Nameless…

In my growing up years, our favourites when it came to our Foochow fried noodles were this guy named Ah Kow at the chu char (cook & fry) place at the back of Ban Chuan Coffee Shop, beside the now-closed-down Cathay Cinema and also, someone my dad called Tong Merah (red bin) at the hawker centre above the original Sibu market before it moved to its present location. I do not know why he was known by that name and if I am not mistaken, he had a son who was a singer and a recording artiste, Yu Ping, I think his name was. He released a single or EP black vinyl record of Chinese/Mandarin songs those days long before there were cartridges or cassette tapes, much less compact discs.

These days, we have Foochow fried noodles everywhere, some very nice ones, some so so and some not quite what I would want to go for a second time but though the good ones may be really good, I would not say that they were exactly like what I had when I was a kid. If it is the original authentic Foochow fried noodles taste that you are looking for, I suggest you drop by here…

…for that.

This coffee shop has no name but it has been around for as long as I can remember, very popular for their gu tor (beef tripe) mee. When I went into the kitchen to place my order, I saw a basin full of gu tor and bags and bags of noodles. Obviously, if they can sell all that in a day, their business must be very good.

They’ve repainted the place white now…

…even the floor, so it looked bright and clean and initially, I thought that the place was run by a few old ladies until a younger guy came along a bit later, with more bags of noodles! There were only a few customers when I got there around 6.15 a.m. that morning but while I was eating, the customers started trickling in and by the time I was done, it was already quite full.

I had their Foochow fried noodles, wet/with gravy (RM4.30)…

…and boy, was I impressed? It was exactly like the ones I loved so well in my childhood years and even though it was more expensive than most of the rest by 30 sen, I felt it was worth it plus in comparison, they certainly were more generous with the meat and the green vegetables. (The guy at the next table ordered their kampua mee – the usual with the thin slices of meat, no gu tor soup and I overheard that it was RM3.20, 20 sen more than most.)

I tapao-ed back for my missus to enjoy and I was told by the lady serving that it would be RM5.00 if I wanted to take it home but there would be more noodles. Hmmm…that was my first time encountering something like this. Elsewhere, it would cost the same but you can request for RM5.00 or RM10.00 or more if you would like it thus so as to share with everyone at home…and yes, my missus loved it too – just like what we used to eat at the kang ki pee (riverside) stalls in our younger days, she said.

Considering that they are able to replicate the original authentic taste of days gone by, I certainly would not hesitate to come back here for more.

This coffee shop with no name (2.288662, 111.831366) is located in the block of shops at the junction of Huo Ping Road and Jalan Kpg Nyabor, to the right of Garden Hotel, right next to Ocean Car Accessories, facing Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai (formerly Jalan Pedada).