KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Even though HoLiao Noodles has just been open for a month or so, it's already won many fans with its delicious or ho liao noodles.
So far the comments have been incredibly positive. They range from delicious to good value for money remarks. Hence I was curious to try it out.
The stall is housed inside a green metal and zinc structure, located at the busy roadside of Salak South Garden. It's just a few doors away from the famous Yezi fried shrimp cake stall.
Even on a weekday morning, the place is packed. However, once you hand over your order chit at the counter, the food arrives quite fast. Most items are prepped ahead except the noodles, which are cooked upon order.
From what I read online, the owner of this place has about 20 years experience in the F&B industry even though it's a new set-up.
On the menu, they are serving Hakka noodles. You have various pairings of dry noodles served with soup and a side item such as fish balls, fish skin wantans or squid pork meatballs.
A bowl of noodles is RM7.50. If you order the pork tendons, it's RM8.50. You can add on minced meat and noodles for an extra RM5.
There's also a choice of original or spinach flavoured noodles. If you want extra items, you can order their spicy wantans, fried fish cake, and fish-paste-stuffed bean curd roll. The price for the add-ons range from RM5 to RM6.
Tastewise, I felt their Hakka noodles is a hybrid of cultures. You have the handmade noodles topped with minced meat and lard fritters that pays tribute to the Hakkas.
However, it can be amped up with their homemade chilli oil reminiscent of the famous bottled versions from China. Without the chilli oil, the noodles have a comforting homemade taste. Just add a touch of that wickedly good chilli oil and you'll be slurping down the strands happily.
For RM7.50, the portion of noodles is generous. Some may find the minced meat topping and lard fritters insufficient to cover the amount of noodles but I felt it's still fine as I had ordered a few extra dishes to pair with my noodles.
We tried the fish skin wantans (RM7.50) and their unusual pork tendons (RM8.50) with the dry noodles. The texture of the noodles is really good with al dente strands.
Toss it thoroughly with their soy sauce mix, fluffy minced pork and lard fritters. The lard fritters are exceptionally good, crunchy with a fluffy bite.
Unlike the UFO shaped fish skin wantans or hee kiao, this version is made like wantans where the skin is just folded in a triangle shape. They also add thin slices of fish cakes.
I felt the skin for the wantans aren't chewy enough. Instead, I preferred the pork tendons, which have a slight bite to them. This is served with a clear, simple meat-based broth.
What I really enjoyed was the spicy wantans as the silky small bites filled with a juicy pork filling were doused in that chilli oil, making this a moreish bite.
It's an additional order for RM6, where you get eight pieces on a plate. We also added on the fish bean curd roll for RM6. These crispy bites were stuffed with fish paste, which went well with the noodles.
HoLiao Noodles 優麵小舖, 1 Jalan Hang Tuah 4, Salak South Garden, Kuala Lumpur. Open: 8am to 3pm or until food is finished. Closed on Monday. Tel: +6013-4319114.
