Happy Hakkas at Ying Ker Lou, The Curve

My Hakka heritage has been attacking my tastebuds for a while, so it was opportune when my very Hakka dad and my very obliging Hokkien mom were in town to revisit some familiar flavours.

Dad had been to Ying Ker Lou at the Curve some years ago and it left a good enough impression enough for him to say, "Let's go to the Curve!" when asked where he'd like to head on the first day they arrived. My Dad is of the school of seniors who refuse to remember names of places, preferring instead to associate places to sights and sounds and more importantly, food! So that specification of a location alone augured well and dandy.

We couldn't go too heavy on the meat, in observance of "eating light in the evenings."

Hakka Minced Pork Bantiao. A slightly more upmarket version of the local Hakka Mee, this package was as light as noodles and fatty minced pork can get. Noodles were springy and toothsome, coated with the juices of pork and dare we speculate, generous lashings of "ham yue chap" (salted fish sauce).

Hakka Bamboo Shoot Dumplings. Glistening fat pockets full of bamboo goodness and more minced pork. We like our meat, even if that means shooting to hell our interpretation of "eating light."

Hakka Yam Abacus. Now my parents make this at home on occasion, and take to the tedious process of kneading yam and tapioca flour like fish to water. They conceded that this deserved a half thumbs up, which is no small feat. The crunchy texture of Chinese parsley and black fungus was a fitting finish to the substance provided by the nicely balanced yam-and-flour dough.

Hakka Chives Rice Rolls. Now, by this time, the flour and meat mixture was starting to get a bit much, so we probably could've done without this dish. It was a decent rice roll attempt, with chunky filling but just too much of the same for us to be rightfully appreciative.

Siu Pak Choy with Ginger and Black Fungus. The "eating light" comes to play. Nevertheless, this added the much needed non-dough and meat dimension to the meal. Dad was somewhat resistant though, as he felt it wasn't cooked thoroughly enough but Mom and I relished this happily.

And to wash it all down and to accompany Dad's stories of his childhood entrepreneurship back in China, Pu'Er Tea served in lovely china. I can't heap enough praise on outlets that take pride in the tableware with which they choose to pageant their food and beverages.

The meal came up to about RM77 for 3 pax. Not dirt cheap, but by no means ridiculous either, especially when I got a good, exclusive one-on-one re-telling of one of my favourite stories ever from Dad.