Breakfast Pig

On our first morning in KL, we awoke with a rumble in our stomachs that could not be satisfied by coffee and fruit from the hotel breakfast buffet.  Luckily, I had been advised before departing Saigon that salvation, in the form of a porky noodle treat, could be found just a 15-minute walk from the lobby.

This pork mee (pork noodle) vendor occupies the front right corner of a Brickields coffee shop.  A number of noodle types are on offer, both rice (kuayteow, loh see fun, bee hoon) and wheat (mee and mee sua).  Noodles can be had in soup or konlo (dry-mixed), and egg is optional.

No matter the noodle dish, I usually lean towards konlo, because with soup on the side the flavor of noodles, mix-ins, and condiments can take center stage.  More pragmatically, in a tropical climate like Malaysia's the last thing I need is to hang my head over a bowl of steaming broth.  Having just left Saigon, where bird flu is never far from one's mind when eating or buying chicken and eggs, the novelty of consuming a barely cooked egg with nary a worry appealed.  Thus my order: mee (semi-thick yellow, rounded wheat noodles) konlo, with an egg.

We grabbed a table near the stall and sat back to watch the action.  Our wait for sustenance lasted a good ten minutes in spite of the fact that stall owner Mr. Tay moved quickly to assemble the orders that poured steadily in.

Our first taste confirmed that these noodles are well worth the wait.  Piled atop a gently poached egg and swathed in dark soy and oil-fried garlic, they were accompanied by a tiny saucer of fresh chilies in soy sauce and a small bowl of soup -- a rich, meaty concoction of pork (chopped, chewy nubbins and tender slices), greens, sliced scallion, bits of fried shallot, and white pepper.

While some diners delicately plucked pieces of pork from soup and dabbed them in chili/soy, I took the more direct route, transferring pork and greens to noodles and dumping the contents of the saucer on top, before digging in.

 

A brisk stir with my chopsticks broke the egg and the perfectly al dente noodles were bathed in yolk.  Slightly bitter greens played off the sweet dark soy.  I would have preferred a few more chilies, and could have had them for the asking -- but hunger won the day and my bowl was empty in a matter of seconds, barely more than a minute.  Pork broth, pleasantly lukewarm by now, served as a fitting follow-up to this fine bowl of breakfast noodles.

Mind-blowing?  Not exactly.  Utterly, deliciously satisfying?  You bet.  A return trip to this spot is most definately on our agenda.

Find the stall at New Lay Sin coffee shop, 250 Jalan Tun Sambanthan. (By monorail: get off at Sentral.  Upon exiting the station turn left and continue Tun Sambanthan 2 or 3 blocks.  The coffee shop is on your left.) Early morning to mid-afternoon.

Comments

[Maukitten]

Yumyum. Do try the fried fish from the banana leaf (Southern Indian curry & rice) stall at that coffee shop. It's wonderful.

:-)
Maukitten

[Robyn]

Yes, that stall was doing a steady business. It's on the list! Unfortunately, I can only fit so many meals into one week......

[Nuv-a]

hey, what an interesting blog! i was searching for eating bugs/insects in KL and accidentally got here!

Could you please tell me if u know any good place to eat insects or bugs in KL or if there is any place for this matter.

Luv, Nuv-a