Get it straight…

They say that authentic kampua noodles would be thicker and straight…

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…and I did hear from my friend, the guy behind The Kitchen instant kampua noodles that if it is made using a machine, it will be thinner and it will all come out curly…like kolo mee but I have had kolo mee in Kuching that looked quite straight as well…

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…but whether it is straight or curly, normally, Sibu kampua noodles would just have those few pieces of thinly sliced char siew, the real thing or otherwise, or some may give you slices of stewed pork these days…

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…whereas in the case of Kuching kolo mee, you will get the slices of char siew and some minced meat and at times, some green vegetables too…

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…and I have had kolo mee that came with a prawn or two, a fish ball perhaps and a slice of liver and bits of intestines.

The aforementioned Sibu-made instant kampua noodles actually tastes really good, quite like the real thing that you can get at the coffee shops around town and may even be nicer than some, in fact but so far, the kolo mee from the renowned instant noodle company, the first ever in the country, if I am not wrong, turned out to be rather disappointing and even the complimentary soup that came with it could not save the day. I can’t remember whether I blogged about it or not – probably I did not.

Then, the other day, I spotted this…

…at a supermarket here – made in Brunei. Brunei? I sure was surprised to see that as I thought in the oil-rich, tax-free haven, it would be hard to find people to work in a factory but there it was – the Brumee brand from Bandar Seri Begawan, looking at the address given (with a telephone number and email address some more).

For one thing, we would usually spell it as kolo mee or kolok mee, usually this would be the spelling in Malay, but never kollo mee with a double l. Nonetheless, I still wanted to try so I bought a pack home, RM8.90 for 5, RM8.20 special member price so that would work out to RM1.64 each – not cheap but definitely cheaper than those brands of instant noodles from Singapore. Inside, you will find these sachets…

…of the seasoning, oil, chili powder and oyster sauce! Now, that’s a first – I don’t think there is oyster sauce, not in kolo mee nor in kampua noodles and wait a minute! The noodles are flat, curly but flat!!!

Never mind! I cooked a packet and topped it with some sliced omelette and pan-grilled prawns and garnished it with some chopped spring onions from my garden and served…

If you are expecting anything that tastes like kolo mee…or even kampua, you are in for a disappointment. The moment I poured out the seasoning from the sachet, I could detect the smell – something like those instant mee goreng…and yes, it actually tasted like that minus the dark sweet soy sauce so if there is any difference, it would be the colour, that’s all.

I guess we will just have to wait till somebody can come out with something that tastes like kolo mee, the way we know and love it. This, I’m afraid, does not come near, not at all.