KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 – Well-cooked traditional Hakka food, especially those made from family recipes, is hard to come by nowadays.

At Restoran Hakkayin, you may mistake it as just another place serving Hakka noodles. What makes it stand out are its home cooked flavours and the use of handmade noodles.

Opened since February, the restaurant is owned by Desmond Chin. Behind him, you have his family who all chip in with the cooking.

It seems the business first started selling pre-seasoned minced pork stuffing, which could be used to stuff beancurd puffs or made into pan fried patties.

On the menu, expect Hakka noodles, handmade noodles or rice with various toppings. There's a daily special each day too.

Everything I tried was good but what made me stop in my tracks was their weekend special.

It may not look much. At one glance, you would brush it aside as a bowl of loh shue fan with toppings. But this sui pan (RM5.50) was a revelation.

The rice flour noodles are so soft they practically melt in the mouth.

One can imagine the hard work needed to create rice flour noodles to that beautiful texture.

It seems this was popular back in the 1960s, where it was only sold in the Salak South village.

This version was recreated by Desmond's mother, using her taste memories. On the insistence of their family members, it is now offered in the restaurant. Since it requires a lot of work, it's only available as a weekend special,

Apparently, it's made using freshly ground rice flour.

Back in the old days, it was just served with a dollop of mustard greens, a mainstay of Hakka cuisine that gave much flavour at a cheaper cost.

In this version, they bulk it up with minced pork, pork lard and garlic oil. The crispy pork lard gives a contrast of textures.

It's so comforting that one bowl is not enough. Be warned that you may end up taking away another bowl to relish at home.

Since the uneven strands are so soft, it doesn't feel heavy on the stomach and it's incredibly comforting.

That feeling of lightness is the same for their Hakka noodles.

You won't get generic springy noodles here. Instead, they use handmade noodles that use more eggs than the commercial type, which produces silky strands you just cannot resist slurping down.

Go for the Original Hakka Noodles (RM8.90) with minced meat for a comforting bite. The flavours work well with the lard but if you seek more flavour, help yourself to their chilli paste or pickled green bird's eye chillies.

There's also a plain version with just pork lard or a ramped up version with their chilli paste and a poached egg.

You can also enjoy those silky noodles with different toppings like fried pork belly, braised chicken feet with mushroom and even sui kow.

I picked their Braised Hakka Pork Belly Noodles (RM9.50).

This classic Hakka dish is wonderful. You get chunks of moist, tender pork belly braised properly in an umami sauce. There's wood ear fungus that gives a nice crunch.

It probably would taste better with rice but it works also with the noodles.

The rice dishes use the same toppings for the noodles, hence we picked the Fried Pork Belly Rice (RM8.90). The sliced pork was moist with a thin crunchy top. It does have a milder taste compared to others though.

Supplement your meal here with their small bites too. I loved those plump Kwong Sai Taupok (RM2.30 per piece). It's well stuffed with the fluffy minced pork and chopped spring onions. The other thing I enjoy is the Fried Meat Patty (RM2.30 per piece) with its juicy texture.

Don't miss the Crispy Fuchuk with Meat Paste (RM2 per piece). The beancurd skin is unlike the usual types as this one has a stronger soybean flavour even though it's not super crispy.

As the restaurant is next to various offices, it's like a canteen for those who work or live nearby. Since they come regularly, they can look forward to the daily specials so they don't get fatigued with the food.

The day we visited, it was the homestyle Braised Chicken Wings with Potatoes served with rice. Almost everyone dining there had this for lunch. One lady even had seconds, polishing off every bit of the fragrant brown sauce with rice.

Their specials vary too according to what's available. Some days it's fried fish with sambal using whatever fresh fish from the market. Or it could be another Hakka classic, the yong tau foo. For Sunday, they serve nasi lemak.

Whatever it is, if you love homestyle Hakka flavours, you will return for more.

On weekdays, parking here can be a challenge though so maybe visit during the weekend, where spaces are aplenty. Moreover you can also get to try the sui pan.

As there is a scheduled water disruption this week, they will close on October 10 and 11. Business will resume once their supply of water is available.

Restoran Hakkayin, AS57, Jalan Hang Tuah 4, Salak South Garden, Kuala Lumpur. Open:8am to 4pm. Closed on Tuesday. Tel:03-79725189. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/restauranthakkayin

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