Flat Noodles in Kuala Lumpur

Shelly and I are taking a break from Bali, not out of stress of course ---just for a change of scenery while the architecture team keeps banging away at what we are calling a premium homestay design.

In the meantime, while traveling, it’s a mini-adventure to find other foods to enjoy (and take in the sights.)

Living in Asia means incorporating rice and noodles into your diet in a big way. So besides all of the ways that rice can be prepared, it is a fun hobby to track noodle dishes---especially flat noodles.

The name for flat noodles is kway teow or kwey teow. It is originally a Chinese dish but it is a favorite in Malaysia (as well as Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia):

It is made from flat rice noodles (Chinese: 河粉; pinyin: hé fěn; Cantonese Yale: hó fán) or kway teow(Chinese: 粿條; pinyin: guǒ tiáo; Cantonese Yale: gwó tìu) of approximately 1 cm or (in the north of Malaysia) about 0.5 cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantity of belachan, whole prawns, deshelled blood cockles, bean sprouts and chopped Chinese chives. The dish is commonly stir-fried with egg, slices of Chinese sausage, fishcake, beansprouts, and less commonly with other ingredients.Char kway teow is traditionally stir-fried in pork fat, with crisp croutons of pork lard. In Penang, Char kway teow is commonly served on a piece of banana leaf on a plate, so as to enhance the aroma on the noodles.

Just like the varieties of hummus recipes in Middle Eastern countries, kway teow has a myriad of subtle tweaks depending on your location, your family tradition etc.

This lovely couple has a gerai (Malaysian for small restaurant) where they make delicious kwey teow:

Shelly and I became fast friends when we learned they are originally from Indonesia!

Like anywhere you travel, connecting with people enriches the experience. It was a real highlight to meet this young couple and thoroughly enjoy their flat noodles!