En Kee Self Made Bamboo Noodles @ Mei Li Hwa Coffee Shop

En Kee is a noodle stall along Jalan Kulim that sells bamboo-pressed noodles. Bamboo noodles is also known as ‘Jook-Sing’ noodle (竹升面), a rare commodity nowadays considering its preparation method.
According to the tradition, the making of bamboo-pressed noodles requires the chef to sit and ride on the bamboo poles to beat the noodle dough into a flat layer before being sliced into strips. But nowadays most noodles are mass produced using machines already.

When I first saw the stall’s advertisement banner I already imagined it would look and taste something like the White Wantan Mee at Pek Kong Cheng. And I was right. En Kee’s bamboo noodles not only look similar, the taste is also familiar.
The main differences I observed are that En Kee’s noodle is drier by default, flavored with lard and served without wantan. The flavoring is simple with some light soya sauce and a bit of sesame oil, certainly not as heavy if compared to the White Wantan Mee. I felt it wasn’t too bad, as it placed more emphasis on the bamboo noodle instead. For RM3 I was quite pleased by the portion of noodle being served, it was a lot!

As for the noodles, I did enjoy it for its bouncy and firm texture – the attributes that would only be present in handmade noodles. When cooked to al dante the noodles give a firm, crispy bite feeling. Very appetizing indeed. I hope they would improve on the char siew though because it felt dry and tough.

In overall I would say this is a good alternative for White Wantan Mee in case you have a sudden craving for it at night. Of course it doesn’t taste as great yet, but with some improvisation especially in their ingredients, I am pretty sure the gap would close. Worth a try just for the self made noodles alone.

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