Thursday, 10 December 2020

Singapore Fried Hokkien Mee Roosts in S17, PJ

 Dec 11, 2020



Local food specialties don’t always make spectacular breakouts. Sure, you can point out Ipoh’s sar hor fun, Sarawak laksa and Penang’s all-conquering hawker food, which have spread far and wide.

Witness, however, KL’s famously artery-clogging black noodle hokkien mee, which has the aura of almost religious fervour among late-night eating out cognoscenti trawling backlanes and under-the-tree tai chou outlets, but only within the Klang valley.  In fact, many Malaysian small towns have their local specialties, which have a cult-like appeal in a very limited locality.

And then there’s Singapore. In spite of the rumble and noise about Singapore hawker food on the global stage, most Malaysians, me included, pooh-pooh the idea of Singapore hawker food. Half decent, maybe but good??

It’s not all a wasteland there.  I like Singapore hokkien mee, which unlike its KL or Penang counterparts, turns out a sickly-looking pallor with seafood topping. Done right, it is worth seeking out. There have been a couple of half-hearted attempts to introduce it in KL, but nothing worth getting excited about.

Lucky Seventeen, in S17, PJ, had a queue outside it, which piqued my interest. It’s a half-lot, serving Singapore style hokkien mee, in this bastion of Malaysian hawker food – the S17 hawker stalls are just across the lane, and there are a couple of noteworthy eating out places nearby. The sheer gall of these Singaporeans!


Opened by a Singapore businessman, the inside of the shop is simple, bright and clean. I was the first customer at 6pm, and here’s a quick lesson: regulars who message for takeaways before the shop opens get served first.

So, amidst the clatter and banging of pots in the kitchen, I waited about 30 minutes between ordering and having a plate of noodles on the table, by which time I had almost started to chew the table-top edge.  While scarfing down my food, I observed that tables which ordered after the takeaways had been satisfied, were served in 5-10 minutes.


The menu’s uncomplicated, with only two items, besides drinks – Signature Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee and Boneless Kampung Chicken. OK, don’t ask me about the combination.

For the noodles, there are 5 options, varying from Rm9.90 to Rm19.90. The difference is what goes into the noodles, Pork Belly being the only constant, with the addition of sotong, lala, prawns, big prawns causing the price to fluctuate.

Kampung Chicken starts at Rm6 for a 1-person serving to a whopping Rm68 for the whole chicken.


When it (finally) arrived, the Sotong-Prawns-Lala-Pork Belly combo (Rm12.90) made for a sizeable portion, decorated with said ingredients with dark red sambal, a cut calamansi and some nuggets of crispy pork lard.  Singapore hawker stalls serve a more spartan version, so this was a premium edition with the extra ingredients, but it was steaming hot, and looked like the real thing south of the border.

I must say, this is the best Singapore fried hokkien noodles I remember having.  The main difference from lesser versions is the sauce – thick, flavourful and rich, unlike the thinner, weaker versions you normally encounter.

Combine this with soft, fresh noodles and plentiful ingredients, and we have a winner!

You can also add-on extra ingredients, for a price. 


The Kampung Chicken is no second-rate act either: it’s smooth and substantial, served with a garlic-chilli sauce that’s thick and stands on its own merits. This kampung chicken would easily pass muster, although it makes an odd complement to the Fried Hokkien noodles.

Definitely worth a second visit, the noodles and Kampung chicken have a premium taste and feel to them, a richness that’s testimony to the quality of ingredients and the cooking. Couple that with the clean, bright surroundings and the reasonable price for what you get, and you begin to understand why there are queues outside.

 

Lucky Seventeen Café,

1077, Ground Floor (Unit B),

Jalan 17/27, 46400 Petaling Jaya

Lucky17cafe@gmail.com

Tel:011-11590711

Business Hours: 10am-2.30pm, 6pm-9pm, open daily, closed on Mondays

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