Showing posts with label Wantan. Show all posts

Friday, September 2, 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.

Monday, August 24, 2015

YummY! - Emperor Noodles @ Huang Di Noodle Palace

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / FootSteps / YummY! / Chinese Food / Noodles / Emperor Noodles @ Huang Di Noodle Palace

YummY!

Jotaro's Food Review

Emperor Noodles @ Huang Di Noodle Palace

Bandar Menjalara, Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - December 2014

Huang Di Noodle Palace is an odd place, but I mean odd in a good way. With such a regal name one would be forgiven if one had thought that this is a "palace" for fine Chinese dining.
No, they do not serve fine Chinese cuisine, but they do have one of the best wantan noodles that I have ever tried.

The place is also a place of contradictions; with a name like Huang Di it could have been associated with Shih Huang Di, China's first emperor. But most of the shop's decorations are tied in with the Manchu era, well actually Huang Di means emperor in Chinese.
The place may not have the finesse decoration of many up-scale restaurants but it does have trappings of a regal manner like the above wall mural poster of Manchu soldiers at the Forbidden City.

And some paintings of Manchu royalty hanging from the walls.

The set-up may lend that tinge of royal air to the place, but it is the food that one should go for. Like this kon-loh noodles. It not exactly dry like one would find from other places; it comes with a bit of thin gravy. Their char siew may not be one of the best, just mediocre; but it is that gravy that gives these noodles that royal class. The gravy was sweet and tasty and went very well with the bitey noodles.

The noodles came with a small bowl of wantan soup, another "one of the best" for me. The wantans with minced meat were good but it was the soup that was the killer, tasting fantastic with stock similar to that of shark's fin soup.

In fact we could not get enough of the soup and ordered a bowl of sui kow soup noodle.
YummY!

Other noodles dish that they served were these fried glass noodles. This was one of my favourites too with the glass noodles not too soft and slightly crunchy. The eggs, chopped dried prawns and deep fried garlic went superbly with the noodles.

Besides noodles, Huang Di also serve some other extras like this deep fried fu chok (tofu skin) rolls.

The tofu skin were rolled but not too compactly such that the deep frying were evenly ensuring that the skin were evenly fried on both sides. Dip this into the chilli sauce and the slight bitter-pungent taste of the tofu skin merged with the sweet-spicy sauce with an oomph!

Surprise! Surprise!
They have Japanese Shishamo fish here too! Deep fried with a thin layer of batter.

This is the real stuff, not some make-do to emulate those from Japanese restaurant. Slice the stomachs open and they are full of roe.

The place may have a tinge of regalness, the food was royally good; but the price...
... the price was the surprise. Very affordable prices, in fact the noodle dishes cost less than those served at coffee-shops. The Shishamo fish were only priced at RM6-45 for three, a real steal!

In a way, this Huang Di has that royal touch, it is owned and operated by Ali a member of the World Association of Master Chef. Seldom do one find a master chef running a noodle shop, so come and appreciate his fine cooking.

HUANG DI NOODLE PALACE
49, Lorong Bangau 2, Kepong Baru, 52100 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur.\

Mobile: +6012-3310901 (Ah Lee)
Hours: 7:30am to 3:00pm (Closed on Tuesdays)
GPS: 3.20047, 101.6447
(Click here for Google Street View)

OLD LOCATION

41 Jalan Medan Putra 1, Medan Putra Business Centre, Bandar Menjalara, 52200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: +603-62755181 | Mobile: +6012-3310901 (Ah Lee)
Hours: 11:00am to 10:00pm daily
GPS: 3.19225, 101.62573
(Click here for Google Street View)
(Click here for interactable map)

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