The last time I had kampua mee, I was less than impressed. The restaurant that I had it at also closed down (way before the pandemic).
But for some reason or other I wanted to eat kampua mee. I was told that SRK Noodle House at Section 14 served authentic kampua mee and not too long ago, my brother told me that the wat tan hor there is pretty good.
So I placed an order via Grabfood to satisfy my craving.
The moment I opened the box, I caught a whiff of fragrant shallot oil. Oohh.... this is has to be good!
And yes, it was very tasty and a completely different experience from the last time. But mind you, this kampua mee is very pricey. I think the Sibu people will faint dead away when they know what it cost me to enjoy this bowl of noodles.
I don't know what the current in-store price is and I believe it is heavily marked up for Grabfood delivery. The base price (ie before additional ingredients) is already RM17.49 (choice if mee or mee pok with topping of either char siew & minced pork, bien nuik or shredded chicken and egg).
Then any other add-on is separately charged. Being greedy, I added bien nuik (which turns out to be wanton) and pork lard which brought the bill up to RM23.32. That's me, I am always indulgent when it comes to food.
But I am not complaining because this was a really good bowl of kampua mee which I enjoyed right to the last bite. But at those prices, I don't think I will indulge again so soon.
I might drop by SRK Noodle House with my brother one of these days but we will wait first. Now that the number of Covid-19 infections is back to 20K+ cases, it is best to stay home and stay safe.
If it is any consolation, it is around AUD10.00 in Australia and NZ$15.00 in Auckland, New Zealand. Aren't we lucky here, complaining that ours cost more than RM3, less than 4?
ReplyDeleteBut of course, ours, we only have those few miserably thin slices of imitation char siew on top of the noodles. If there is minced meat (and a fish ball or two), that would be Kuching kolo mee (or Sibu kampua mee in disguise)
Yes, bien nuik (Foochow) is what I call pian sip (Hokkien) - look like wanton...but not supposed to be the same. I love both!
You caught a whiff of the fragrant shallot oil - did you smell the lard? These two are the makings of good kampua mee and no, here we do not eat the pork fat crusts - we use it to feed our four-legged friends. LOL!!!
It was money well spent because now I understand how delightful kampua mee can be! Ah, the fat crusts, it's usually sprinkled on KL Hokkien mee and there are people who would pay to get extras.
DeleteThat one huge pack of kampua mee!!!! But glad you enjoyed it. Kampua is best eaten immediately, not when cold. Still, I am not a big fan of kampua. Hehe.
ReplyDeleteI ate is as soon as I finished taking photos. If cold, it would become clumpy I think.
DeleteI haven't tried any kampua mee before. Not sure about the price, but normal Wanton mee in a kopitiam is almost RM9, so i think this price is still ok, since the quality & taste is good.
ReplyDeleteWhen I get a chance to go to the restaurant, I will check what is their in-store price.
DeleteWow! Your bowl of kampua noodles is laden with ingredients to the max! Good that you enjoy it. A little higher price is ok because we won't know how long we are able to enjoy our food so as long as it is within our means so eat and enjoy! Bon appetit!
ReplyDeleteI agree! That was my late grandma's philosophy too :)
DeleteTwo different experiences at two different branches of the same restaurant was like night and day! @_@ No wonder the one in Uptown closed down. I do have an original Sibu kampua mee in my taman itself operated by an old Foochow couple from Sibu...and theirs come with minced pork too (I think if it only comes with just a few miserable slices of char siew, KL-ites would flip and ask where are the ingredients-lah!). I've only had it once or twice...it's probably very decent (since I've read good reviews on this place from people who hail from Sibu), just that I'm not a big fan of kampua mee (they also offer it black or spicy black and they have bien nuik too).
ReplyDeleteThere is a stall near me (but have to cross the LDP and I have phobia for pedestrian bridges) at Damansara Kim. They sell Sarawak kolo mee but not sure if they have kampua. I also saw the black sauce option (there were a few) and I remember liking that one at the closed Uptown SRK.
DeleteRM17+ for a portion of Kampua Mee is definitely way over my expectation especially there's no premium ingredients such as seafood or beef. =.="
ReplyDeleteYes, very pricey. I must check what is the price at the restaurant.
DeleteThat is a huge portion and so much ingredient and all look good to me. I am also am indulgent person. I have yet to taste a good kampua noodle.
ReplyDeleteThat serving portion kept me full until evening hee..hee... but of course I ate dinner LOL!
DeleteWah! The bill of RM23.32 will make TM faint. Wakes up and faint again...
ReplyDeleteI looked at the ingredients which was so much is actually worth the price lah. Just enjoy and order again. I need to eat kampua mee too. There is one at Kim Wah Coffee Shop near your office but they look miserable to me.
LOL! I fainted too but managed to press the order button hee..hee..hee..
DeleteYes, there is a stall at Kim Wah, I saw them before selling Sarawak Kolo mee but I have yet to try. I am scared of crossing the pedestrian bridge. I somehow have a phobia for pedestrian bridge especially this particular one >.<