KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — As a food writer, I can say — without a doubt — that what I eat influences/affects how I feel.
I am upbeat with something good in my stomach. It's like I struck a jackpot.
But when the food is meh, my outlook for the day is just like KL's weather lately: grey skies and dreary thoughts.
After a few days of rather sub-par eats in my quest to find food worthy of writing, this bowl of pig stomach soup noodles felt like a ray of sunshine.
The stall is inside Kokan Kopitiam, a coffee shop I have featured before for Taiwan braised pork.
The coffee shop is a neighbourhood favourite. On weekends, it is heaving with diners, while more stand outside waiting for an empty table.
This noodle stall, hidden behind a column, offers fish noodles with various toppings like fish paste (yee wat).
In addition, they have sam kan cheong noodles, hence a natural spin-off is the pig stomach soup since it uses the same base broth.
This is not a bowl that will send your social media fans into a frenzy but it's pure comfort.
You get the white pepper with each sip, which envelops you with its warmth.
It's a balanced broth; not overloaded with white pepper that can sting and leave you choking. It's more ideal for say beginners to this type of broth or maybe older folks who prefer a less intense pepper taste.
Even the toppings aren't your usual ones. They add sliced bitter gourd and tomatoes, since that's what they use with their other offerings.
It works. The bowl tastes fresh and less indulgent since pig stomach ain't the healthiest thing to eat.
The pig stomach slices are cooked well too. Soft to the bite but not powdery and without any funky smells.
You also get tender sliced pork too, making it a substantial bowl for RM15.
It's definitely not your average price for a bowl of noodles but I felt incredibly satisfied eating it. For me, it was the perfect ratio of carbohydrates with toppings.
Most times, stalls tend to keep the price standard to what others are offering and skimp on the toppings and load you up with the noodles.
One other item I was eyeing were the pork tendon meat balls (RM1.50 per piece). It's unusual to get that in stalls here as it's more of an Ipoh thing.
They're probably sourced from a supplier but it was a satisfying chunky, slightly chewy bite with ginger aroma that are the hallmarks for this type of meatball.
I added the pork meatball too (RM1.50) but these weren't that impressive with just a hint of dried cuttlefish flavour. Stick to the pork tendon meatballs instead.
To my surprise, the soup served with the meatballs was tasty too. It's just a pork broth versus those clear, almost flavourless broths you get at other stalls.
Another reason to frequent this stall is the owners take pride in keeping their place pristinely clean.
Fish Slice and Sam Kan Cheong Noodles Stall, Kokan Kopitiam, 2, Jalan Perisa 1, Taman Bukit Indah, Kuala Lumpur. Open: 7am to 2pm. (Tuesday to Sunday) Closed on Monday.
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
