If any foodie friend of mine from other places comes
to Mantin to pay me a visit, and asks me to take him to try something that is
peculiar to Mantin, I will certainly feed him with La Zha noodles.
La Zha is the nick name given by the people. It means
‘dirty’. Why? Because the outlet does not look clean at all, and the location,
being very close to the wet market and garbage bins, seems highly unhygienic.
But the business is so good that during the weekends
there is always a long queue, both for taking-away and waiting for empty tables.
It is not uncommon to wait for 45 minutes before one can be served.
Of course the original name is not La Zha. We used to
call it Zha Yan Foon. But it has become infamous with this nickname and few
people know the name of the stall-Hee Kee.
What so great about this noodle? The noodles are just
ordinary noodles from the factory. The toppings are pieces of the fried
meat-ball, and a thick starchy gravy containing pork skin, pork blood cubes, and
thin slices of fried pork, which has been stewed for hours. There is zero
vegetables. In fact, some people, especially those having it for the first
time, discard the blood cubes and pork skins.
But for the many people who have grown up in Mantin,
this is their comfort food. They feel nostalgic about this noodle. By having
this noodle their mind wander back to the past, and to their childhood days, be
it sweet or bitter. Hence during the weekends, many outstation folks who come
back to visit their parents also visit this stall to relive the memories.
The noodles can be kon-lau (dry), zhu-sui (soup), or
laksa.But many people complain that the laksa one is not like before, lacking a
certain ingredient or effort.
How to describe the taste of this food? Well, it’s
tasty and unique. There is no similar food elsewhere, not even close to it.
This is a Hakka food and a Mantin food which
represents the ethnicity and history of this little township. The people
manning the stall are the third generation. The price has gone up from 30 cents
to RM 3.50 over the years. But we pray that it will not be like some other
Mantin food, have become lost in history.
RM 3.50 is worth trying. Yes I will discard the blood cubes. Peculiar taste for me.
ReplyDeleteMany people do that
ReplyDeleteIt's RM4.30 now, and the taste is getting plainer. As you said, lack of effort and ingredients.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, I thought no one is reading my blog.
DeleteHi Mr Choo, i am salivating just looking at the pictures. Where is this dirty noodle place located? I am from Ipoh.
ReplyDeleteIt's located at Mantin, which is a small town 16 km away from Seremban towards Kajang direction along the old road. It lies between the market and Caltex.
ReplyDelete