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Thursday, September 1, 2016

YummY! - Bamboo Wantan Noodles @ Hong Kee Penang (鴻記（廣式）竹昇雲)

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Bamboo Wantan Noodles @ Hong Kee Penang (鴻記（廣式）竹昇雲)

George Town, Penang, Malaysia - August 2016

What's all the hype these days about bamboo wantan noodles / bamboo wantan mee? Is it a better noodle? If it is, what makes it better?
Well, we were on a cycling trip up in Penang (... see cycling blog) when my friend Chew tried these noodles one evening at a place called Hong Kee, and raved about it. Curious, the rest of the gang went there the following day for lunch after exploring the heritage core of George Town.

But first let's see why it's called bamboo wantan noodles.
No, the noodles are not made from bamboo! They are as other wantan noodles made from wheat floor; the difference here is that the kneading of the dough is with a long bamboo pole. The dough placed on a counter is pressed down with the bamboo pole, turned over and pressed again. This process is repeated several times. Apparently, this way of kneading makes the noodles more springy for a good bitey experience; in Chinese this is called Q-Q.

After the kneading, the dough is machine-rolled into flat sheets of the right thickness. The same machine cuts the the sheets into long, thin strips. The whole process at Hong Kee can be viewed as they make it at an enclosed glass section; they are proud to show their manufacturing style.
(... see a YouTube video on the making of bamboo noodles)

Another worker cut the long strips into appropriate length and bundle them in regular sizes ready for cooking. The thickness of the strips differ from stall to stall, Hong Kee's is of the thinner variety.

Okay, we have seen how they made it, let's see whether it stands up to all the hype.
We had ordered "kosong", meaning noodles that came just with the sauce and vegetables. The barbecued pork belly (Char Siu), roast pork (Siu Yuk) and wantan dumplings had been ordered separately so that we could add them to our own individual liking.
Hong Kee's wantan mee, unlike those from the Klang Valley, comes with a thin sauce/soup instead of the dark thick soy sauce. This sauce is a light puree and had a good underlying taste. And the noodles? Although thin, they were surprisingly Q-Q! It was very good wantan mee and I liked them very much and would recommend one not to miss this when up in George Town!

The Char Siu was another thing altogether. Usually other wantan mee in Penang which are normally served with reddish looking lean meat Char Siu; but here they serve succulent pork belly style, soft and juice with slightly caramelised sweet edges. !YummY!

Let's have a look at the side dishes:

The Char Siu, well layered and definitely sumptuous.

The Siu Yuk was very good too with crispy, crunchy skin. I would have like it with a bit more fat though.

The Chicken Leg Stew was just that, chicken trotters stewed in soy sauce. Would have been better if they had pre-deep fried the legs first though.

The Pork Trotter Stew was a lovely dish, nicely done with soft skin and tender meat that had soaked up the sauce well.

Our bowl of wantan soup. The soup was a light clear soup with larger sized wantan dumplings.

The meat wrapped inside the wantan skin was superb; the mincing was not too fine leaving small chunks of meat for a good bite which exuded the flavour of the meat. The meat is tasty, having been minced together with some salted fish.

The Sui Kow was okay, just slightly above average in taste and texture.

Okay let's have a look at the wantan mee "kitchen". It's a stall located right up at the entrance of the shop; Mr. Chang, the owner/operator, was quite chatty given me some insights on his business and techniques... sorry no sharing of that here, it's their trade secret!

Boiled wantan dumplings just waiting to be served with soup.

... and here are the boiled Sui Kows.

The shop is laid out coffee-shop style with round many round tables. The stall is upfront at the right and the enclosed noodle making section is behind it (can't be seen in this photo). It's not air-conditioned but large exhaust fans have done their job of venting the heat out.

Hong Kee's food menu. Other than wantan mee, they also served the side orders AND also other noodle dishes like Oyster Noodles and Venison Hor Fun; okay I will have to try these the next time.

Their drinks menu. Other than the regular, they also serve Pat Poh (a herbal drink, favourite among the locals), Ambra With Sour Plum (another local favourite) and also Nutmeg Juice (which I think are not the fresh nutmbeg juice like those at Balik Pulau, but from bottled syrup).

HONG KEE BAMBOO NOODLE

37 Campbell Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia.
Tel: +604-2619875 Mobile: +6012-2319875 / +6016-5209875
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hongkeebamboonoodle/

Hours: 8:30 am to 10:00 pm
GPS: 5.41723, 100.33518
(Click here for Google Street View)

Related Blogs :

Bamboo Wantan Noodles @ Lum Choong Kee

Arising from a man's passion for good food has come about one of the best wantan noodles & char siew in town - Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Tek Sen Restaurant

Traditional authentic Chinese/Nyonya Fare - George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

Bromping Over the Ferry to Guar Petai 27th August 2016

Brompton Malaysia is at it again, this time a ride with more than a hundred of our buddies over the ferry to scenic Guar Petai in Butterworth.

Friday, May 13, 2016

YummY! - Bamboo Wantan Noodles @ Lum Choong Kee

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / FootSteps / YummY! / Chinese / Noodles / Bamboo Wantan Noodles @ Lum Choong Kee

YummY!

Jotaro's Food Review

Bamboo Wantan Noodles @ Lum Choong Kee

Taman SEA, Petaling Jaya, Selangor - May 2016

There had been lots of rave about this particular wantan mee stall, about how good the noodles are and how fantastic the char siew (barbecued pork belly) is. It has become sort of a pilgrimage place for members of the Makan Club (a Facebook group of people crazy over food.... er.... I better correct that before I get knocked on the head as I am a member of the group too *grins*; actually it's a group of people who appreciate good food and goes to length to share their gastronomic experiences).
Being a faithful member of the group, I had meant to go try these noodles as soon as the stall had started operations (which was about a month or so back), but I was delayed by my cycling adventures in South Thailand. The moment I came back, I made it a point to go try; not because of the raves but more for a personal reason, a friendly reason.

See, Lum Choong Kee is operated by Ah Chee, he's the founder of the Makan Club; which made me wonder whether the beeline to his stall were because his food is good or just because members were being loyal. We will see later when I sink my teeth into the noodles.
I had been a member of the club for years now and had gotten to know Ah Chee personally as a friend. We had even gone out on a trip to sample some Q-Q (short for kiew-kiew, i.e. Chinese for springy bitey) wantan noodles at Ho Kee in Puchong. Now he has taken the bold step of becoming a hawker himself and have come a full circle from testing wantan noodles to selling them.

I popped over to say hello to him but had a hard time trying to talk to him as I was trying hard to not to turn my head to look at these beauties hanging up there. Hi there! You all are looking good!

If those hanging up there were beauties, these char siew on the tray were even more tempting, looking all succulent... Oh.. man.... I just can't wait to take a bite!
Ah Chee has done his homework and researched well, and most probably have done a lot of self-testing - sourcing for the best noodles, on where to get the Q-Q types; and testing of the char siew to get the right cuts, correct seasoning and precise barbecuing techniques.

My order came, a normal size plate of wantan noodles, which with the generous cuts of char siew, did not look normal at all - it looked fabulously enticing, alluring... tempting!
And the wantan dumpling were large size, full of meat!

I looked closely at the noodles with thick cuts of char siew sitting comfortably on top.
Oh dear .... my mouth was starting to drip .. I better stop staring at it and start digging in.
Yes, the noodles were Q-Q as he had promised me and the sauce just the right thickness with a good thick dark soy base. What's more, he has used good lard to bring out the overall flavours. Seeing how good the lard was, I couldn't help it but to ask for lard bits.

And this is a photo that got a lot of mouths drooling - nice thick cuts of char siew. They were tender, with a tasty coating of caramelised plum syrup based seasoning. Ah Chee was still experimenting to get the right flavours and for today was trying the plum flavours.

His approach was one full of passion, there is even a poster to describe the different grades of char siew from lean to all fat and how much of these were available from the pork belly cuts. It's all up to personal preferences.
He had asked my honest opinion on his food. I like my char siew slightly burnt, with more fat. My mistake; I should have had a look at this list first before ordering!
Overall, Lum Choong Kee's wantan mee was excellent, with springy, bitey noodles in a mix of excellent sauce. AND the char siew.... need I say more?

Here's Lum Choong Kee menu & price list. At RM8-00 for a plate, the price is reasonable considering the ample cuts of char siew that's included.

BAMBOO WANTAN NOODLES @ LAM CHONG KEE
Restoran Kepong Crab, 42, Jalan SS23/11 47400, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Hours: 7:45am to around 11:00am (earlier on weekends ) (Closed on Teusdays).
Tip: Go there before 9:30 for the best cuts of the Char Siew

GPS: 3.11813, 101.61291.

(Click here for Google Street View)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lumchoongkee/

UPDATE: Lum Choong Kee has stopped operating.

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