SS4 pork noodles

I was driving around in PJ one day after some chores, trying to decide where to stop for brunch. Then I remembered a pork noodle stall around SS4 which I had not visited for a long long time. The shop used to be one of my favorite for pork noodles when I was living around the vicinity more than 20 years ago. I decided to re-visit it and see if there was anything I could gather for this blog. I didn't have my camera with me and decided to use my mobile phone. That was the reason for the rather poor quality of my pictures.

The stall is in a coffee shop known as Kean Fatt located at the end of a row of shop houses at the junction between Jalan SS 4A/1 and Jalan SS 3/59. Over the years the noodle stall has apparently become very popular. I could not find a place to park and it was only after 2 rounds in the vicinity, was I lucky that a car pulled out from a slot. The side road (Jalan SS3/59) was jam parked and vehicles spilled into the residential areas behind the row of shops. I do not know if the many cars was because of the popularity of the stall, but the coffee shop was certainly packed and almost everyone there was waiting for their pork noodles. I had to share a table with another guy and he gave me a funny look when I started snapping pictures of the coffee shop, the stall and finally the noodles.

The name of the stall is 槟城, translated to read "Penang". The frontage of the stall states that they have porridge and mee suai (面线). I believe you can ask for the mee suai, but I am not sure if you will be able to get any porridge.

I used to know the guy who owns the stall. He used to be quite friendly, but not so this time. I do not know if he still recognized me. He was not friendly when I approached him to order my noodle. He did not acknowledge my order and I was not even sure if he heard me. When I told him that I wanted to take his pictures, he just nodded - no acknowledgment, no smile - and proceeded on with his work.

Be prepared to wait in this noodle stall. The guy prepares a lot of noodles. I had to wait about 35 minutes before I got mine.

I ordered a large bowl - minus the liver and intestine. When my noodle finally arrived, it was indeed without the innards. In spite of his busy preparation of so many bowls of noodles before mine and his non-acknowledgment of my order, the guy actually heard and remembered what I wanted.

After the ritual pictures taking, I took a sip of the soup. It was good and I thought I found the reason of his popularity. But I was soon to be disappointed. The noodles were soggy. The pork was coarse and quite tasteless.  I have tasted other pork noodles where they marinate the meat that turned out to be smooth and flavorful. Not so here. The vege in the soup was meager. There was not enough chu yaw char (猪油渣). I did not enjoy the noodle at all.

And the noodles are quite expensive. He charges RM5.00 for a small bowl and RM5.70 for a large one. He is at least one ringgit or 25% more than other stalls. But he is doing a roaring business. I do not for the heck of me, know why. Would I go back again? With the parking and the long wait.... I very much doubt it.