Possessing a Weakness for Hakka

     I admit that I possess a weakness for Hakka...no, I'm not going to say Hakka men. It's a weakness for Hakka cuisine. As mentioned in an earlier blog, I have a penchant for many Hakka dishes, including the Hakka style fried pork belly and braised pork belly with black fungus. Both dishes were a regular feature, and a real hit, in my kitchen. The past tense "were" was used because now that I need to wage a war against the dreaded cholesterol, poor hubby will see less of the pork belly.
     Back to the Hakka topic...another great Hakka love of mine is the Hakka noodles. My family's favourite place for Hakka noodles is at Paris Restaurant at Hugh Low Street. Owned and run by three brothers together with their younger charges, the Hakka noodles stall used to operate at a smaller shoplot opposite. My maternal grandmother, who was an avid foodie, used to say that this is the best Hakka noodles in town.
     The pièce de résistance here is their springy homemade egg noodles topped with minced meat. Before I dig in, it is obligatory for me to swirl in more fish sauce and a spoon or two of its chilli sauce. We do order some of their side kicks like fish balls, meat balls, stuffed tofu and fried yam beans, but these are all average in taste. It's their noodles that win us over and make this stall one of our brunch haunts. To give you an idea of how much I enjoy their noodles : I always order one and a half portions of noodles (they sell single, one and a half, and double portions)!

The Hakka noodles that make me drool over and over again!

     Being a food paradise, Ipoh has many other noteworthy Hakka noodles stalls such as the one at Cathay Restaurant, Hong Hin in Old Town and the one at Osborne Street. But for us, this Hakka noodles stall at Paris Restaurant wins hands down, followed by Yik Sun.
     Yik Sun is an unassuming coffee shop in Old Town, near the famous Thean Chun coffee shop. The current owner, an affable young man, continues his father's legacy. The Hakka noodles are a notch below those at Paris Restaurant, but the saving grace is in its incredibly tender beef strips in a bowl of beefy broth. Besides the mandatory topping of minced pork and the usual accompaniment of balls, we can order the beef strips to go with the Hakka noodles. It's an unusual yet delightful combination.

Such tender beef strips in a most slurpylicious soup

Hakka noodles at Yik Sun

     I know Kuala Lumpur has its fair share of tasty Hakka noodles, but apart from KL and Ipoh, I do not know of anywhere else in Malaysia that serves such a fare. Boy, am I glad I live in Ipoh!