Wah Cheong, Section 17

Previous night at the first Twestival KL, while a whole lotta fun, had taken its toll on the morning after. Needed sustenance urgently immediately after rolling out of bed and headed over to Wah Cheong at Section 17. The morning wet market mob was not easy on worn and wearied temperaments but we managed to find a park.

I had zoomed in on the Pan Mee, on account of having read about it at the very fantastic EatingAsia. It did not disappoint. The noodles were of remarkable consistency and texture and made me reconsider my persistent "pinched" noodle preference.

We had also spied the Hakka Mee stall facing the street, and I simply had to have it. The auntie operating alone took some time understandably to keep up with the healthy flow of orders but when it finally got here...

...behold! The delicate flavour of Hakka Mee is difficult to get right but this stall delivered a more than decent version. The main ingredients are lard, vinegar, white pepper and ummm... more lard, I think. The serving was just right too, perfect size for those who are looking to sample more than one type of breakfast noodles.

The infamous Florence's Nyonya goodies stall, which I had recalled from UGWUG's post was briskly selling out so I secured myself a Curry Puff to keep things interesting while waiting for the next order. The pastry was light, fresh and crunchy and the filling offered a hefty curry chicken & potato paste.

On my way back, I managed to chance the back of cool t-shirt potential. Clothes do not make the man, yes, but cool t-shirts certainly make a statement about the wearer and weed out real eye candies!

The final breakfast noodle dish finally arrived, after patiently waiting in line behind the stall's frenetic traffic of orders. And it is this rather spectacular Wantan Mee topped with decorous slices of charsiew.

The allure of this order lied in the lithe and supple egg noodles as well as the smoky perfume from the char siew juices, mixed in with soy & oyster sauces. Scent-sational!

The wantans, served separately, were not the usual drippy bambino variations either - these packed flavour and dumpling pride.

Wah Cheong had a few more tricks up its sleeves that we couldn't possibly stomach in one sitting so a return visit was guaranteed. We wiped our greasy lips, slapped our protruding guts and staggered out to nurse the fresh hangover from noodle comfort and bask in the rest of the Sunday sunshine underneath ruminating clouds.

Kanpei to the rescue, Mid Valley working class!

Work lunches in the culinary wasteland of Mid Valley are typically undertakings filled with dread, stamped with a dozen blaring caveats. Thankfully, there are shelters we return again and again to seek temporary refuge before we brave the terrain overpopulated with mall junkies, bad service and overpriced bad food.

Kanpei, located at Northpoint across the road via the pedestrian overhead bridge from the retail congestion of the main mall, is one such shelter. It's extremely reliable for a quick decent bite, for days when we simply cannot fathom working our way across to the mall for midday sustenance.

Kanpei serves dependable Chinese favourites in comfortable woody setting. The Claypot Lou Shu Fun here is a firm pick, goes straight to cure any mid-week client blues. On this visit, my workmates orders a large claypot to share - the sight of the noodles being dished out into smaller bowls, emitting porky fumes, is akin to therapy.

I go for the more subdued Wan Tan Mee with Dumplings because I trust Kanpei to serve it with a decent side of greens. The egg noodles are skinny, springy and chewy, just the way I like them!

Dumplings burst with whole prawns & pork upon first bite, perfect with the house dried chilli paste they are very generous with.

Another office-wide favourite - Whitebait fritters with chilli & garlic. Whitebait is a curious entity in this part of the world. Having been first introduced to them in NZ as those tiny worm-like beings in Whitebait fritters, I was a little thrown off when they turned out to be about the size of sardines. The flavour too is somewhat different - it's still subdued and sweet, but with a component missing, I can't quite put my finger on it. Nevertheless, this dish is a crunchy solid 8/10!

Another option to stave off institutional revulsion and the system - Wat Tan Hor or Cantonese Hor Fun. Gloriously eggy, moist and serving size that guarantees the snoozes after, I can't say this is the best I've had, but in times of great need, and in the context of Mid Valley's blandness, this will have to do until dinnertime!

Cheap and cheerful in Teluk Bahang

Before we surrendered our sluggish constitutions the next few hours to the coastline of Balik Pulau, we stopped to refuel and help my two inebriated buddies sober up from the night before. Nothing like a cheap, substantial Malaysian breakfast to help you through a gruelling hike while emanating stale alcoholic fumes.

Restoran Ibrahim in Teluk Bahang beckons, right before the final stretch of the road to the gateway of our hike.

Plain canai, a sight of comfort, all grease and kuah, limp to the tastebuds though.

Roti planta came with sugar against MS' delicate savoury hangover craving.

I spied purveyors of pork, unabashedly Chinese and muhibbah, in the vicinity of very halal Restoran Ibrahim.

Wantan mee, fat noodles, fat wantans in fatty caramel sauce - why does fat in food make us so happy yet not so when it makes its way to our thighs? Why can't our love for fat be non-discriminatory? Wantans were all pork (yay!), no prawns (boo!) yielding schizophrenic approval.

Same stall also dished up Penang koay teow th'g, clear and quite inspid, a far cry from the chu yuk fun (pork noodles) in KL that I've grown to love.

Nothing outstanding but breakfast choices in this part of the town were scarce, so no complaints or whinges necessary. Tummies full and hangovers subdued, we ambled along seeking our Vitamin D under the sunshiny skies of rural Penang.

Breakfast noodles in the 'hood

On certain Sundays of the week, I like to throw all the caution to the wind and fill up for breakfast, despite knowing that it'll render me sluggish and spend the remaining hours of my weekend in mental and physical torpor. And during these Sundays, I like to stay in the neighbourhood, which offers more than a few choices that do the trick.

First up is Kopitiam Mr. Pau, which actually has an uncle operating a stall selling pau & dimsum who goes by the moniker Mr. Pau. It's located along Jalan Desa Bakti in the old part of Taman Desa, on the same row as Secret Recipe. The stall on the right offers Nyonya nasi lemak (with wild boar curry!) and Nyonya cakes that draw queues on lazy Sunday mornings. This visit, however, we didn't do nasi lemak.

Super thick kopi O... one sip and it made me thankful to be alive this Sunday morning...

Fat Tulip's Pan Mee - this stall isn't your average neighbourhood Pan Mee stall... each bowl comes with a pile of ingredients - minced pork meat and/or fish balls, crunchy anchovies, greens and wood ear fungus. Sure, it's no Kung Fu but it holds its own, as the queues in the morning firmly attest.

My Hakka mee - somehow my Hakka roots have been nagging my tastebuds of late, demanding for some ancestral attention so when I saw the stall here, I immediately made an effort to set things right. It was OK but it didn't really hit the spot, not even with unrestrained heaping of fried pork lard.

On another such morning, we headed to U Like It, on the corner of the Faber row of shophouse, on Jalan Desa Bakti.

Wantan mee with char siu - broad noodles, nice fat slices of char siu... made me happy enough!

He had the wantan mee with beef brisket - whined that the noodles were a little overdone, but otherwise fine.

The wantans that came in side bowls were a little pitiful though. Each of us got three of these wantans, filled with nothingness.

The well-frequented wantan mee stall at U Like It. Pity about the wantans though. The shop also has other stalls, which I intend to try in good time. Oh, I do like my Sundays!

Quintessential Penang, Kafe Kheng Pin, Penang Road

There are simply not enough eating hours, even over a super-long weekend to get my fill of Penang. Thankfully, I have a trusted eating companion in Fat Tulip who is keen on sharing and caring, so we get to sample more variety.

The second day of Raya saw us visiting Kheng Pin, a kopitiam on Penang Road that clearly exemplifies an evergreen oldie but goodie. This place has only a handful of stalls, all of them serving GREAT fare.

We started with the customary plate of loh bak. Granted, it's 9 in the morning and all that grease is probably not the best way to start the day but it's a holiday! And look at everyone else in the kopitiam, tucking in happily! An assortment of deep-fried goodies, a bit of century egg, all dunked in the thick savoury goodness of chilli and loh sauce. Close-up of loh bak - I am not a huge fan of loh bak but this one is simply irresistible, comprising chunkier pork meat than the other standard loh baks around town. I am also awed by the uncle who hovers over the cauldron of boiling hot oil for hours on end, hardly breaking a sweat. He was at it in the morning and when we returned after noon to take away chicken rice for lunch, he was still working it, cool as the cucumber that he serves with his loh bak.

Char Koay Teow with duck egg, and plenty of juicy prawns. This is Penang on a plate!

I also ordered the Wantan mee, having spied the extended queue and the waiting time, always a good sign. And I wasn't disappointed! The wantans were fat and juicy, the noodles drenched in the familiar concoction of dark soy and lard oil. Big ups!

Kafe Kheng Pin is quite the institution so any self-respecting foodie would know where it is. It's located on the corner of Sri Bahari Road and Penang Road. I can't wait to go back!