Fried Hokkien mee a.k.a. Chinese style fried yellow noodles, has a cult following in Kuala Lumpur.
Every Malaysian man or woman swears they know where to get the BEST Hokkien mee in town.
Every Malaysian man (or woman) swears they know where to get the BEST Hokkien mee in town. Attempts to disagree, object or resist this information will be met with a scathing look or worse, a tense verbal parlay which ends with both parties still unhappy and unconvinced. Once you reach this point in the conversation, things will quickly degenerate into a hostile bickering involving, a blow-by-blow breakdown of ingredients and cooking methods of this sexy, mysterious, black noodles and which one is the champion noodle in the Land.
Oh yes.. Everyone is an expert. A critic.
Hokkien Mee. What is it?
It is a dish of thick yellow noodles braised in thick dark soy sauce with pork, squid, fish-cake and vegetables as the main ingredients and cubes of crispy fried pork lard as garnishing.. some might say that the pork lard, is the main ingredient. This dish is eaten before a huge night out, after a huge night out, for dinner, for supper .. heck , at all hours of the day really. If you have not eaten Hokkien Mee, you have not experienced the heart of Malaysia street-food dining proper!
Great Hokkien mee must be dark, slippery and smooth.. but not too greasy. The noodles must be cooked just right, i.e. al dente and must not break or get smashed up easily when you are eating it. The dark sauce should be slightly sweet with an amazing smoky aroma of the Wok, called the “wok-hei”. There should be tons of ingredients that accompany this black beauty such as pork, squid, fish-cake and vegetables. And finally, the icing on the cake, tons of super crispy fried pork lard, that is the cement that seals the deal and sends health-freaks shrieking into the night.
Cantonese Fried Noodles, a.k.a. Yin Yong
To describe this dish plainly, it is vermicelli rice noodles deep -fried till its crispy (foreground), also kwey teow noodles (flat, black noodles in the background), meat, prawns and vegetables all wok fried then doused in a generous amount of smooth, eggy sauce last of all.
As the crispy vermicelli noodles soaks up the sauce it starts to get softer. It is an art-form eating all of the noodles before the crispy bits get soft. You really need to eat like speedy Gonzales, but bear in mind that the plate of noodles is piping hot. This is an art-form that both Cumi & ciki have mastered. If you come to Kuala Lumpur, we will show you how you can eat the Yin Yong fast, without scalding your tongue!
Aik Yuen Restaurant, situated directly opposite the spanking, newly renovated Tawakal Hospital Kuala Lumpur is famous for its Chinese style fried noodles.
Check out handsome over here. I keep telling Cumi to style his hair like this but the guy never listens.
Another great dish that this place is famous for is the fried lala (clams/seashells) .
We didn’t get to try it this time round and they were actually cooking the last batch when we got there bit the guy told us that this spicy, sweet-sour clams goes for around RM15 per plate and they only cook these clams in one style. Spicy sweet-sour.
Well, a great reason to return to Aik Yuen then. Coming to get you next time, Sweet-sour clams!
Address:Restoran Aik Yuen, Behind Tawakal Hospital, Jalan Sarikei, Off Jalan Pahang Barat, 53000 Kuala Lumpur Google Maps
You want Cumi to have the young guy’s spikey quasi mohawk or the older man’s almost military style ‘do?
Mmmmm…. The carbs look absolutely delish! 🙂
LOL, you will love the carbo J! 😛
Fuiyoh!!!!!!!!! Bow bow. This is one to-die-for post accompanied by emotional pictures. I love it. I can feel the wok hei from the pictures. Great job you two monkeys.
But in all honesty, I prefer cantonese to hokkien fried noodles. 🙂
thanks Munkey boy! yes i know u prefer the cleaner, whiter noodles. someone told me la 😛
Someone?! Who’s the spy?
prob one of the things i will miss most about malaysia..whail! i want to bring over pork lard there!
i know.. joe you must learn to make ur own! maybe u will have the best Hokkien mee stall in the land! (in Melb. haha)
Aisay.. more than 2 weeks back and still not had this yet! How can?! 😀 Maybe good to rest and detoxify before having this..
Black and glistening – looks very promising indeed. Pity hairy isn’t around to try this. Or has he already had it?
still got time Kat.. when u free? LOL
Next week can? Or whenever you are going again lar.
Joe – make your own chi yau char lah! 😀
agree, that’s what I told him. i have friend who tapau’s the dai lok mee from the TTDI market, freezes it and sends it to her sisters in Japan and Australia. Joe, want us to tapau for you?!! LOL
We usually use udon. Not quite the same, but closest to the thick slippery noodles we know and lurve..
It looks like Korean style chinese food, Jjajang myun. (짜장면)
Yum! 🙂 Pictures are great girl!
Thanks doll;)
this place horr sometimes serve their hokkien mee too wet lerrr 🙁 maybe rushing to serve up cos it’s always pack here
alamak.. serious ah..? that day was ok, lucky us!
salivating ! but i like my Hokkien mee with sliced bittergourd.
I need to learn to eat Hokkien Mee superspeed without causing injury too! Too often I scald the roof of my mouth, can literally feel my skin searing from the heat! :-S
I would love to see how you guys eat the noodles 🙂
Made hokkien mee for my frieds the other day and they are all converts now!
ooh, yeah, it’s almost perversely ironic to have a cholesterol haven like this just outside a hospital 😀
I prefer Hokkien Meehoon, hehe!
Hokkien Mee is really good. I like it very much. I spotted a packet of those noodles in a mall over here. But they were nearly $5 a pop. And the packet was tiny.
So tempted, and they fill you up really well. Much better than rice!
don’t mess with cumi’s free flowing hair!
Hey I’ve been to Tawakal Hospital! Didn’t know such a gem existed right opposite it!
@Camemberu (Cat)
Dis is one of my fav hokkien mee hunts =) come KL n we go mee hunting!
but I must agree wid babe_KL dat sometimes the noodles comes out too soft n wet. I think its the crowd n sueh sueh you get the 2nd chef instead of the regular sifu. Btw, the clams are good too.
if I crave for Hokkien Mee, I’d go to Ahwa in Jalan 222… Aik Yuen is simply too far
MMMM i love hokkien mee. Ciki, you my best friend when you put up hokkien mee post! hehehehe!
wow this sure has lots of “wok hei”
Not a fan. Hahaha … though the lard is a MUST in every single plate of fried noodles.
Best ones are in ttdi
( c ya boatHouse )
check contact
cheers !
I rike hokkien mee a rot. i dream of hokkien mee all da time. now you’ve made me hungreh.
Great stuff, especially with the chee yau char!
I have a friend who is mad about hokkien mee with extra Chee yau char. He swears to consume it every other day. However recently he had a bypass because his arteries is congested . So while you love it, take it with moderation ok. Always remember to have some good tea to wash down the bad cholesterol.