course. In sobriety, I've tried some of these prominent fried noodles and chicken rice stalls in town and the only conclusion that I can draw is that oil (whether it's the animal or cooking type) and MSG come with a huge discount after 12. Anyway, it's a choice and at 3 am, there aren't many choices around.

The point is, I don't like spending on substandard dim sum or fried noodles or overpriced bak kut teh but yet, I want a good grub when I'm done with the clubs. Or my dreadful homework.

At 3 am on a particular Sunday, I pushed my luck and sped to Aik Yuen from Bukit Bintang, in hope of being able to try one of the most discussed Hokkien mee stalls in town. I was, of course, still within the speed limit and this was clear as I felt static when being overtaken by a group of Mat Rempits. Good choice of location for their much despised art, I feel, for there were 2 hospitals around - the General Hospital and Tawakal.

The main restaurant was already filled with stacked tables and chairs, which meant that I was too late, yet again. Niamah.

Like many dominating Chinese restaurants out there, the tables overflowed to the pavement, stretching to the next few shophouses on both sides. The helpers were clearing the sides as well when we spotted 2 occupied tables of dyed shades of brown hair with very trendy outfits. I ran over and asked the helper if it was still open for business.

YES!

Oddly enough, the kitchen was located somewhat opposite the restaurant. I presume that it must be the intense smoke from the oil that caused the move. From a Hokkien mee fan point of view, it means that we can anticipate some good amount of wok hei.

I tend to generalize the black Hokkien mee into 2 types - the dry (good) and the soupy (a curse). Following the dry type, they are sub-categorized further into - the sweet and salty. This can go on for hours but let me just conclude that it's the sweet type here. I prefer the salty kind but the Hokkien mee I had that morning was still very good.

Though sweet, it was not sourced solely from the dark soy sauce, hence the lack of bitterness. A plus. It was served dry. Another plus. On the other hand, it disappointingly lacked the empowering wok hei that I was looking for and the amount of oil used would keep liposuckers at the nearby Tawakal (if any) in good business. I'm one who loves a good dose of lard but when it's too much, it kills the appetite by insulating the taste of the sauce. In other words, it dilutes the flavours with fat. There was nothing much to say about the chilli as the typical runny chilli boh paste was used.

Aik Yuen might not be the greatest Hokkien mee that I've been searching for since its disappearance some 20 years ago but relatively speaking, it was better than two other popular Hokkien mee brands that I've tried recently.

Oh, and really, I was sober the whole time at Aik Yuen.

Restoran Aik Yuen
Behind Tawakal Hospital
Jalan Sarikei, Off Jalan Pahang Barat
53000 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia