The best place to have French food is to fly to France. The best place to have Spanish food is to go to Spain. And therefore, the best place to have KL Hokkien Mee must be to visit Kuala Lumpur, the birthplace of this unique dish!
At least that's what i assume to be correct.
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Most importantly, the thought of having authentic KL hokkien mee right in the Chinatown district was the main motivating factor for travelling to Kuala Lumpur straight after my Pulau Redang trip.
I did some research beforehand and quite a number of web results pointed to this Restoran Kim Lian Kee, located in Jalan Petaling, as the "founder" of the signature black noodles. With a history spanning over 80 years, my heart told me it should be a safe bet.
It was only upon arrival that i remember this was the same restaurant i had my very first KL Hokkien Mee! More than seven years have passed and my memory was honestly rather hazy on the original taste. Not that it matters since my perspective on food has changed drastically since then!
Let's be frank - i prefer the KL Hokkien Mee from Kong Kee in Singapore.
Yes, the plate above was fragrant, rich and flavourful with the peculiar yet essential alkaline aftertaste. However, those factors were also reflected in Kong Kee's version except for one; Kong Kee's KL Hokkien Mee was way more oily, which honestly made it extremely slurpy and delicious.
There are two other complaints i must mention here! The small octopuses were way overcooked and i counted not more than eight pieces of pork lard (they were not even big to begin with)!
For a pork lard fan, this was utter disappointing.
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Location
49, Jalan Petaling
[at the cross junction of Jalan Petaling and Jalan Hang Lekir where the famous Air Mata Kucing is located]
Price
KL Hokkien Mee (S) - RM7
I'm afraid this was the wrong place. The original shop house, since 1927, is across the junction along the same street. Dining alfresco, the chef here oops and only cook 1 dish - HKM.
ReplyDeleteHi Viva,
ReplyDeleteWould you mind sharing the exact location or the map, if any, of this original shop?
Thanks!
Best,
Cavin
If your draw a cross street, the one you went was a branch and to the first quart rant to the right upper corner of the vertical and right corner. The original shop is at the fourth quarter from 12 o'clock at the left upper corner of the vertical and horizontal axis. Open only in the evening, I was there 2 evenings ago.
ReplyDeletethanks for this! i would try to make my way back to KL soon!
ReplyDelete