An Old Favorite

We don't know why it's taken us so long to get back to Soo Kee.

We first ate here on a house-hunting trip back in June of 2005, when we spent a long, frustrating week tromping with an exceedingly tolerant property agent through ill-maintained piles and appallingly ostentatious 'palaces' (10 bedrooms and fake gold banisters, anyone?). At night we were too exhausted and frustrated to venture beyond our hotel for dinner, a shameful waste when you're in a culinary paradise like Kuala Lumpur.

On Friday we found a well-kept, human-scale dream home (little did we know that it, and its owners, would soon become our worst nightmare, but that's another story), and a celebration seemed in order. 'My wife owns a little open-air restaurant downtown,' the agent told us. 'Why don't you stop by?'

Little did we know the restaurant in question is one of Kuala Lumpur's most beloved, for its sang har meen, an extravagant dish of stir-fried prawns served over a bed of crispy noodles. The shop's been around for years; it's run by the original owner's daughter. That night we put away a fabulous meal and too much beer (it was a celebration, remember). But by the time we moved to KL two months later we'd forgotten all about it. Until yesterday.

Sang har meen probably wasn't invented in Kuala Lumpur, but it's a dish that's often identified with the city. Soo Kee offers a choice of medium or giant prawns. An order of the latter is expensive, especially relative to other noodle dishes - 25 ringgit (about U$8) for a plate of noodles with one prawn cut in half, length-wise - but the flavor that the juices in that big head add to the sauce justifies the cost.

 

Soo Kee's front-and-center kitchen turns out a sang har meen featuring half-lighly crunchy, half wok-seared fried mee noodles that hold their own against an un-gloppy sauce floating coins of ginger and a few snow pea pods and dotted with islands of egg white and yolk. Those opting for the giant sea critter, as we did, should be prepared to abandon all decorum, and chopsticks, and dive in with fingers. The shellfish (just cooked through, retaining a bit of 'crispiness'), wrestled from its armor, is an excellent vehicle with which to capture any sauce that hasn't been mopped up with noodles.

Another Soo Kee specialty: deep-fried paper-wrapped chicken. We have fond memories of this sticky sweet-savory dish from our first visit and will make it a point to order it on our next. Now that we've taken this trip down memory lane, we won't be such strangers.

Soo Koo Restaurant, 14 Medan Imbi, downtown Kuala Lumpur. Tel. 03-2148-1324. 12-3p and 5:30p-1:30am. Closed Monday. (Stir-fried ginger beef with noodles is another specialty of the house.)

Comments

[bayi]

Though there are many places in the Klang Valley offering good quality sang har meen, Soo Kee is one of the oldest and better patronised. And I agree the stall makes excellent noodles.

Apart from this signature dish, their beef hor fun is also very good. Mouth-watering, to be precise!

I had better stop writing as I am already beginning to drool...

[mycookinghut]

OMG!! This looks so delicious!! My stomach is grumbling!! I will make sure I visit this restaurant when I am back in KL!!

[Mama BoK]

Wow..!! quite ex for noodles in an open air coffee shop eh.. ;)

[Meng]

Did you try their beef hor fun (flat rice noodle)? It is good too. I had friends who lived in the Imbi area during my school days in the late 70's to early 80's. I remembered that you could get a regular Cantonese hor fun for RM3. It has been awhile since I last ate there. Isn't there another coffee shop selling similar Cantonese noodles across the street. I remembered they sold grill chicken wings. I live in Florida now and a bit confuse with the 2 restaurants.

[robyn]

Bayi - I love this dish, though it's not for everyday. Do you have other favorite spots for sang har meen? I quite like Greenview's version, though it's been a year or so. Must revisit for a comparison.

mycookinghut - I think you must have sang har meen, somewhere, if you come to KL. Worth the additional ringgit.

Mama BoK - most of the best food here in KL is served in places like this -- open-air and very casual!

Meng - we haven't tried the beef hor fun but will definately do so. The shop across the street is run by the brother of the woman who runs this place - they have a bit of a rivalry going. Other family members operate similar eateries in Petaling Jaya, I think.

[Meng]

The restaurant across the street has been there for over 25 years. The owner could be son of the old chef who used to fry noodles on Jalan Silang. My dad knew the old chef and took me there during lunch time. This was way back in the mid 70s, a long time ago. The beef hor fun is Cantonese style. It is fried with ginger and scallions. The beef is extremely tender. It is very delicious.

[bayi]

Robyn

One really expensive stall for sang har meen that I used to patronise was on the ground floor of the Life Centre along Jalan Sultan Ismail. They used to offer sliced papaya for dessert although I am not sure if they charge for this. The sang har meen was expensive but really delicious. I don't know if the stall is still there but it was always packed at lunch time.

[bayi]

Try the beef hor fun, Robyn. It's delicious in its own way. The beef is really tender. It's one of the signature dishes of Soo Kee.

[Robyn]

Meng - The owner of the place across the street is the son of Soo Kee and the brother of the woman who runs this place. I suppose one could do a side-by-side comparison...
Bayi - thanks for that - this place sounds intriguing. I suppose I will have to pop by one day to see if it is still around.
Obviously we need to head back to Soo Kee for the beef hor fun. Watch this space. ;-)

[mycookinghut]

By the way, I forgot to mention that paper-wrapped chicken is my fav when I was young which I had almost forgotten about it. My sister made it for us in the family when I was little! Thanks for reminding!!!

[Carolyn]

I have just stumbled upon your website and seen this, my favourite restaurant since childhood in the early 80s. The restaurant was originally sited across the road where the brother runs the rival restaurant. After a falling out, they moved to the current shop. And yes everyone is right, the beef hor fun is glorious.

I now live in London, but on my coming balik kampung visit in October I will definitely be going there, bib in hand!!