BY CK Lam

A friend tipped me off to a coffee shop serving hand-pulled noodles on the busy Macalister Road. This fairly new stall offers freshly hand-pulled noodles (la mian) and koay teow th’ng. Other specialties include homemade prawn wanton and fish balls.

The owner Mr Loh starts his day by making the hand-pulled noodles at the kitchen. The hand-pulled noodles have a certain tenderness and texture, which is greatly distinct from mass made noodles. The noodle is available in two sizes – either thick rounded or string-thin. Mr Loh quoted that the texture and mouth feel of the noodles are as important as flavor!

We had several varieties, starting with the spicy “ma la” noodle, which is the highlight in 173. Mr Loh had the hand-pulled noodles dipped in boiling water. The blanched fine noodle is served with black sauce with a dollop of chili-red paste (also handmade), a Sichuan specialty with heat of chilies and numbing Sichuan peppercorns.

Priced at RM3.50, the dish comes with pieces of BBQ pork (char siew), chicken, fish balls, vegetables and aromatic chili paste. With the right thickness and nice chewy bite, the noodles absorbed every drop of robust flavor from the spicy and tingly chili paste. For those who prefer less spicy, be sure to inform Mr Loh.

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Tags: 173 Macalister Road, 173 Ramen Restaurant, Barbecue, Bbq Pork, Boiling Water, Char Siew, Chewy Texture, Chicken Balls, Chili Paste, Chilies, Chinese Barbecue Meats, Ck Lam, Coffee Shop, Dollop, Fish Balls, Fishballs, Hand-pulled Noodles, Koay Teow Th'ng, La Mian, Lam Heng Cafe, Light Broth, Loh, Loh Guan Lye Specialist Centre, Ma la Noodle, Macalister, Macalister Road, New Straits Times (Life & Times), Noodles, Penang Food, Prawn Wanton, Ramen, Ramen Restaurant, Rm2, Rm3, Robust Flavor, Sichuan, Sister’s Char Koay Teow, Wantons

* This article was published in the New Straits Times (Life & Times) on 11th March 2011.

Kang Beef House is the place for all things beef, and it is the ideal place to explore if you are a beef lover. The beef is  served in a variety of ways, be it soup noodles, stir-fried dishes or steamboat. We made several visits to Kang Beef House since its opening last year.

The most common dish here is the bowl of Beef Koay Teow, priced at RM6, RM8, RM10, RM12 and RM15.  It comes with a light broth, drawing flavor from an assortment of beef parts, including beef slices, meat balls, brisket and stomach. We enjoyed slurping the smooth koay teow along with the tasty soup.

Steaming bowl of Beef Koay Teow

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Tags: Beef, Beef Dish, Beef Dishes, Beef Flavor, Beef Fried Rice, Beef Koay Teow, Beef Meat, Beef Noodle, Beef Noodles, Beef Ribs, Beef Slices, Beef Steamboat, Beef Stir-Fried Dishes, Beef Tenderloin, Beef Tripe, Brisket, Chili Sauce, Chilli Sauce, Crispy Beef Ball, Crowd Pleaser, Crowd Pleasers, Dry Fried Hor Fun with Beef, Fried Beef, Garlic Oil, Hearty Broth, Home Made Chili, Hor Fun, Hot Soup, Intense Fire, Jelutong, Kang Beef House, Light Broth, Meat Balls, Metal Pot, New Straits Times (Life & Times), New Straits Times (Life & Times), Preserved Vegetables, Radish, Rm4, Rm8, Sirloin, Soup Base, Soup Noodles, Spring Onions, Stir Fry, Tasty Soup, Thin Slices, White Rice

Over the weekend together with my blogger friends and photographers, we went around Air Itam to sample-fest some hawker food. We made our way to Kedai Kopi Wah Meng. The coffee shop located across the Sisters Curry Mee is a stone throw away from the Air Itam morning wet market, which itself is full of interesting local flavor.

How about a delicious bowl of Koay Chiap for starters?

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Tags: Air Itam, Apong Manis, Bean Curd, Bean Sprouts, Char Koay Teow, Chewy Texture, Chili Paste, Chili Sauce, Chilies, Chopped Spring Onions, Cockles, Coffee Shop, Curry Mee, Delicious Bowl, Duck Meat, Fried Bean Curd, Hard Boiled Egg, Innards, Kedai Kopi, Koay Chiap, Kuali, Light Broth, Penang Hawker Food, Porridge, Roti Canai, Roti Planta, Soft Texture, Sweet Taste, Wah Meng, Wet Market