KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — The Yulek Morning Market wakes up long before most of the neighbourhood. By the time we arrive, the pasar pagi is already busy. Hawkers call out their prices over the hum of traffic nearby. 

Fresh fruits and vegetables gleaming with droplets of water, rows of fish laid out on beds of ice. Elderly aunties pulling wheeled trolleys, elbowing you if you get in the way. It is noisy, crowded and chaotic.

A perfect morning in Yulek, Cheras, in other words.

We are amateurs, to be honest. After barely half an hour of weaving through stalls, our bellies begin to grumble. Time for breakfast.

We walk a short distance to Lorong Lobak where one of our old haunts, Restoran Yankee Noodles House, is located. Their faded signboard is a promise of a proper, hearty breakfast.

Yankee is best known for two things: minced pork noodles and beef balls. Both are automatic orders for us. The noodles arrive first, springy yellow strands tossed in dark soy sauce and lard oil, topped with a generous mound of minced pork. 

The beef balls come in clear broth, bouncy and firm, with a clean beef flavour that suggests proper meat rather than filler. Neither the noodles nor the meatballs are fancy, quite frankly, just classics that continue to be well executed after so many decades.

Around us, almost everyone looks like a regular. Plates and bowls keep appearing, then whisked away once the customers get up to pay.

Portions are famously generous here, so much so that we remind ourselves — yet again — to cautiously order a “small” bowl of noodles. Experience has taught us that Yankee’s “small” is already large enough for most people.

Alongside the noodles, we ordered a Combo Pork Bowl. It is exactly what it sounds like: a veritable cornucopia of pork-based favourites in one bowl. There are sui kow dumplings, slices of pork, pork meatballs and wantans, all sharing the same light broth.

On colder days, we sometimes go for their braised beef with white radish, slow-cooked until both meat and vegetable turn soft and mild. Today, however, something else catches our attention.

There is a weekends-only special: Coconut Beef Curry. Somehow, despite our many visits, we have never tried it. (Did we only come on weekdays before?)

The curry turns out to be the highlight of the meal. This is a home-style dish rather than a restaurant showpiece. The santan is rich and creamy; the beef is fork-tender, cooked until it yields easily. Cubed potatoes sit quietly in the gravy, soft and comforting. 

This is the kind of curry that makes us clamour for a big bowl of steamed white rice. Instead, for we recall exactly where we are, we are satisfied with our bowls of minced pork noodles.

Hardly a consolation, since those noodles are the main reason people return again and again. Still, the beef curry is enough of a standout that we give thanks for deciding to drop by after our pasar run, and make plans to return on future weekends rather than weekdays.

By the time we finish, our bellies are bursting. The portions, seriously, are larger than what the menu photos suggest — a rare case where reality exceeds advertising.

Which means it is time for coffee. (And maybe some cake; there is a separate stomach for desserts, no?)

From Yankee, it is a five-minute walk to Ebony & Ivory Coffee, another must-visit for us in Yulek. Today, Nate at the counter recommends their Chinese New Year special: Nian Gao Butter Cake.

Nian gao, or “New Year cake”, is a festive staple made from glutinous rice flour and sugar. Sticky and chewy, it is traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year to symbolise prosperity.

The good folks at Ebony & Ivory had the brilliant idea of layering this into butter cake. The result is a soft, buttery sponge with nuggets of chewy, mochi-like nian gao running through it.

Gently sweet, the texture shifts pleasantly between light cake and dense chew. It feels familiar yet slightly unexpected, which makes this seasonal treat a low-key sensation.

For contrast, we also ordered a slice of their popular Banoffee Pie. The base is firm and crumbly, topped with sliced bananas, smooth toffee caramel and enveloped by a thick layer of cream. A light dusting of cocoa powder adds a lovely hint of bitterness.

Both desserts pair well with the café’s coffee: we had their batch brew for black coffee, clean and easy to finish, and a Costa Rica for white coffee, slightly brighter and more aromatic with milk. 

Sitting there, nursing our cups and watching people come and go, it is hard not to think about how Yulek has changed. Old noodle shops like Yankee still thrive alongside newer cafés like Ebony & Ivory. Renovated shopfronts sit next to decades-old businesses.

It is tempting to see this as old versus new, tradition versus modernity. In reality, they exist side by side, often serving the same customers — such as us — on the same morning. And that is a beautiful thing, surely?

Restoran Yankee Noodles House 营记大埔面馆

113 & 114, Block P/B, 

Lorong Lobak, 

Taman Cheras, KL.

Open daily (except Mon closed) 8am-4pm

Phone: 011-3318 2706

Ebony & Ivory Coffee

4A, Block P/E, Taman Cheras, KL

Open daily 10am-6pm

Phone: 013-616 1286

IG: https://www.instagram.com/ebonyivory_coffee/

*This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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