KAJANG, Oct 5 — There is a pair of greasy crackers. A single strand of blanched bok choy and a hard boiled egg. Truth be told, these are distractions, really.
The real star of the show is the toothsome noodles, thin and slightly curly. Every strand is coated with flavourful oils from the fried garlic, minced pork and the crispy croutons of fried pork lard.
Sensational. Just the noodles and the pork lard alone would be enough surely!
This is a bowl of the Pork Lard White Kolo Mee at Mingmom Chinese Cuisine, a restaurant in Kajang that serves home-style cooking. The shop is unassuming from the outside but simple delights await the curious.
Walking in, we are greeted by an old school menu at the entrance. Not one printed on paper but two rows of hanging wooden tablets, each with names of dishes written on them in Chinese. Classy and classic.
The servers were efficient and friendly; we were soon seated at our table. It was lunchtime so most of the tables were already occupied with diners, most of them families.
For refreshments, there are the usual Hainanese style kopitiam coffees and teas as well as flavoured sodas. What caught our eye was their seasonal special, Sugarcane Chestnut with Popping Boba.
Rather than the usual brown sugar sort of boba balls, these were cubes of water chestnut encased inside translucent orbs of tapioca pearls. Not just chewy, then, but crunchy too. Fun for the jaws.
While sipping and munching away (who doesn’t love beverages you can drink and eat?), we took in the interior of the shop. Cream coloured walls. Paper lanterns. Linen curtains with illustrations of kopitiam kettles, Hainanese loaves and polo buns.
Even the framed prints had a familiar familial quality; one had illustrations of the catch of the day and the Chinese characters 有余 (Yǒuyú), meaning “More than enough”. It’s like a parent imparting wisdom before a meal.
Speaking of our meal, we had a choice between the Pork Lard Rice (zhū yóu zhā bàn fàn) and Pork Lard White Kolo Mee (zhū yóu zhā bái gān lāo miàn), both of which are Mingmom Chinese Cuisine’s signature dishes.
Since we have had different renditions of pork lard rice at other places, we opted for the latter. It was a good decision: the oiliness of the sauce was picked up by the chewy, handmade noodles. Every strand was slick with flavour.
For our second main, we could have gone the poultry route – albeit with strong heat from herbs and spices. Popular options in this vein include their Ginger Duck (jiāng má yā), Sesame Chicken (má yóu jī) and the impressive sounding Herbal Emperor Chicken Thigh (yào shàn jī tuǐ).
Yet there might be no dish as evocative of a home cooked meal as the evergreen Vinegar Pork Trotter (zhū jiǎo cù). We had ours as a set with rice and accompanying sides.
The sides do feel like an afterthought here: the chilli sauce was far from fiery, the pickles lacked a satisfying crunch, the soup was dull and it was less of a slice of orange and more of shaving.
Which is fine, because the main attraction here, the vinegar pork trotter, was deeply flavourful though the meat could have been more tender.
There’s something charming about being able to savour home-style cooking, even if it comes out of a commercial kitchen. Nothing needs to be perfect, for mum’s or grandma’s cooking is never about perfection but a sense of comfort.
Given the sweltering noonday heat, there’s nothing more comforting than a cold dessert, even if there are options for both hot or cold tong sui such as the Snow Fungus with Longan and Sea Coconut.
We opted to cool down with a bowl of Snow Fungus and Stewed Pear. The stewed Chinese pear might have given up some of its sweetness to the chilled liquid but that is amended by the red dates and wolfberries.
It’s good to complete our meal with sweet endings that are healing too. Our souls, as much as our bellies, need feeding.
Mingmom Chinese Cuisine 名妈中餐厅
145D, Jalan Bukit, Bandar Kajang, Kajang
Open Tue-Sun 11am-10pm; Mon closed
Phone: 017-444 8447
*This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
*Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
