vkeong loves good food, travel and photography!
Curry Mee / Curry Laksa
Curry Mee (Penang) & Curry Laksa (KL)
Bee Tin Curry Mee (Chain Ferry Curry Mee) @ Butterworth
Oct 20th
As I know there are two versions of Curry Mee around. One uses slightly sweet and savory coconut milk mainly as the soup base with chili supplied separately, commonly found in Penang.
Another version, which is more common in KL/Ipoh and other places is prepared with curry soup topped with curry chicken resulting in a thicker and spicy broth even without the addition of chili.
If you are a Northern person you would probably dislike the Southern version, and vice versa. It’s a love or hate thing from what I see. Some people claim that since the noodle dish is called Curry Mee, it’s only appropriate that the soup is curry based. Well, me being a lover of both versions, I have to admit I prefer the Northern style more.
Bee Tin Curry Mee at Butterworth is the perfect example of a typical Penang Curry Mee. The soup is a white concoction made mainly of coconut milk, and tastes a little sweet and light on its own.
Penang Curry Mee @ Restaurant Lorong Seratus Tahun, SS2
May 17th
Yesterday I had a sudden crave for Penang Curry Mee, which prompted me to drive all the way to SS2‘s Lorong Seratus Tahun Curry Mee restaurant to have a quick lunch before proceeding to my appointment later in Damansara Utama.
The last time I tried their curry mee was more than a year ago at the stall in Penang. I liked it a lot and was hoping to enjoyable experience at SS2 too.
The stall in Penang only serves curry mee but at SS2, they have char koay teow, otak-otak, loh bak, prawn mee and many other Penang hawker food as side dishes. I guess if you are operating a restaurant in PJ area you cannot afford to sell curry mee alone. There had to be a diversification to provide more food choices as well as prompting customers to return to try the other dishes.
I read from somewhere that their Penang otak-otak was pretty good and it was true. The otak-otak @ RM3.50, served fresh and hot had several chunks of fish meat, a soft and squishy texture and tasted spicy – just the way I like it.
The first thing I looked for in the menu was the Penang Curry Mee, which shockingly cost RM5.90 a bowl. Wow, it’s really cafe priced now, costing almost double the one back in Penang. Well, this is understandable because of the raw ingredients and shop rental cost in PJ would definitely be higher compared to Penang. I don’t mind paying as long as I get to satisfy my crave lol.
Then came the disappointment. The noodles was undercooked and the prawns were rubbery and tasteless. And even though I mixed two spoonfuls of chili sauce into the noodles, the soup somehow still lacked the original kick and syokness I was anticipating for. So, my only best moment was enjoying the pork blood cubes while slurping down the curry soup.
By the way, guess what you are not allowed to take photos of the food because the boss doesn’t allow it. Luckily I snapped a few before being stopped hehe.
Based on the meal, I rate the awesomeness of SS2′s Lorong Seratus Tahun Penang Curry Mee at most 60% of the original one in Penang. Until I manage to find other good Penang Curry Mee alternatives in KL and PJ area, I would probably still return in case I have the cravings again.
Restaurant Lorong Seratus Tahun
56, Jalan SS2/66,
47300 Petaling Jaya.
H/P: 016 4120 757, 012 4067 707
Kampung Curry Mee @ Bukit Mertajam – my childhood favorite
Apr 15th
Uh oh, restaurant and Japanese food posts overload. Time to post something nice and cheap from my hometown – Bukit Mertajam for a change. What I am going to show you is a favorite Curry Mee of mine when I was in primary school.
Every Sunday, my father would buy a packet of this curry mee on his Honda Kap, which we used to (and still) refer as “Kampung Curry Mee”. Reason being the noodle is sold in a house in a kampung (village) without any shop name. It is located just behind my house which I used to cycle pass every morning on the way to my school. Now the area remains a kampung with many small roads, just that many trees nearby have been cut down to make way for new housing areas.
So last weekend I went back to BM to settle some long overdue stuff and while chatting with my sister we talked about the curry mee, which she still has occasionally.
Feeling a bit nostalgic and thinking that it has been more than ten years since I last had a bowl of Kampung Curry Mee, I went back there for breakfast. It was only my third time eating in the shop because, like I said earlier, we always ‘tar pao’ the curry mee.
If you ask me, I feel there’s nothing really outstanding about the curry mee but it tasted quite good. Well, at least for me. It could be a childhood thing though.
The soup is clear and light and not much coconut milk is used. Chili is placed on the table in a container and it’s up to the customers to put as much chili as they want into the noodle.
Taman Bukit Curry Mee
Feb 24th
The curry mee at Taman Bukit‘s hawker centre is one of the most popular in Bukit Mertajam. If you want to taste one of the finest curry mee sold in Bukit Mertajam in the morning, I would recommend you this stall. For night ones, Taman Sri Rambai‘s hawker centre would be the one to look for. I remembered the last time I went it was during my high school days, and I am glad to say the taste is still being maintained and reasonably priced @ RM2.50 per bowl.
I was already craving for curry mee like mad when I last went back hometown during the last Chinese New Year. So, on the 4th day of CNY I got up early and had my cravings satisfied. Being one of the two stalls only open that day, business was super brisk. Some people even took away twenty packets of curry mee at one go! Even so, my order came rather quickly. Quite impressed with their ability to remember the orders so clearly in such a busy session.
