Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Seng Yuen Fried Noodles, Kepong

Food Adventure Series - Kepong, Part Two

Sorry, been busy...so dropping an updated line to wish all readers and friends...

GONG XI FA CHAI,
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
&
SAFE JOURNEY

See you folks next week...

Having fed ourselves with duck satay earlier, Simon suggested we try out this place for fried noodles called Kou Lo Chow Fun (Cantonese for Tall Man's Fried Noodles) that he goes to once in awhile but not before he warned us that we might have to wait quite awhile before we get served as there's usually quite a crowd. I told him of my experience with Man Shook ("Slow Uncle")'s Fried Noodles in Jalan Tong Shin and about my 45 minutes wait for the order to arrive, so, I was prepared!

When we arrived at the coffeeshop lot, we were slightly taken aback to see the long line of tables on the shop pavement and five foot way - ALL TAKEN and with most still waiting for their order.

Seng Yuen

So, we made our way into the shop...I felt like I was transported back into time or had made my way to a little place out of town. There were only two empty tables left.
Seng Yuen

Old Style Seng Yuen
Even the work station (located right next to the cashier's counter!) where the "tea" guy prepares the drinks order looks so nostalgic that it made me think of my childhood days when I followed my parents to the old Bukit Bintang market(which had to make way for KL Plaza/Lot 10!) and would go for our usual kopi ping (iced coffee with milk) or cham (tea mixed with coffee) after buying vegetables, fish, chicken and sundries. Ahh....I miss those days, I miss my dear ol' Dad :o(



Floggers
Since we were prepared for a long wait...us floggers kept ourselves busy taking pics of the surrounding place and the people and eventually ourselves.....

Waiting - aft 1 hour 15 minutes
However, after an hour of waiting....our standby mode was almost going into sleep mode! Hahaha...

Master at the wok
Meanwhile, just outside - the master was hard at work at churning out oodles of noodles, with plenty of wok action but as I stood there to look on, I waited for a shot of high flames but it never happened..Uhh...plus, he didn't seem that tall to me though. Will the real Tall Man please stand up???

Hokkien Fried Noodles
Well, after 1 hour 15 minutes, our first plate of noodles arrived. Hokkien Fried Noodles (a mix of flat and thick yellow noodle with dark sauce - Simon's usual way) With all that built up anticipation, we tucked in with great enthusiasm...only to be somewhat let down. The noodles were cooked al dente but lacked one crucial aspect. Just as I had made that observation about "no high flames" when I was looking on earlier, these noodles did not have any "wok hei" (food cooked over high flames, see HERE for a photo example), which is essential for chopstick licking and lip smacking good Hokkien noodles. However, we had one solution to kick it up a notch...

Crispy Pork Lard
Extra crispy lard to add more oomph and aroma to the noodles! Crispy lard saves the day! Yay!

Cantonese Fried Noodles
The Cantonese Fried Noodles (RM6/USD1.70) fared a bit better as the egg swirled gravy had the right consistency (meaning not too starchy till gooey like!) and the noodles were a bit more aromatic as it had been fried lightly before the gravy (that is cooked together with vegetables, prawns and meat slices) is poured over it and served immediately. CityGal said that she found the noodles bland, but I found it okay...maybe it was that bit of sambal that I had put on each spoonful of noodles that I ate. Oh, of course...some crispy lard too :o)

Braised Yee Mee
Simon had wanted Loh Mee (thick yellow noodles with thicker consistency broth cooked with some corn starch and eggs) but we were given a plate of Braised Yee Mee (RM6/USD1.70) instead. We decided not to send it back at the risk of waiting even longer, hahaha! This egg noodle was the most normal fare of the three types (by that time, all four of us were faced with a dire situation - we were running low on crispy lard supply. Egads!). Jason ate the crispy lard bits with so much gusto that I felt quite envious...with his small frame, he can jolly well afford to eat up a whole bucket of it if he wants to :p ! We somehow never got round to replenishing the supply as it was the last plate to arrive. So, we ate the crispy bits sparingly.
Not enough crispy lard = Not enough oomph!

Well, we came to the conclusion that Tall Man (if that elderly man was indeed the real Tall Man) might not have been able to cope with the many orders that he had to dish out and therefore food quality was compromised. We surely couldn't comprehend why the stall can draw such a crowd if the noodles aren't tasty - surely not worth the wait especially. We said that we would try to come back here again during a non-peak hours and give it a second test.
Yee Mee being air dried
A basket of Yee Mee being air dried on a table set up along the five foot way

Well, it wasn't that bad but disappointed, we were. However, I give it two thumbs up for bringing back such lovely memories for me with its nostalgic look...


Kedai Makanan Seng Yuen
19E Jalan Besar (Main Road)
Kepong
52000 Kuala Lumpur
Opens evening till early hours of the morning


Coming soon - Food Adventure Series - Kepong, Part 3 (Final)

28 comments:

Hazza said...

I have memories of hokkien mee when a kid, which had squid in it. These days, nowhere I hav tried seem to have it, so the pic of that piece of squid in your pic looked really appetising to me!

J2Kfm said...

LOL. the uncle prolly in his 70's or 80's? how to be tall somemore eh? :)

Precious Pea said...

Wow...one whole list of J2KFM's post link to this post. Are you advertising for him ar??

Ciki said...

Oh.. that poor uncle looks so old and bent.. :( but I am sure he totally loves what he does. That is what your call, dedication. Toil over that fire, for the love of food, till the day you no longer can stand. Sigh. Nostalgic indeed.

Mummy In Vain said...

maybe the master was TALL when he was young, hehe...

Babe_KL said...

There's a good one in Jinjang but I forgot how to get there hahaha :p

choi yen said...

How come I never know this place? *scratch head*

minchow said...

Love that pic of the tea workstation... churning out cups and cups of satisfaction, all from that crowded little corner. Poor dear Uncle should pass on his chow fun kungfu and take a break.

Anonymous said...

haha how come gou lou is not tall one?

Simon Seow said...

Next time I bring you to Sentul to try out my favourite hokkien char since my childhood.

wmw said...

Hazza : Hey...haven't seen you for awhile. There are some stalls here which has squid in the noodles. Next trip, eh?

J2kfm : Actually, he's a healthy looking old man! Dunno about height though.

Preciou P : That was a technical problem I think. I didn't even know. I deleted the links one by one! Thanks for letting me know...

Cumi&Ciki : That uncle is actually quite alert and healthy looking. He wasn't bent per se but bending over the wok I suppose. You should see his strong arms! From all that lifting of the big wok!

Mummy In Vain : Yah, maybe he was taller! :o)

babe_kl : Hahaha...Jinjang exploration next? ;p

mimid3vils : Yah hor, you said your area :o)

550ml jar of faith : Well, one might love what one does and let's hope he's one of those.

Anonymous said...

OMG, did I look so "wai sik" while gobbling the crispy lards??? *shy*

New Kid on the Blog said...

1 hour 15 minutes waiting time?? that's long!!!! :(

~Christine~Leng said...

zhu yao zar!! wooo.... :) it's been a while....

Cynthia said...

I couldn't read beyond the words duck satay - oh why do you torture me so? :)

teckiee said...

tai ka che...Happy Chinese New Year!

tigerfish said...

OMG! Looks darn good!

Rasa Malaysia said...

MW, Happy CNY! :)

Jun said...

happy cny to u mw!! :)

wmw said...

KBCG : Maybe he shrunk as he aged ah?

Simon : You're ON!

Jason : Nolah, just that you were really enjoying yourself :o)

NKOTB : Yup....tell us about it, hahaha...

Christine : Soon, Christine..soon!

Cynthia : Do I? As long as you stop torturing me too! LOL!

Teckiee : Thanks...safe journey yah?

tigerfish : Looks good but short on wok hei :o)

RM : Same to you too, are you in Penang? Coming to KL?

June : Gong Xi Fa Chai, where will you be at this time?

HairyBerry said...

hokkien mee and chinese new year...both my fave..hehehe...

hey, happy cny, wmw!!! let's go sing cny songs. :D

backStreetGluttons said...

Now that the great Street Stalker has mentioned it , its true we have posed the identical same question why some extra popular stalls have unbecoming long crowds , as though its da best in that street, which it is ( aha ...we got it ! )

happy new year

Big Boys Oven said...

Gong Xi Fatt Cai to you, may prosperity brings to you a lot this 2009!

Kok said...

wmw,

Happy Chinese New Year to you and Gong Xi Fa Chai. :)

Nate @ House of Annie said...

Wah, I don't know if I could have waited an hour and 15 minutes for that. Too bad it didn't have the wok hei. At least it had the lard! (Saving grace)

Happy Niu Year!

wmw said...

Nic : Karaoke...say when!

BSG : Happy Niu Year to all of you!

BBO : And to you too...Great start with the Female mag!

Kok : Thanks for dropping by...Hope all is well with you.

Nate-n-Annie : Thanks for joining in the conversation. Happy New Year to both of you!

Unknown said...

I grew up in kepong & the tall man hokkien mee is really legendary.
No need to guess why the uncle manning the wok is doesnt look tall enough.He is not the guy.The actual tall guy went missing,i heard due to gambling problem.He's hokkien mee was full of wok hei & fish fillet were add into it beside the usual stuff.I might say the best hokkien mee i ever tasted & believe me..i have travelled a lot searching for the best hokkien mee.The old man just wasn't a match.
The next best hokkien mee i can recommend is Ah hua at Jln 222 PJ & tiong hua hokkien mee at uptown PJ.

mycookinghut said...

Love the extra crispy lard !