Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Beef Noodles @ Kedai Kopi Lai Foong - KL, Malaysia

If you were to ask me where you can find the best beef noodles in KL, I would have to tell you that, in my opinion, nothing beats the beef noodles in Lai Foong. I know quite a few people who thinks that the Ngau Kee beef noodles in Tingkat Tong Shin is the best ever, but I beg to differ. Sure, it's good. In fact, better than good. We would usually head out there in the wee hours of the morning, right after a night of clubbing and partying. A big bowl of beef noodles usually hits the spot! However, I still firmly believe that the beef noodles in Lai Foong is way better than the Ngau Kee beef noodles. Yup, Lai Foong wins hands down! :D

Kedai Kopi Lai Foong (Lai Foong Coffee Shop) is located at the corner of Jalan Tun H.S. Lee and Jalan Tan Cheng Lock, right smack in the heart of the city. Amidst all the smog, dust from the busy main roads and loud constant honking from the crazy KL traffic is where you will find this little piece of heaven. We would make it a point to head down to the city every time we are back home in KL, just for the beef noodles. Something like my very own beef noodles pilgrimage :P As you can imagine, parking can be a problem. So, there are two ways to go about it. One is to take the LRT (Putra Line) and get off at the Pasar Seni (Central Market) station. Just cross the road and walk up a few blocks and you are there. The other option is to drive to Central Market and park at the Central Market parking lot. Option two is a little bit more expensive, cos parking in the city doesn't come cheap. However, it's more convenient. What we would usually do is, drive to Central Market, walk around for a bit (while picking up a whole lot of souvenirs for the folks back in the States), walk over to Lai Foong for a late lunch and continue down the street to Chinatown/Petaling St after lunch. Yup, that's our usual "Beef Noodle Pilgrimage". LOL!
Kedai Kopi Lai Foong is a pretty cool coffee shop. Walking into that coffee shop is like taking a step back in time. With it's dated tile floors and wall to the marble table tops and wooden chairs, it's definitely from a whole different era. I was told that this historic coffee shop is almost 60 years old. Wow, it's even older than Malaysia! Even though it's really old, it's still bustling with activity. It gets really packed during lunch hour, so the best time to go would be just before lunch or after the lunch crowd. As you can see from the clock on the wall, we went around 2:20pm and managed to get a table without having to fight for one.
Ahhhh, this is the famous beef noodle stall. The guy with the hat and red apron is Thomas, the beef noodle man himself! His dad started the beef noodle stall in Lai Foong back in 1956 and he took over after his dad retired. After all this years, the beef noodles still remains as good as it was back then. The stock is still made with the same 80 year old Hainanese family recipe that was passed to his father from his grandfather. No wonder those beef noodles are so mmm mmm goood!!!
Here is it! The famous beef noodles from Lai Foong. Mannnn, what I would do for a bowl of that now! Tender slices of beef and tendon, yummy beef balls, chopped salted mustard greens, cilantro and noodles in a hearty flavorful stock. Soooooooooo goood! It also comes with a side of home made chili sauce. What I would do is just pour the whole dish of chili sauce into that big bowl of noodles. It definitely kicks it up a notch. The price starts at RM5 (approx US$1.50) for a medium size bowl and it goes up til RM8 (approx US$2.50) for an extra large with a whole lot of extra toppings. It's so good, it's worth every cent! Maybe even more :P So, the next time you are in KL, go check out the beef noodle stall in Lai Foong. Trust me, it's the best beef noodles in KL, hands down!


Kedai Kopi Lai Foong - KL, Malaysia
138 Jalan Tun HS Lee,
50150 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel: (603)2072 8123

2 comments:

Dawn said...

OMG Charlene, I caught myself swallowing saliva reading and looking at the beef noodles picture. Beef noodles is my all time favorite too and of course, I have to favor my late dad's "ngau lam", his was the Hakka style. :)

Like you, I always dump the small dish of chilie suace into the my bowl of noodles, too. Actually I do that for all noodles except curry noodles! :D

Charlene n Kevin said...

Oh I really love beef noodles too. Too bad I can't really find any good ones here in NYC, will just have to make do with the Vietnamese Pho. :(