Here's the Beef (Noodles)

It's a Sunday afternoon, and all's quiet in Seremban. With the exception, that is,of an off-track betting center next to the (Batman-influenced?) Joker Bar.

And the town's Central Market, where a surprising (given the late hour) number of indoor and outdoor vendors are still hard at work .

Good news for a couple of Kuala Lumpur daytrippers who got a late start: the market's second-floor food hall is especially lively.

There's much on offer here - rojak, chicken rice, noodles, yong taufu - but we don't stop to browse. It's famous beef noodles we've driven an hour in a steady rain for, so we beat a path around the tables to stall no. 748.

Number 748 was established around sixty years ago by an immigrant from China's island province of Hainan. After arriving in Seremban and working several years for another beef noodle purveyor, the owner struck out on his own, offering a noodle dish that echos the taste of those served in his hometown of Haikou. His daughter, now dishing the goods with the help of family, says they're Hainan-style, "adjusted for Malaysian taste."

Business is brisk, and the wait for lunch can be long. But one whiff of the airborne meaty essence hovering around the stall - and a glimpse of what lies ahead - tells us that it won't be time wasted.

This beef noodle is nothing like any we've ever tasted.

The round noodles, thick as a pencil, are made in-house. They're wonderfully elastic and chewy, the result of a dough that combines rice flour with a bit of potato starch. After receiving a lashing of dark soy they're blanketed with a thick, almost gluey gravy that - when mixed with the noodles - thins to perfect strand-coating consistency.

Vinegary shreds of preserved cabbage play off the sweet notes of sesame seeds and whole peanuts. The dish is a virtual symphony of flavors and textures.

'Sweet meat noodles' sport a thinner, darker, sweeter, and more predominently (but no less tastily) soyish sauce. Both versions feature plenty of unusually large chunks of tender beef redolent of star anise and - since we've ordered them 'dry' rather than in soup - are accompanied by a small bowl of super rich meat broth.

"Next time you must try the noodles with assorted cuts," we're told. We're both thinking the same thing: "When's the soonest 'next time' can be?"

'Hainan' beef noodle stall, no. 748, second-floor food hall at the Central Market, Jalan Pasar, Seremban.

Comments

[Tea]

You've got ME thinking when's the soonest I can get over there for some beef noodles. And I live, well, many many hours away:-) Great post.

[phiz]

welcome back. Did you miss the food while you were in deepest New Mexico?

[Robyn]

Tea - when you make it to Malaysia I'll spot you a bowl (or two). :-)

Phiz - still in the deepest heart of New Mexico. We have internet here, you know! ;-)

[phiz]

you have electricity in New Mexico?! You'll be telling me you have hot and cold running water next!

[Rabbit]

Funnily the 'Joker Bar' is called 'Red Rose' in Chinese? Lost in translation.......
The beef noodle reminds me of Korean's 'cha-chiang-mian'.

[Robyn]

Rabbit - if I had a nickel (ringgit) for every mismatched/bizarre Chinese-English translation in Asia... If Korean cha chang mian are anything like Chinese cha chang mian (zha zhang mian), then these noodles are nothing like that. If that makes sense.

Phiz - yes, hot and cold running water as well. BUT - there's no nasi lemak, char kuey teow, or wantan mee here in NM, so I wouldn't exactly call it 'civilized'...

[gie]

hye there..

i suggest u check out dis restaurant in bricfields..this restaurant serves delicious indian food..its situated in jalan padang belia behind ymca brickfields..the restaurant name is RESToRAN YUSOF & ALI..Check it out ya..you wont regret.

[Sue]

I was there recently too :) I've heard the Hakka mee there is really good as well but the stall was closed so I didn't get to try it!

[wmw]

Yikes! Followed my brother there from PJ the other day but ate from stall no. 742. ha ha ha...Blogged a bit on it. If that was good, stall no. 748 has to be better huh? Well, will go there next time! Nice blog you have here!

[ttk]

hi,
your entries and photos are awesome! i don't usually submit comments, but just want to let you know whenever my family returns to Malaysia to visit relatives, we insist on driving out to have the beef noodles -- at the exact same stand you blogged about. your description of it is perfect. the taste of it still vivid in my mind and on my tongue!

[hiu woong sin]

The old man, in his 90's is still alive, still helping to make his famous beef noodle which I again tasted when I last flew back in feb 2007, a must stop place on my occasional pilgrimage to Malaysia.