Porky Pitstop: Revisiting a Kuala Lumpur Favorite

It's all about grazing. Malaysians seem to be eating 24 hours a day. If you have the stomach and the fortitude, you could start at 6 a.m. and not finish until midnight.

Did I say that? Apparently so, when at 3am my time on Monday I Skype-joined a panel discussion in Los Angeles on street food. Three hours later I rolled out of bed, moaning, and headed out with Dave to do a spot of research for a street food tour I'm leading later this month. Our destination was Imbi Market, but as we found when we arrived, Monday is the market's Off Day. There were just a few fruit and chicken sellers working; every hawker was shut tight.

So there we were, in downtown Kuala Lumpur at 730am. That doesn't happen very often. We decided to salvage the morning with breakfast at one of our very favorite hawker stalls in KL, one we hadn't visited in years.

We couldn't help but wonder if the Hakka mee served up at this Pudu institution would seem as delicious -- if it would be as delicious -- as when we first wrote and photographed this post in 2007.

But by gosh, it is. It really is.

The noodles are perfectly al dente, just the tiniest bit of bite set off by a wonderful elasticity. The pork mince truly speaks of swine, with so very much flavor packed into each nugget of meat. Lard oil (if you order your Hakka mee dry, with "white sauce", which you definately should do) lightly coats each strand of pasta, exponentially ramping up the dish's overall pigginess. The wonton, floating in their cloudy, fat-flecked meaty, are delicate-skinned purses hiding more porky gold.

The dish is a masterpiece, the execution at this stall nearly flawless. How -- why??! -- did we stay away so long?

As we were finishing Dave said, "I'm not sure, but I think the Hakka mee I've been eating on my photo walks might be better." What??!!

Clearly a scientific comparison was in order. We hopped in the car and took off for Chinatown. Alas, the Hakka mee stall in question was closed.

We compensated with a surprisingly fine curry puff bought from a cart on a corner. It was one of the best I've eaten in Kuala Lumpur, or anywhere in Malaysia for that matter, in a long while -- excellent filling-to-pastry ratio, lots of flavor and enough chili to leave the tongue a- tinglin'.

Dang. Malaysian street food rules. It really does.

Hakka Mee stall, at mouth of alley on Jalan Pudu near Jalan Pasar intersection (across from Sek Yuen). Early morning till they sell out. Another family member takes over at 3pm, selling their own version. We haven't sampled it, but it comes recommended.

Comments

[baobabs]

OMG this looks amazing!!! I miss local street food!!

[Kalyan]

I have had some great pork at KL and landed on the page looking for some more .... then I saw the noodles....somebody pinch me

[Manisha Chopra]

My friend is living in Malaysia and whenever he calls me he tells me about the people and food of this country. He really loves that place. After watching these pics even i can not resist my appetite.

[Teri Y]

I think I can eat the hakka mee right out of the pictures! Any tips as to where you bought those best curry puffs? Would like to take note of that the next time I'm in KL.

[angie]

this noodle dish looks so good. omg i am such a big fan of noodles. thanks for posting! i wish to visit KL one day...

[Raymond]

I am surprised that this is such an institution now. I only know this stall as the amazingly good but obscure Hakka mee stall my dad always takes me too whenever I am back in Malaysia. :D (note: Saturday mornings are usually not crowded at all, and with the stall being located beside a small lane off the main road, I did think that the stall is an obscure place few people know)

[Robyn]

Teri, the curry puffs are on the 1st street running off Jalan Petaling -- is it Hang Lekir? The street Hong Leong bank is on. At the mouth of an alley betw Petaling and Sultan, on the same side of the street as Hon Kee porridge. On one side of the alley they sell yu char kueh/steamed cake etc. On the other side, curry puffs. Note -- it's not the thick, swirled flaky pastry. It's very thin and crispy. I prefer it -- more filling. ;-) There's hard-boiled egg in there too.

Raymond, I guess it's an institution for pork-ophiles in the know. But we were there at 8am on a holiday Monday, the streets were fairly deserted but every table was full. By the time we left at 830 pple were waiting for seats. And if you go too late on the weekends they're sold out! (for good reason, right?)

[wfs]

My father and brother been there too.

[Thegrubworm]

Anything that ramps up the a dish's overall pigginess is to be applauded. Sadly all this wonderful street food is thousands of miles away from London. Boo. The contrasts in porky tastes and textures sound very good indeed, and something else that the Far East does a lot better than most Euro-cuisine.

[Mzungu]

I so miss those Hawker stalls in Malaysia and Singapore. Nothing comes close here in the UK ....

[rumbletum]

Will you be posting about the stall that Dave thinks might be better? Or at least please tell us where to find it!

[Rasa Malaysia]

"Dang. Malaysian street food rules. It really does." I agree with both hands and legs! And since I returned to the US, everything here tastes so bland and, errr, boring. I miss Malaysia!

[Miami catering]

I really like your post because it gives me new learning on the this dish. This recipes is certainly yummy and one of a kind. Thanks for sharing!

[Crispi]

Argh you just made me homesick. I've had that so many times with my Dad when I was growing up there...

[khana pakana in urdu]

I tried this recipe at home.. And I would say it was really nice and taste was yummy!!