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Famous Hakka Mee @ Pudu (Chun Kee Da Pu Noodles)

August 3, 2011 | 19,812 views
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Chun Kee Hakka Mee @ Jalan Pudu

Chun Kee Hakka Mee (Da Pu Noodles) – For more than 80 years in business, and still situated at the same ‘shack’ off Jalan Pudu. You can almost breathe in an air of nostalgia when you’re eating here.

“Another post on Hakka food and I swear I will scream.”

Then scream. Last in the series, and gawd knows how long I have been anticipating for this Hakka mee experience.

Da Pu (also known as Dabu) is a village in Guangdong; a centre of Hakka culture in China. Thus, essentially this bowl of noodles can still be named as Hakka Mee, or Da Bu Mien (as emblazoned across the yellow-coloured signboard adorning the wall above the stall).

But instead of serving their noodles with the usual fish balls, pork balls or stuffed beancurd, Chun Kee chooses to serve theirs with pork dumplings (wanton) instead. Read on to find out why some have generously heaped praises towards this humble outlet in Pudu, and how tenacious of them to withstand more than eight decades of hardships …..

The Boss in Action

Is he from the second or third generation? I do not know. But clearly, he’s the boss running the place, and Chun Kee is being run by the fourth generation now.

If you’re one with an adamant stand on NOT eating at non-air conditioned outlets that might make you sweat buckets, your elbow knocking into one a stranger’s seated next to you, or breathing in fumes from passing vehicles a few metres from you …. then this should be the end of story. Thank you.

Old School Cutlery

Can you say old school? The prawn and the cock motives represent the most traditional of cutlery designs in Chinese eateries.

But if you don’t mind sacrificing the comfort and pampering indulgences of dining in style and elegance, then please make your way here. At least once.

Minced Meat Gravy and Char Siew

Deliciously moist and savoury minced pork gravy on top of a heap of noodles coated in a lardy sauce, and slices of lean ‘char siew’ (barbecued pork) to provide a toothsome bite.

To me, my first experience with Hakka mee was way back in the 90’s. When I first tasted the one served in Ipoh Garden East; and they still do. If you’re a resident around Taman Perak, then you would have known which shop I am referring to.

What constitutes a good bowl of Hakka mee? For me the following requirements should suffice:

a) Noodles with a springy (QQ) texture, preferably devoid of alkaline taste from excessive use of lye water, and freshly made.

b) Good side dishes; or accompaniments. Eg: yong tau foo (Stuffed beancurd), fish balls, meat balls, beancurd sheets, or even dumplings/wanton in soup.

c) Condiments play a mighty important role too, usually garlic chili sauce would be served … but sometimes pickled green chillies can be an option.

d) Most important of all, the minced meat gravy smothering the swirls of noodles beneath. The more the better, and in a most sinfully lardy manner.

Ingredients for Hakka Mee

Steel pots of minced meat gravy, but ignore the layer of oil if you would. Just don’t ignore their significance in transforming a passable bowl of Hakka mee into a magnificent one. The pickled green chillies would be strange for the usual Hakka mee, but at Chun Kee, the noodles resemble more like the one used for wanton mee instead.

Pork Wanton

Wanton (pork dumplings) in a flavourful clear broth, redolent with the aroma of dried flounder powder and pork bones. Some patrons seated on the same table (yeah, no strangers when you’re dining in such close proximity!) ordered an additional serving of wanton.

Self Made Noodles

You can witness how they make their noodles if you’re in luck. The manufacturing ‘facility’ is directly adjacent to the stall; and on good days you can see how the noodle-maker rides on the bamboo pole to flatten the dough. Life’s a circus, really.

At Chun Kee, you don’t get the usual flat noodles in a shade of pale beige hues. Instead, the noodles reminded me of the egg noodles commonly used for wanton mee, and rightly so because they intended for the noodles to be as such. The production process brought back memories of Nippy Noodles in Kuchai Lama, where the maker rides on a bamboo pole meant to flatten and provide the noodles with a bouncy bite.

The noodles come in three portion sizes: Small for RM4.20/USD1.40, Medium for RM4.60/USD1.50 and Large for RM5.00/USD1.70.

The draw of this eight decades plus brand? The lard oil-coated fresh egg noodles and the minced meat gravy atop the noodles. If you’re in favour of rice noodles, then take the ‘lou shu fun’ (rat’s tail noodles, or silver needle noodles) option. The rice noodles are made in-house as well.

Da Pu Mien @ Jalan Sayor, Pudu

Life in the Fast Lane; You come, you wait, you sit, you eat and you leave. Don’t spend leisure time talking or people watching. Because you might just get cursed by hungry patrons waiting for a seat.

So far, this has to be my favourite Hakka mee stall in all of Klang Valley. Mainly because it IS good, and secondly, I have not tried many other options yet. If you know of other equally as good, or better Hakka mee in KL, then please drop me your recommendation(s) here.

CHUN KEE DA PU MIEN (Hakka Mee) (non-Halal)
446, Jalan Sayur,
Off Jalan Pudu,
55100 Pudu,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Google Map to Chun Kee Hakka Mee
GPS Coordinates : 3.13501,101.712987

Opens from 6am onwards, until 2.30pm. But read from some reviews that they close at a much later hour now … 9pm? Closed on Mondays and 1st and 15th of the month in Lunar calendar.
* Go along Jalan Pudu from the side of Berjaya Times Square and the former Pudu prison. You will pass by a traffic lights that will lead you to Jalan Brunei on the LEFT. Go straight and you will pass by Sek Yuen Restaurant on your RIGHT. Slow down and once you see some shabby stalls on your left, that’s Jalan Sayur. Park anywhere behind the row of shops and walk over.

Here are some good articles on this particular noodle stall – EatingAsia, masak-masak, Axian’s blog, Smashpop, Peter Tan

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Categories
Kuala Lumpur/Selangor Food, Pudu Food
Tags
Chinese Food, Glutton Street, Hakka Mee, Jalan Sayor, Kuala Lumpur/Selangor Food, Pudu, Street Food, Wai Sek Kai
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27 Responses to “Famous Hakka Mee @ Pudu (Chun Kee Da Pu Noodles)”

  1. jahomebaked says:
    August 3, 2011 at 5:42 pm

    Yeap, agreed that this is one of the best Hakka mee in KV! Might be better than Ipoh too. I love the authenticity of the taste and the minced meat gravy is really nice too. So far, I have yet to find another Hakka mee in KV that is better than this.

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    August 3rd, 2011 at 11:18 pm

    Thanks jahomebaked. Now my hunt can officially be called off. Haha ….
    I do agree that Ipoh has quite a few good ones, yet none that stand out.
    Yin Yau Kui’s (now Paris restaurant) has good noodles and minced meat, yet the fish balls and such were horrendous.

    [Reply]

  2. ai wei says:
    August 3, 2011 at 10:53 pm

    their lou shu fun is a must!!! hand made and selling fast

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    August 3rd, 2011 at 11:17 pm

    Yeahloh … that’s what I saw also. But ended up trying the egg noodles only.

    [Reply]

    HSH Reply:
    July 1st, 2012 at 10:17 am

    Tried both the mee and lou shu fan this week – I prefer the mee as it soaks up the flavour better. The lou sou fan was a little mushy – didn’t like it as much as the springy mee.

    [Reply]

  3. Pureglutton says:
    August 4, 2011 at 9:25 am

    Come, let’s go again one of these weekends! 😉

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    August 4th, 2011 at 8:57 pm

    Okay …. but we can always do another street food run …. the many many on my to-try list in KL.

    [Reply]

  4. William says:
    August 4, 2011 at 11:03 am

    I used to eat here at least once a week when I was working at the now defunct OUB further up the street. I do agree that the Hakka mee here kicks all kinds of behind, even beating the one at Famous Seremban Favourites. 😀

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    August 4th, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    Most definitely. Seremban Favourites is good for their char siew more than the hakka mee, in my opinion.

    [Reply]

  5. jason says:
    August 4, 2011 at 1:31 pm

    OMG OMG OMG OMG

    When are we going???

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    August 4th, 2011 at 9:00 pm

    Asked you earlier you don’t want …… hmm …. now wait until I itchy to try their lou shu fun then we go.

    [Reply]

    jason Reply:
    August 10th, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    Aiyer, I go myself next Wedneday then…. but scared it’ll be jam as KL no public holiday…

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    August 10th, 2011 at 10:08 pm

    Oh … you mean the public holiday ah? Okay okay … drag me along and I will try the lou shu fun maybe.

  6. Julian Si says:
    August 4, 2011 at 9:41 pm

    Glorious photo, and I am drooooooling all the way here in Abu Dhabi.

    Gonna repost this on my FB 🙂

    [Reply]

  7. Bangsar-bAbE says:
    August 7, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    Thanks for this tip! Will definitely check this place out when I’m within the vicinity. 🙂

    [Reply]

  8. Chan Meng Kee Wantan Noodle @ SS2, Petaling Jaya | Motormouth From Ipoh - Malaysian Food & Travel Blog says:
    August 16, 2011 at 10:22 pm

    […] noodle story. One that deserves a mention, nevertheless. Not quite in the league of the legendary Da Pu noodles of Pudu yet, but the 6-7 years in business should be honoured with a pat on the […]

  9. Ching Yen Choon says:
    August 20, 2011 at 12:50 pm

    Hi, your Google Map has no marker. I have input this entry into SaversHub.com database:
    http://www.savershub.com/my/en/restaurant.php?input1=Chun+Kee+Da+Pu+Mien&input3=KL&input4=all&lang=en

    [Reply]

  10. Street Food @ Pudu Wai Sek Kai, Jalan Sayur, Pudu, Kuala Lumpur | Motormouth From Ipoh - Malaysian Food & Travel Blog says:
    December 1, 2011 at 10:58 pm

    […] tooth and nail with the neighbours) in the afternoon; when we went for this Hakka mee stall named Chun Kee Da Pu Mee situated right at the start of this lane off Jalan […]

  11. Ricky says:
    August 25, 2012 at 12:12 am

    surprisingly, i saw few blogs on this stall but never seen anyone post any picture of its delicious loh see fun…

    [Reply]

  12. Ben says:
    November 10, 2012 at 1:30 am

    There was another Hakka Mee namely Chong Ko Hakka Noodle at Pandan Indah.
    I recommend their “coarse mee” and lou shh fan

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    November 15th, 2012 at 1:40 pm

    Yup, I have eaten there before. Kind of pale looking noodles, right?
    Didn’t write about it though, almost 4 years since the last visit.

    [Reply]

  13. James Lee says:
    November 22, 2012 at 2:06 pm

    Have you all try Hakka Mee in Seremban. Opposite the old post office and yellow bus station. The Name is Tow Kee and one more stall on the 1st storey of the Central Market.

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    November 29th, 2012 at 11:38 pm

    Hi James! The first visit I missed the Hakka mee because the shop was closed. Then when we were at the market – http://www.j2kfm.com/seremban-street-food-hunt/
    we ended up with beef noodles and mee hoon sotong instead.
    Next round perhaps.

    [Reply]

  14. KY says:
    April 17, 2013 at 2:08 pm

    need to start going to jalan sayur for breakfast 😀

    [Reply]

    J2Kfm Reply:
    May 4th, 2013 at 1:05 pm

    Yeah, instead of just supper right? Haha … the place comes to live at night though.

    [Reply]

  15. Hakka man says:
    January 13, 2014 at 8:21 pm

    Hakka mees are the best because the HAKKAS cook their food with original stuff. They cook dog meat very tastefully. Used to have some stalls in punching. Anyone can tell me where to get some nice HAKKAS dog meat?

    [Reply]

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