This time around, I found it to be over-generous with the curry powder and very strong in the fragrances and taste of the Indian spices used, both in the rice and in the curry. Unlike before, it was super spicy but of course, we did not have a problem with that.
Yes, I could taste the original flavour of the Maggi kari and its spiciness but no, sad to say, I was not overwhelmed unlike those people who seem to love this so much and keep praising it to the skies. I loved the green vegetables in my order and other than those, there were bits of minced meat and char siew, cut into thin strips and egg. All in all, I would say it was good enough to want to have it again but given a choice, I would much sooner go for something else.
The instant the plate of noodles (RM4.00)…was served, I was swept away by the very strong and most delightful wok hei fragrance. Gee, this is going to be good, I thought! Unfortunately, my excitement was short-lived. This was cooked by frying the noodles in the intense heat of the wok and after that, the sauce/gravy was cooked and poured all over the noodles. Personally, I prefer the moon (braised) method and when they cook the mee this way, I like the sauce dark, not pale like this. Other than that, the mee was a bit on the firm/hard side, not soft enough for me
The noodles (RM7.00)…came soon enough and yes, it was not too bad. Their own handmade noodles could have been less firmer – I thought it was a little on the hard side and personally, I wouldn’t mind if they had used our local alkaline-free not-so-yellow noodles instead. They were very generous with the beef and yes, it was tender enough – I did not have a problem with it.
The steamed chicken…was great and the orange-coloured one was very good too. I liked how the guy would debone the chicken drumstick and slice the meat into bite-sizes and serve it on top of the bone.
I could detect the very strong fragrance and taste of lard in the noodles but I wished they had cooked it a bit longer – it was hard, not soft enough for my liking and my first impression was that the rising prices of shallots and spring onions have taken their toll on the barely noticeable garnishing and no, there was no complimentary soup that came with the bowl of noodles, nice or otherwise.
Yes, I would say that I did enjoy it but no, it was nothing like any kolo mee that I had had before in Kuching or anywhere else. Like what the guy in the video clip said, it was suan suan tian tian (sour sour sweet sweet). I might have eaten kolo mee that was sweet because of the red char siew sauce added but it would not be sour unless I poured in the vinegar in the pickled chili. I loved the fried pian sip (dumplings) and there was REAL char siew and of course, I enjoyed the innards in the special.
I tried the kampua mee (RM3.00)…regular, but much to my disappointment, it was rather bland, quite tasteless and I would say the same thing about the complimentary soup too. Perhaps I should have ordered the black, the one tossed in dark soy sauce – everyone else seemed to be having that, that or tossed in chili sauce. Nobody else had it plain, like me.
The minced meat porridge was all right – there are others elsewhere a whole lot nicer, like this one, for instance and I am no fan of those supermarket factory-produced fried shallots…plus I was thinking that a sprinkling of a little bit of chopped spring onion would give it a bit of colour and make it look more presentable.
I thought the kampua mee (RM3.00)…was a bit on the dry side