Just a lil’ bit…

I dropped by here once for the kampua noodles…

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…and I thought they were pretty good. Despite the stewed pork belly on top…

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…the noodles had that much-coveted original authentic taste of the ones we grew up eating. However, I seldom dropped by here to eat as parking in that area could be such a pain but I do know that everytime my friend, Philip, came home from the US, he would go for the kampua noodles or maybe some other stuff from the other stall there. However, the other day, he told me that he was very disappointed as the old lady had retired and some young boys, her grandsons perhaps, had taken over and they tossed the kampua noodles with the sauce from the stewed pork  I remember having something like that here…

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…and no, I did not like it either. With the strong taste of the stew sauce, it came across as something completely different from the kampua noodles that we had always known them to be and no, I never had that again…and I am pretty sure Philip would not bother to go back for the noodles at that shop anymore either. Perhaps it would go down well with some people but no, old die-hards like us would have nothing of the sort, sorry to say.

Well, my nephew came home for his grandma’s birthday and he was there with an ex-classmate for breakfast. I didn’t think he noticed or if he did, he obviously did not mind. Anyway, I am not too sure but if I am not wrong, those guys are friends of his and they too have ventured into the instant kampua business…

There are so many now, jumping on the bandwagon, so many that the market stalls and the shops are flooded with them. I have never bothered to try any of the rest so I would not know whether they are any good or not but my nephew got me some samples of these…

…to try.

They are selling them at RM9.00 for a pack of 6, so I’ve been told, and that would work out to 20 sen more expensive a piece than the one we are more familiar with (RM6.50 for a pack of 5) but inside, you will find some fried shallots (which probably explains the extra 20 sen charged)…

…while the lard and the light soy sauce have been mixed together and do not come in separate sachets.

I cooked a packet to try…

…and yes, it had that what they call the “classic” kampua noodles taste but I would think it needed just a little bit more chio cheng (light soy sauce) and perhaps, lard as well…

…as I found it to be a little milder compared to the one I am more familiar with but that one no longer provides the little sachet of fried shallots that used to come with every packet at the beginning when they first started off on this venture so if you feel that this justifies the extra 20 sen per packet, perhaps, you would be better off getting this one instead of having to peel and slice and fry your own.

The choice is yours…