When Cumi gets it into his head that he wants to eat something ‘different’ and far, far away from where we live, he normally gets his way. Since he is the walking G.P.S., I hardly have qualms letting him lead the way.
Setapak, is about as foreign as it gets, to me. This Pusat Penjaja Air Panas (Hot Water/Spring Hawker Center) is affectionately known in Chinese as “Yeet Siu Pasak”. It is situated just next to Restoran Talipon in Setapak, KL, if that is any help. The name is derived from the hot spring landmark, not too far way from the hawker center. If you asked me now, whether I could find it again, the answer would be, no. Ask Cumi!
From the word go, I was in love with the food here. For starters, we had the ‘ half fat, half lean’ Char Siew (BBQ Pork). It had enough marbling to send shivers down my spine. Really good! Then came the Hennessy Lor Mien (Noodles in thick broth with a generous portion on Hennessy to flavour). There was a generous amount of Tong Fun (glass noodle) in there too, which I love. At first I was doubtful that the Hennessy would even be noticeable. We were thrilled that the Hennessy flavour permeated the entire bowl of Lor Mien. The smooth texture of the eggy broth, made thicker by chunks of delicious, soft pieces of pork was what sold us. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended.
Here’s me, destroying the natural taste of the noodles with a massive dollop of sambal chili (chili paste) as well as chili padi (baby chili – cathartic). Of course I normally taste a few ‘unadulterated’ mouthfuls of my food first before I dump all that burn on it. Cumi shakes his head. What can I say.. I am a true Malaysian. I like things spicy.
Another winner – The ‘Kwai Fah Mien’ is translated as osmanthus flower fried noodles , or so we gathered from the internet. However, there was hardly any to be seen in the noodles. This Chow Mien is made from frying up the wantan mee egg noodle. It also had a generous amount of pork lard, seafood and pork meat that would bring a grown man to his knees. All the smoky goodness of the Wok, is evident in this al dente noodle dish. A word on the portions of noodles. Both the Hennessy noodles as well as the Kwai Far noodles were huge. Portions large enough for at least two persons, plus the quantity of meat in it was commendable.
I guessed RM40 for the BBQ Pork, the Hennessy and the Kwai Far Fried Noodles. Cumi guessed RM30. The bill was just RM19.00 ! Amazing. We need to arrange a massive ‘makan’ outing to Air Panas Hawker asap.
The uncle and young guy duo, manning the woks. The heat generated from the cooking was pretty awesome. The uncles says “Take his photo, he is young and good looking”. The young man says, “Take him, he is more experienced”. Let me see.. if they cook for me everyday… I’ll take BOTH!
The snazzy contraption on the bottom right of the collage is the heat dial, which can be adjusted by the leg of the cook without missing a beat. He turns up the fire with just an agile flick of his knee. The young man tells me, ” It’s much more hygienic this way”. Wow.. These two have really won my heart.. good job I now know were to find them!
There’s plenty more dishes on the Chinese written menu board hanging above the stall. Judging by the quality of the 2 dishes we had, we will definitely will be back!
Add:
Hennessy Lor Mien Hawker Stall,
Pusat Penjaja Jalan Air Panas,
Setapak, KL.
Non Halal. Opens for Brunch till 5pm according to the waiter.
oh so much good food in KL! I’ll have a large plate of the half fat half lean char siew anytime!!
Remember to invite me too if really come here for a massive makan :p
*WAVES HANDS MADLY*
Roaaaad trrriiiiiiiip….. 🙂 🙂 I want in, I want in! 🙂 🙂
(Please, thank you thank you… *muaks*)
Oh yes!
The Hennessy Lor Mee here was featured in the Knife Cooking Contest few mths back. Wanted to make a trip here for ages but it never happened! LOL.
So, when is this massive makan trip ?? ;p
hope you didnt shout ur estimates out..if not nxt time we go there we would have to pay rm30 or rm40, (learnt that from experience haha)
wow ! that was a delightful makan in da springs , with hot Hennessy , far far away !
still, the magnificent slime noodles + others can stand proudly on the same pedestal as the black tie fella so have no fear , for we are here
Of kors you’ll let Cumi lead the way lah. Ciki can’t tell the difference between right and left. ROFL!!!!
Anyway, Hennessy Lor Mee? Does that mean Monkey’s gonna be allergic to it too since you can taste the alcohol innit? As for Kwai Fah Mee, it doesn’t refer to the ingredient, but rather the whole entire look of the noodles. The eggs bits are supposed to look like little osmanthus flowers. Don’t kill me if this piece of info isn’t true. It’s just what I was told.
my colleague was talking about the Hennessy Lor Mee and then you blogged about it! I shall ask my bro to drive me to setapak since he is familiarized with that area 🙂
RM19 only??? wow! amazing
Please count me in for the makan trip too!!!! =)
i use to visit there frequently when i was still stay in setapak few years ago…miss the food there…
When when?
am pretty sure i’ve never been to setapak either, but this looks like it’s well worth the hunt!
Hey Ciki…
If u r organising a makan trip to this place again… this time please tweet me ok??? I’m dying to try the kwai fah mee…
But then I have some idea on where this place is… coz like Cumi, I am a walking GPS too (^_^) my wife even called me Garmin Leo… hahaha!! What a waste to install a Garmin in my car!
Hennesey Lor Mee… genius! I am hopelessly lost in these quarters… errr Setapak is in Klang Valley yes?? :-S
Simon, J, TNG, Kathleen, LL, Leo:
OK can! looks like sometime in Dec.. ok kah? LOL
3HT:
tell me about it, Cumi said it was just not bad.. but i thought it was killer good!
Nipples:
I was worried for a while ..but price so good, have to tell la. anyway their price has hardly moved for the past few years .. so.. fingers crossed
Squall:
time to go again soon then.. !
Sean, Min:
LOL, you’re like me la.. useless with directions. But we can go together with some walking talking G.P.S’ in tow 😛
babeKL:
crazy right? so cheap..
ooooo, air panas setapak! so near sentul!!! i cant recall if i’ve makan-ed here before or not. there’s only one way to find out – bring me there! 😀
nic:
only one way to find out.. lets go:)
The food here is nice, you should try the one opposite that written hand made mee, that gives a different sensation… yummylicious…
Map or direction?