In this PJ coffeeshop, a New riff on traditional 'lum mee' and 'mee Jawa'

PETALING JAYA, June 23 — When it comes to midday meals, sometimes less is better to beat the post-lunch food coma. You don't want to be falling asleep in front of your computer and invoke the wrath of an angry boss.

At this 11-year-old stall located in a busy Damansara Uptown coffeeshop which is run by Paul New Poh Kim, 54, you will find mee Jawa and lum mee.

His lunch offerings are especially popular with office ladies looking for a light, tasty meal. Customers like Wong will pop over at least once a week to get their mee Jawa fix.

It's all in the family (left to right), Paul New Poh Kim and his youngest daughter Phoebe New together with his sister, New Bee Eng.

Originally from Teluk Intan, New moved to Kuala Lumpur when he was 11 years old. His mother ran a stall serving economy rice at the Selayang market. 

Most of his earlier years was spent helping his mother as she brought up her 10 children. New only started cooking when he was 21 years old.

As his wife and two daughters are vegetarians, he also caters to meatless eaters. You will also find that the food served at his stall does not use any pork.

The mee Jawa here is his riff on the original. The broth isn't as thick as pumpkin and potatoes is used to make it.

Paul New Poh Kim brews the thick broth using pumpkin, potatoes and his own-made chilli paste.

What it nails is the balance of sour-sweet. This gives it an appetising taste. Spicing it up is New's own-made chilli paste.

Don't worry, even if you're a chilli coward you can slurp it down comfortably. If you prefer a more fiery taste, just add the chilli sauce served on the side.

Various toppings like flour fritters, fishcake slices and fried beancurd are added to the noodles.

Topping the noodles are flour fritters made with small prawns and chopped onions. There is also fried beancurd, fishcake slices and a half portion of hard boiled egg.

You also have crispy fried wantans with an unusual yam bean (sar kot) filling. If you're vegetarian, just omit the flour fritters.

The fried 'wantans' served at the stall are vegetarian as they are stuffed with yam bean.


The stall also offers a KL style 'lum mee' topped with refreshing Chinese lettuce leaves.

These noodles was inspired by New's childhood back in Teluk Intan. He recalls buying the noodles from the hawkers in town.

The stall also serves lum mee. In the early days, he introduced the thicker Penang version. What he noticed was a lack of enthusiasm from his customers for the dish.

The 'lum mee' is served with chicken mince, fried 'wantans', hard boiled egg, fried 'fuchuk' and fishcake slices.

So he tweaked it to mimic the version popular in KL with a less viscous sauce. For the base of slightly thick broth, New boils chicken bones and ikan bilis.

Topping the noodles are deep fried fuchok, a savoury chicken mince and a half portion of hard boiled egg  There's a nice fresh element too: Crunchy sang choy or Chinese lettuce that top it like fritters.

New prepares the fried flour fritters himself with prawns and onions.


A fiery green chilli sauce with a tangy kick is served with the 'lum mee' while the red chilli sauce amps up the heat of your 'mee Jawa'.

Pair the noodles with the explosive green chilli sauce. It's similar to the tangy, spicy ones served with pan mee that will leave your tongue tingling.

If you prefer, you can also ask for a dash of black vinegar with your lum mee. 

In the morning from 6am onwards, the enterprising man also offers a selection of fried noodles for breakfast.

This corner coffeeshop is located at the busy Damansara Uptown area near Standard Chartered Bank.

Select from items like economy beehoon, tomyam beehoon and fried loh shue fan or rice noodles shaped like mouse tails. He also offers an unusual fried pan mee.

Jawa mee and lum mee stall, Restoran One One One Bee Fatt, 26, Jalan SS21/39, Damansara Utama (Uptown), Petaling Jaya. Open from 11am to 2.30pm (Monday to Friday).