KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — Perhaps the best way to find new spots for food is simply strolling around the back lanes of an old neighbourhood and pay attention to where the local residents have their breakfast.
For more often than not, the places that open the earliest cater mainly to folks who live in the area, the ones who wake not long after dawn (and in many instances, even before that).
From char kway teow to bak kut teh, everything is on the table. There is no dish too unusual for the first meal of the day.
Which is why, though far from our usual custom, this weekend we are starting the day right with seafood noodles for breakfast.
Specifically we are at Yean Seafood Noodles Cuisine in Taman Cheras (more commonly known as Yulek).
An intermediate shoplot on the ground floor of an old block of flats, this is the sort of place a casual visitor might miss; an oversight gatekeeping locals might prefer to keep that way.
It’s certainly striking after a fashion, with its brilliant green signage and awning. That, admittedly, was what first caught our attention; only later, after perusing the posters on the glass windows, did we ascertain their main menu offerings.
But first things first.
No breakfast is complete without — or, in our case, never starts before — some serious caffeine intake. A cup of kopi hits the spot as expected, strong and bitter.
Less typical is the choice of hokasai but given the hot weather, something iced and rich and sweeter than I’d normally go for works magnificently to simultaneously cool me down and perk me up.
They say fight fire with fire, so maybe that’s why, despite the rising temperatures, we both order soup noodles rather than the arguably easier to eat dry, sauced versions.
I choose something simple, almost minimalist: Yean Seafood’s classic fish paste noodles. Clear broth, hot enough to fog my glasses.
The noodles are soft rather than chewy but this is how I like it when I want a comforting meal. The pale morsels of fish paste are coarsely shaped by hand, with that slightly springy texture that tells us no machinery was involved.
A scattering of spring onion, a whisper of white pepper, and that’s basically it. Nothing more is necessary.
I like the way the fish paste absorbs the warmth of the broth. As I bite through the tender noodles, I encounter that gentle resistance, that hand-worked bounciness of the fish paste, followed by its mild, almost milky flavour.
For something tangier, try their tomato noodles. Guaranteed to wake one up from any residual traipsing in Dreamland.
Which is not to say that the acidity is off the charts. Far from it. I find the flavours bright rather than tart. Every slurp of the noodles and soup just opens our eyes wider and wider... in a good way.
Our tomato noodles come with a side of fried sung fish slices. Also known as Asian carp or ikan tongsan in Malay, this meaty fish is perfect for deep-frying (which also masks any earthy flavours) and dunked into a milky broth.
Protein chasing gym bros will relish much flesh they get with every bite. Me, I just love deep-fried meat — I mean, who doesn’t?
We eat our noodles in near silence, barely exchanging words. Leaning over our bowls, we relish the last mouthfuls of the sweet broths, one clear and one creamy.
There is nothing grand about this meal, no. But that is rather the point.
Yean Seafood Noodles Cuisine 靓靓海鲜面馆
Open daily (except Tue closed) 7:30am-4pm
Phone: 012-288 9103
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* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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