Dumbo: Gourmet Extraordinaire - #11: La Mian

During the one-day trip mentioned in the previous three posts, we stopped for lunch at a lamian (拉面; not sure whether I should translate it "pulled-noodle" or "stretched-noodle", ha-ha) restaurant somewhere along Lorong Selamat (off Macalister Road). I forgot the name of the restaurant, but there is (as far as I know) only one restaurant specializing in lamian along that road, so you can't mistake another for it, I'm sure.

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The chefs prepare each bowl of noodle on the spot, behind a glass panel through which you can take pictures of the whole process (just don't expect the chefs to pose for you, especially when a lot of customers are waiting eagerly and hungrily for their victuals).

It was said (and I was willing to believe it, judging from their accent) that these chefs are actually hired from Lanzhou in China, a place where I was led to believe that practically everyone knows how to make their own noodle (Maggi, Mamee, Cintan, etc. will never find a foothold there).

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I tried to take some pictures of the noodle preparation (pulling) process, but my, the chef was so FAST, I managed only to take five consecutive shots, and the thing was done and over with.

First, one strand became two:

Then two became four:

Four became eight, and so on...

The action was blindingly fast!

And before you know it, off goes the noodle into the boiling pot of water.

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I do not know if it is the best lamian in Penang, but I would definitely recommend it. The soup was nice (ox bone soup, simmered with their "secret herbs and spices"), and the noodle, as to be expected of all au naturel handmade noodles, is smooth and refreshingly tasty (after a whole life of chemical-laced noodles, what better word to describe this than "refreshing"?).

Another nice thing about this restaurant is that it will not burn a hole in your wallet. The three of us spent less than RM30 (if I remember correctly) there. In comparison, let us take I-Dragon (at Queensbay) for example. A pastor, my wife and I once had our lunch there, and it cost us a total of about RM80. Ouch.

But I would not recommend the dumplings. The skin was a bit uncooked for me. The filling is nice, but unless you can be sure to ask the chef to cook the dumplings a bit longer than they are wont to, I would avoid this dish.