Recently, the food forums in Johor are abuzz about a new char kway teow 炒粿條 stall in Taman Sutera Utama, near Sutera Mall.
Looking at that plate of char kway teow, would you have guessed that it was the work of very young stall holders?
This new char kway teow stall is run by a young brother and sister team. Brother 德明 who is 16 years old, runs the stall together with his 15 year old sister, 惠心.
Other than the young hawkers, something else about the stall caught my eye.
I noticed a large pot of prawn heads and tails simmering at the stall.
I ordered a small plate of char kway teow (RM4.50) and watched 德明 in action.
德明 may just be 16 years old but his strokes are swift, firm and confident. 德明's parents had been char kway teow hawkers for decades in their own stall in Taman Ungku Tun Aminah. So, you can say char kway teow is in 德明's blood.
德明 scooped a ladle of prawn broth and splashed it in the wok of char kway teow. Each plate of char kway teow gets a dose of this umami (savouriness) boost.
I have never seen this use of prawn broth at any other char kway teow stall before.
This is the plate of char kway teow whipped up by 德明.
The noodles were tender and gummy, slick and moist but not wet. The taugeh (bean sprouts) were crunchy and juicy. The see ham (cockles) and small shrimps were done just right. The sauce was mildly savoury. However, wok hei 镬气 and charred smokey flavour and aroma were not pronounced. Nevertheless, it was a very competent plate of char kway teow, indeed.
No yet the best char kway teow in town but definitely better than many around town.
德明 still have many years ahead of him to hone his char kway teow skills. Imagine what his CKT will be like in years to come, if he keeps improving.
惠心 is also able to fry kway teow but she quickly handed the wok back to her brother when she saw me aiming the camera at her :P
The lady is 德明 and 惠心's ah mah (grandmother), keeping watch over her grandchildren.
Support the new blood of Johor's traditional street food and enjoy a good char kway teow at the same time :D
Restaurant name: No name char kway teow 炒粿條 stall in Restoran CMC Food
Address: Off Jalan Sutera Danga (near Sutera Mall), Johor Bahru
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/zErxG
GPS: 1.515518,103.671015
Hours: 9:30am to 12:00 midnight
Non Halal
Date visited: 4 Apr 2014
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