Hokkien Mee at Section 20, PJ

Location: Restoran Millenium Eighty Six
Section 20, Taman Paramount, Petaling Jaya.
I don't know the exact road, but its a cornershop opposite the entrance of Giant supermarket.

Those old enough to remember will know that Hokkien mee used to come with squid and more meat / prawns that the ones you tend to get today. Since the mid 90s, I have found that the quality of this dish around KL and PJ has detriorated somewhat, and most of the regular vendors sold soggy noodles with very little meat and prawns in it. And more importantly, my favourite ingredient, the squid slices, seem to have diesppeared completely from the dish. Even the pieces of fried pork fat seem to have been reduced over the years.

I was reminiscing about this dish with an old school friend when he told me of this restaurant that cooked this dish the "old style", ie. with charcoal fire and with lots of meat, prawns, squid and pork fat. So off we went to savour it, and I was not disappointed at all! I'm afraid that the photo does not do it justice, but that's due to my lack of photography skills. The noodles had just the right texture and right amount of sauce and lots of pork fat pieces... which I left, but it was important to flavour the dish. Overall a very satisfying meal and worth another visit on my next trip to Malaysia.



We also had this Cantonese fried crispy noodle dish, which was very nice too. Again, it had lots of ingredients and not full of sauce like many other places.



To finish off the evening, we ordered some satay which was average but still very satisfying. I think this seller bought his satay from a bulk dealer as I have had identical tasting satay at many other places in PJ.

Not available in the UK!!

A previous comment prompted me to write about something different today. Food we take for granted in Malaysia, but near impossible to get in the UK. I don't mean food you can at least try to reproduce yourself, but drinks, confectionery, and "raw materials" for meals. If you have not lived in the UK, you may be surprised at some of items listed below!

A&W DRAFT Root Beer
We can get the canned version in Chinese supermarkets, but with no A&W outlets in the UK, I really miss the draft version of the drink. The handful of A&W restaurants opened in 2005-2006 have all been absorbed into its sister franchise KFC and no longer serve Root Beer as there is not enough demand for it.

Kjeldsens Danish Butter Cookies
We can get loads of other brands of Danish Butter Cookies but nothing compares to Kjeldsens. I have NEVER seen this on sale in the UK at all. However, I believe that Marks & Spencer used to sell them under their own label in the 1980s, but no longer.

Arnott's biscuits.
I absolutely love their savoury Australian biscuits. A few years ago, they did try to break into the UK market but failed. For a few months after that, I could buy their unpopular biscuits in bargain bin really cheaply. Then they disappeared from the UK market altogether.

Kraft's Miracle Whip
Although Kraft has a major UK presence, this American product is not. Like Arnott's, they tried to market this product in the UK in 2005 and it all ended up in bargain bins before disappearing altogether.

Twisties
Another popular Australian brand. Never had it in the UK. Never even seen it in Chinese supermarkets.

LifeSavers
Popular American brand of sweets that never ever made it here.

"Long Yuk" - Barbeque chinese meat slices.
Again, impossible to get here, not even frozen or packaged. I can get the meat floss in Chinese supermarkets though.

KL Hokkien Mee
Although it is possible to cook it here, you cannot buy the same type of noodles, so an identical dish is not possible.

"See Hum" - Blood Clams
In the 1980s, you could buy then shelled and frozen. You could also buy the Yeo's curried version in a can. Now, it is no longer available anywhere. I wonder if it has been banned, like in China.

The list goes on... I may do a part 2 of this list some time in the future.