I think I’ve said this before – how I hate people telling others about something nice that they’ve eaten and they do not give the specific details or information so that they can go and try and enjoy too. Often, I would see people sharing a photograph of something that looks rather nice on Facebook and when somebody asks where they have eaten that, they would just give the name of the road or worse, the area. I just cannot understand why they bother sharing the photograph in the first place.
This was exactly what happened when I went looking for one and ended up at the wrong place. Somebody told somebody about what she ate somewhere that was very nice and that somebody told me about it and all the related information regarding the people and what not…but when it came to the coffee shop concerned, she just said she was told that it was in the block of shops at the other side of the Sibu Bus Terminal…
Yes, I do know that block of shops but there are at least 8 coffee shops altogether, or 7, as there is one that occupies two shoplots and I really do not see any difficulty at all in remembering and telling people the name of the shop…
– Ak Kia or duckling, in Hokkien but don’t ask me why it is thus named as I really do not know.
This time around, I did not have a problem as the nice guy at the wrong shop that I went to told me specifically which one it was – the one at the other end…
…just around 100 metres from this hotel…
– the very first shop in the block, if you are coming from that direction.
Yes, the person in question did say that the coffee was very nice and yes, indeed it was, the kopi-o-peng (iced black coffee) that I had…
There is a kampua mee stall in the front portion of the shop…
…but we did not order anything from there as we went there for the sole purpose of trying what the person was praising to the skies, the KL Hokkien mee (RM5.50)…
For the uninitiated, there is a difference between KL Hokkien mee and Singapore Hokkien fried mee and the Penang one which is actually the Penang prawn noodles or har mee like the one here that I particularly enjoy.
Like most, if not all, coffee shops in our town, they give you the spoons and chopsticks dipped in hot boiling water, the one here in a stainless steel canister, but unlike elsewhere, here, they gave us the sliced fresh chili and a bottle of the dark soy sauce for us to add ourselves…
The mee was the big, firmer one that one would find in KL Hokkien mee over in the peninsula , not the regular not-so-yellow noodles that we have here and yes, there were the crusts from the melted pork fat…or pork rind…
…and there were some tiny shrimps in it too…
…other than the meat and the cabbage.
So what did I think of it? Well, I must say it…
…was nicer than what I had here (cooked by some guy from Penang) or here though I did think it could do with a little stronger wok hei fragrance and maybe a little bit more garlic…and perhaps they could simmer it a little bit more to reduce the amount of gravy/sauce and make it thicker.
I would agree with my missus when she said that it was very nice but at the end of the day, she would still enjoy our own Foochow fried noodles a lot more…which, incidentally, is comparatively cheaper.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Nice photos!!! 🙂
Thank you.
That was nice of the shop attendant to tell where the other coffee shop was. He could have told you he didn’t know and enticed you instead to eat in his own business. 😉
I was thinking that same thing too but then again, he was a very nice man – from a small town upriver. Small town people are like that, very nice. 😉
There is one shop that served nice Hokkien mee with pork lard crust in Kapit. Had it for supper on 1st night of our last year trip.
Not really my thing though. Maybe it is messy to eat and you ended up with black sauce all over your mouth. Lol
Gosh! You are such a messy eater? 😀 😀 😀 Don’t think that happened to us but yes, I prefer a thicker sauce that will not cause so much damage. I wonder if there are nice ones in Kuching?
Ak kia??…could be the name of the owner of the coffee shop. You know, last time people of the older generation like to name their sons funny names like Ah too, too kia, Ah kow, Ah Ngiaw, etc…. The noodles looks good though.
Yes, Ah Too, Ah Goo, Ah Beh… 😀 😀 😀 The noodles were all right, just a bit too pricey, I thought – something different for a change but given a choice, I would go for my kway teow th’ng over at the other side of the bus station.
If i were to choose between Singaporean Hokkien Mee and KL Hokkien Mee, i’d prefer the latter one, didn’t enjoy the Singaporean’s version of Hokkien Mee
You probably did not go to the right one. My friend from there got me one very very nice one, very authentic – wrapped in the dried leaf and he did say that the good ones are few and far between these days. Like what I said in my reply to Somewhere in Singpore in my popiah post, it needs…
“…not just patience, love and passion too! That is why when the young ones take over, they go through the motions but what they dish out is never quite the same, not so nice…and at times, not nice at all. Sad…”
They say it is worse in Singapore these days – stand-up commedian Kumar did mention in his/her act not long ago – everything there these days is cooked by those Chinese nationals…same case as the Banglas and the Myanmarese in KL.
It was nice the owner of the coffee shop point you the correct shop. 😊
Yes, he could have just said that he didn’t know.
Good thing you found the place. There is one very good Hokkien mee place right behind my office. But I’m on diet so no Hokkien mee for me hee..hee..hee.. sobs!
Aiyor!!! Poor you!!! I cannot imagine my life if I could not eat this and could not eat that – just once in a while, everything in moderation, that should not be a problem. Ah well! It will not be a problem for me, can’t be much worse than how I look now. So, eat…eat…eat!!! Hehehehehehe!!!!
There’s a stall in Malaysia Boleh at Jurong Point selling the KL Hokkien Mee, starting, loves it, but now, emmm…. Long time no eat lt liao…
Jurong, that’s around where you stay. How come you have not gone for a long time?
well, at least you found what you were looking for.. usually i would have just googled the exact location. But probably it’s tougher finding a coffee shop where you’re at on the interweb.
I know the location of the shops all right – a block of around 10 shops, 8 are coffee shops…so the question is which one? The person sharing about it did not give the name nor which specific one it is in the block – could have easily said the one to the extreme right…if, for some reason, she cannot remember Ak Kia!
How to google? “Which coffee shop has so and so’s brother gone to?”
And what do you mean tougher where I’m at? Here’s the GPS Coordinates
(2.304983, 111.850580) OR 2° 18′ 17.9388” N 111° 51′ 2.088” E
Now, let’s see what the urban dictionary has to say – definition of “interweb”
A sarcastic term for the internet. Often used in the context of parody regarding an inexperience, unskilled, or incoherent user.
Contrary to what you think, I am sure it is a lot easier to locate a place here, not so crowded, small town – never mind how “inexperience, unskilled, or incoherent” I may be. Dunno if the Goggle car went that way or not.
P.S.:
Yes, here it is!!! Ak Kia…on Google Streetview, not difficult at all to locate…where I’m at! Duhhhh!!!
I’ve very used to the Singapore type of hokkien me and cannot settle down to enjoy other types.
I like that too, used to enjoy it so much when I was there, 1973. Sad to hear from my Singapore friend that it is difficult now to find a really good one like the ones in the old days. Personally, I do think it has an edge over the KL Hokkien mee – like what my missus said, it was nice but if given a choice, she would prefer our own Sibu Foochow fried noodles, nicer…and cheaper too.
so many somebody and somebody geh
the hokkien mee portion looks small but maybe it is the photo angle. i like hokkien mee and must eat with the sambal. if eat with normal cili i feel lack of umph…. old habit
The identities of the somebodies concerned are withheld to protect the innocent. 😀 😀 😀
Small? Go and look at the one at Lot 10 Hutong and then you tell me how small small is – I think it was half of this, and the price there too was not joke! Thankfully, when I had it, it was nice – value for money. Yes, I would think it would be much nicer if served with some kind of special sambal. At that price, they should have that at least, to make it seem more reasonable – and at the same time, enhance the taste, an edge above the rest. Thankfully, the chili we got that day was very hot, a little consolation. Otherwise, it would be such a let-down.
I normally google for the place if I have the name of the shop.. cannot expect others to give the exact location, name and address.. after all, they are not paid to promote.. hahahaa…. from the name, one can google or use waze to go., no choice, we are foodventures, must make a bit of effort then only the food tastes better… hahahaa…
That was THE problem, no name given – just said the shops the other side of the bus terminal, that was all. If she had given the name, I would know right away – no need to google as I saw it before when my friends from Singapore were staying at that hotel…and I was wondering why anyone would call his/her shop Ak Kia!!! This old man’s memory still very good, don’t play play!
I google all the time – when people share on Facebook and do not give sufficient information for me to know where the place may be. I may be old but I am not THAT old, still pretty good, still very competent…more than some/many young people even – I always post the relevant links (often to posts in my blog if I’ve shared about the same thing/place before) in the comments section to answer questions from other friends to people’s posts, end of story.
P.S.
By the way, I’ve been to your house on google streetview, use your address, nobody’s home. Hehehehehe!!!!
True, some times people just don’t give complete information…
That Hokkien Mee looks yummy, black black one, I like! xD
Yes, like how they shared on Facebook the photos of the huge double-storey building that houses the Starbucks outlet here, opening today. Somebody asked where it was and the answer given, “Pedada.” Now, that’s a very long road, a few miles long! They could have been more specific and said, “Before Petronas station, Pedada.” There’s only one of their petrol stations along that road…or near Delta Mall, the mall some two or three hundred metres away. It’s like they want to show off to people that they know, and they don’t know, and they do not want them to know – go and find out yourself.
This Hokkien mee is good, not quite there, I think – better ones over at your side, I’m sure…but it’s good enough…just the price is relatively kind of high.
In the battle between all the confusing variants of hokkien noodles, my favourite is the kl type that you had here … It’s the most slurp-worthy and satisfying! Though probably also the least nutritionally balanced, heheh 🙂
Like how Sibu people would swear by their kampua mee – I prefer Kuching kolo mee though…and the same with all those tossed noodles, they’re all carbs, aren’t they? You have never tried our Foochow fried noodles, have you? Different, and I would say the good ones here are much nicer – not all are good unfortuantely, lots of wannabes around, everyone seems to think they can cook and sadly, that is not always the case.