Marvelous Mee in Kuala Terengganu

Kuala Terengganu doesn't get much travel press. This town in Terengganu state on Malaysia's east coast is better known as a way station en route to the paradisical Perhentian Islands than as a destination in and of itself.

Which is a shame, because while it's true that the town isn't particularly large and may not have much to offer in the way of nightlife, it does have a few attractions that make it worth at least an overnight pit stop. An ideal morning jaunt is to KT's sprawling central market housed in a pleasing old building; see it now, before it's moved to a spanking-new, characterless mall that will be the curse of the town's riverfront in about a year or so. The town's wonderful state museum, with its impressive collection of traditional Terengganu art and handicrafts (too bad the majority of the display labels are in bahasa Malaysia only) with a few lovely old, reconstructed traditional Malay wooden houses dotted around its peaceful, park-like grounds, can easily occupy an afternoon.

And then there's KT's tiny Chinatown. Occupying just three or four continuous blocks of riverfront real estate, the area is a treasure trove of vintage wooden shophouses

and picturesquely moldering cement buildings with ornate facades.

Around 8 o'clock on a Tuesday morning last month, a couple hours before the central market up the street would kick into full gear, the area's quiet was broken by just a couple of cars and motorbikes, but more than a few bicycles and pedicabs.

And the din emitting from the front of this long and narrow Chinese kopitiam (coffee shop) near the Chinatown bridge, stuffed to the rafters and doing a ferocious business.

The specialties here? Coffee, toast and kaya (more on that delectable Malaysian combo later), and noodles. With just one cook, two woks, and a roomful of mouths to feed, food prep up front happens at warp speed.

At this point it's worth asking: at the pace she moves, over two constantly smoking woks, how is it that this chef-ess manages not only to avoid breaking a sweat, but to keep her make-up flawless as well?

Coffee and toast kept the hungries at bay while we waited the twenty minutes or so that it took our hokkien mee to be plated.

Thick, squared-off yellow noodles, egg, pork slices, and pieces of round cabbage generously sauced in dark soy -- tasty enough.

But, as nearly any Malaysian will tell you, the defining feature of a stellar hokkien mee is lard. That's right, artery-clogging, pudge-producing animal fat. Hokkien mee fried in lard, possessing an undefinable extra dimension of piggy smokiness, is sublime in a way that even the best hokkien mee fried in plain oil never can be.

And this dish of noodles? Plenty lard-ful. 'Nuff said.

Followed up by a superb dish that our elfin waitress (curiously enough, the same woman who had waited on us the night before at Straits Restoran; apparently the Chinese community in KT is not large) dubbed simply "Cantonese noodles". For this treat pork shreds, egg, and Chinese broccoli leaves, suspended in a superbly comforting meat broth-based gravy,

are ladelled atop a handful of  mee xin (dried skinny rice noodles) that have been deep-fried into a crispy, golden nest.

The gravy itself is mouth-wateringly mellow: smooth, eggy, and richly meaty. Expertly crisped mee  somehow absorbs the gravy in some spots while repelling it in others, creating a combination of soft noodles, still-crisp noodles, and noodles somewhere in between, moistly chewy with a pleasant "stickiness". I do love my lard but if push were to come to shove I'd have to rate this primo plateful a notch or two above the hokkien mee. [And if any KL readers know where to get a first-class version of this dish in the area, please do advise!]

This little coffeeshop (locals call it Ah Hung, though I couldn't spot a sign on the building) is a gem in Kuala Terengganu's Chinatown, meriting a stop before catching a boat to the islands. The problem as I see it is (especially since food on the islands is rumored to be quite sub-par), as long as Ah Hung is in business, I might never make it to the dock.

Ah Hung Kopitiam, 136 Jalan Bandar (near the bridge), Kuala Terengganu.

Comments

[quentina]

wow, i am here through egullet and being from k.k. originally, your words and pictures bring me right home. especially the ones of the kopitiam and the warm looking cook with the perfect lipstick on! those are my favourite places to eat when i go home (which has been way too long). you and your husband are doing a fabulous job. thank you! this is now bookmarked and i'll be checking in frequently.

[Robyn]

Hi Quentina - wow, thanks for the nice comments! Any foods you miss in particular? We'll try to cover them to make you feel at home. :-)
BTW, if you click the "subscribe to this blog's feed" on the right, you'll get an email when a new post is up ... save you the trouble of checking in and finding nothing new here.
Cheers!

[quentina]

hi robyn! now that is a question that has a huge answer...lol. oh, there are so many food things i miss and can't get here in vancouver. i grew up in sabah and the rojak there i remember is not a salad, but a noodle dish with vermicelli, shredded chicken and tofu, sprouts and of course, slices of hard boiled egg and a big mound of peanut sauce over it. we would squeeze some kalamansi over it all, or some vinegar and it was one of my favourite lunches. i also remember going to the night markets and having something called "kapiang". it was a pancake that was crispy on the outside and spongy on the inside with crushed peanuts, sugar and butter. delicious! i miss the fresh coconut juice, the sugar cane juice, the kalamansi and preserved plum drink. oh, and don't even get me started on the various kuehs and the hot fresh sweet tofu straight from the huge urn that we would get from the markets. the laksa and the simple noodle and meatball soups just aren't the same here.

i am suddenly starving now. lol. happy eating!!

[Squeezeweasel]

Oh my. That's it. Next Christmas, it's back to Malaysia to eat as much as I can. The family can go hang and cook their own bloody turkey.

[happycook]

u showing me a part of a world so far and attractive that the only thing I feel to write is thank u very much

happycook

[slau]

Re: cantonese fried mee. Try Yook Woo Hin restaurant on Petaling Street. This is an old establishment, open for morning dim sum and lunch only. There is a seafood version and a 'mixed meat' version. The mixed meat traditionally had organ meats in it. Other specialities here are the char siew and pork stomach in pepper soup.

[EH]

My husband is from KT and chancing upon your blog give me fond memories whenever we are back to his hometown. Will be going back again in Aug. Any good places to recommend? I like nasi dagang especially.

Thanks.

[Kin Sang]

I am currently pursuing a girl from KT...I will be going to KT very often..love leads me there.. :)