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.

Old Friends, Nagore Rd

For lunch today, we ended up at Old Friends, located on Nagore Road. I'd been here previously, a pleasant enough experience which was unfortunately not documented because camera battery decided to throw a tantrum then.

Old Friends' menu is a refreshing take on the regular contemporary kopitiam... almost like a non-halal version of Old Town. It offers a variety of rice and noodle dishes, served either as a set or just on its own. They've also got perennial kopitiam favourites, toast and eggs.

We went for the sets, which came with a choice of main meal, a drink, soup, side dish, fruit and dessert. All of us went for Lemon Tea, which came in generous glass tumblers.

Each set comes with the following - soup of the day (a hot & sour one today), finger slices (?) of banana cake, sliced green apple. Each of us also got served a runny omelette side dish halfway into our meal.
Our main meal came after a fairly short wait. I would dearly love it if restaurants took the initiative to serve everyone at the table at the same time. In this case, one meal arrived not long after we ordered, the second arrived about 5 minutes later and the third much, much later.

Stir Fried Udon with seafood. This arrived in a jiffy and it passed with flying colours. Good sized shrimps and a good sprinkling of nori to deliver it home. The truth is, it's a really hard dish to screw up.

Hot & Sour Shanghai noodles. My first go at this, and I liked it, lumpy, vinegarish broth and all. Really liked the handmade noodles. It came with plenty of preserved vegetables, mushrooms, carrots, shrimps and slices of fish. A very hearty and spicy meal.

Nasi Lemak. I didn't have a taste of this but the reaction from the diner was Ohhhkay-lah. To be fair to Old Friends, we have far too many splendid versions of nasi lemak available on every corner of the island that it's near impossible to elicit much shock value from this dish.

Second time around, no major bad points and I'm still sitting on the fence on this one. The set meal averaged about RM12.90 each, a pretty good deal. The menu's varied enough and the staff attentive, though the minimal table occupancy probably explains it. Something's missing somehow... can't put my finger on it but I'll be more than happy to return to find out exactly what.