Grab a bowl of beef tripe noodles or creamy curry mee at this roadside stall at the corner of Jalan Empat, Chan Sow Lin

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 25 — At one glance, you'd probably dismiss this roadside stall as an ordinary one.

There's no signboard, so one can assume, it's probably selling food to feed the workers in the nearby factories around Jalan Chan Sow Lin.

In actual fact, this stall has a history of about 60 years. It's now operated by the third generation.

What the family has perfected is their beef tripe noodles. They also offer curry mee.

Once you taste the variations, you realise it caters to different palates.

Their beef tripe noodles are served dry or with soup.

All of their noodles are topped with minced meat. The tripe is optional, in case diners aren't fans.

The soup version has a lighter broth with your choice of noodles, minced meat and beef tripe

The minced meat isn't doused with dark soy sauce until it yields a sweet flavour. Moreover, the meat is just cooked until it retains its texture.

The tripe is simmered in a broth with herbs and spices that infuses it with flavour. It's cut in chunky slices, where each piece is tender.

Go for the dry noodles, if you like a meal with full-on flavour. There's all sorts of noodles but my preference is the wantan mee for its springy bite.

The minced meat uses less dark soy sauce hence it's not too sweet

On top, there's minced meat and tripe. Toss the noodles in the dark sauce. Each strand of the egg noodles will be coated with that sauce with sweet tones and hints of the herbs and spices, thanks to the braising liquid from the tripe.

Here, you don't get a beef broth served on the side. Instead it's just a clear broth.

You can add on a bowl of beef tripe and add the mildly spicy 'sambal'

I expected the soup version to be similar to the dry version. Well, I got that wrong.

The broth with the noodles had a light bovine taste, without any of those punchy flavours from the dry version.

Then there is the curry noodles. This one is creamy decadence, rather than a heat busting version, which is a good thing since the place is open air.

The curry noodles is mildly spicy and creamy served with cockles, beancurd puff and minced meat

Each spoonful of that rich orange broth had a distinct curry powder smell. In terms of spiciness, it's more mild, since you get a creamier taste with each spoonful. Even the sambal on the side doesn't have much kick to it.

Enjoy it with the cockles, beancurd puff and beancurd slices. I had severe envy for the bowl of curry mee, ordered by the person who shared my table. He had added on more plump cockles, making it a decadent bowl with pig's skin.

I spied fried wantans too at the counter so add it to get a contrast of textures, where crunch meets creamy in a face-off.

Add on fried 'wantans' to your curry noodles for some crunch

For the beef noodle, it's RM8.50 for a small portion, while a large portion is RM10.50. The curry noodles range from RM7.50 to RM9.50.

Even though the space is quite large, tables are placed far apart as though social distancing is back. Try to grab a table under the canopy as it can get hot.

The shack sits on a large space with tables and chairs placed far apart

Look for the no signboard place at the side of Jalan Empat, near Chan Sow Lin

This is a place where you eat and go, which isn't a bad thing since the turnover for tables is fast, allowing them to cater to the breakfast and lunch crowd.

The stall will be taking a break from December 29 to January 7, 2024. Business resumes back on January 8 next year.

牛肚面&春姐茶档, Roadside stall at Jalan Empat, Chan Sow Lin, Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur. Open: 6am to 1.30pm. Closed on Sunday. Tel:019-6557137. Facebook @beefnoodle

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

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