KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 15 — It started with a bowl of pan mee.

That’s how a group of us ended up eating numerous times for the past few weeks at Tai Kar Ho along Jalan Sepadu, Taman United.

A friend had randomly walked into the coffee shop since she found a parking space in front and ordered a bowl of pan mee.

She’s not the type who usually orders this as she’s very particular about the quality of the ikan bilis since her family’s business revolves around seafood.

It impressed her so much, she even brought her family to enjoy that bowl of comfort.

When we heard she had approved of this pan mee, we all had to try it out for ourselves.

I could understand why she liked the Pan Mee (RM8 for small, RM9 for big).

The thick noodles had a nice chewiness that made a perfect pairing with the clear, sweet soup brewed from ikan bilis.

In fact, the texture was so immensely satisfying I would have been happy just enjoying the noodles on its own.

Here, they use spinach, minced pork and shredded wood ear fungus as toppings with a spicy chilli sauce served on the side.

There’s a sprinkle of fried ikan bilis on top too. It’s the thin, crispy ones that aren’t coated with flour, indicating it’s not the lower quality ikan bilis you usually find in nasi lemak stalls.

It may look ordinary but it has that home cooked taste you rarely encounter in commercial eateries anymore.

One may need to wait though. They carefully cook each bowl of pan mee one by one.

It’s a family run establishment where much care is taken with their food.

The clientele here are predominantly from the neighbourhood. Most of them are the older generation while the younger folks are from the nearby offices.

As it’s next to a small wet market in the alley, many flock here after they have shopped for their daily essentials.

What I noticed was everyone orders their wantan mee. It’s usually accompanied with char siu but on weekends, there’s braised chicken feet as a bonus.

The Char Siu Wantan Mee (RM9) lived up to its crowd favourite status with toothsome egg noodles tossed in a slightly sweet and savoury dark sauce.

What’s also enjoyable was the juicy BBQ pork with thin caramelised edges that added a touch of sweetness.

There’s also plump wantans filled with minced pork and served with soup too.

Another popular item is the Kai Si Hor Fun (RM10 for small, RM11 for big).

You may scoff at this version since it doesn’t boast of a liberal dose of orange prawn oil but the broth tastes just like one your mother spends hours over a hot stove to make.

The chicken broth is clear with a balanced sweetness, while there’s a light orange coloured blanket of prawn oil.

Yes, flavours are subtle but wholesome, making me drink up every drop of that broth with my smooth kuey teow. It was the perfect balm for a day when everything went wrong.

At this stall, you can also add dumplings too. Composed of juicy pork mixed with chives, these plump dumplings are made by a friend from China. There’s also a cabbage variant too. It’s RM5 for three chives dumplings.

On certain days, you may even score a bowl of homemade tong sui.

I was lucky to try out the Fuchuk Pak Kor and Red Bean Soup for RM4 each.

It’s served piping hot, which warms up the body when it’s raining outside. The Fuchuk Pak Kor was creamy with the melted beancurd skin and paired with gingko nuts, cracked by hand by the matriarch of the family.

For the Red Bean Soup, this was thick with soft cooked red beans and sago pearls. It’s perfumed with mandarin orange peel too.

There’s also another stall located in front, where one can order a variety of fried noodles and fried rice.

I also spied one table tucking into simple dishes like fried egg and vegetables with rice from this stall too.

I opted for the Cantonese Mixed Fried Noodles (RM10) that came swimming in a not too gloopy broth mixed with beaten egg.

The thick kuey teow noodles were full of wok hei, while underneath it was the fried beehoon, which soaked up the thick broth perfectly. .

When one of my friends was dining there, she even overheard one customer tell their friend to not reveal the existence of this gem to others.

While I am tempted to gatekeep this place, I reckon everyone should experience what good, simple food prepared well tastes like. Hopefully you will appreciate it as much as we all did.

Restoran Tai Kar Ho,

22, Jalan Sepadu, Taman United, Kuala Lumpur.

Open: 7.30am to 4pm. Closed on Monday.

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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