Monday, June 6, 2005

Cottage Hakka Noodles


the Hakkas do it better


Most of the eateries that I have ever reviewed or recommended in this blog have been places that were recommended to me. But here's a place that Mae and I found on our very own. :) The few times we had passed by the place at night, we had found it a little too quiet. Almost too quiet to be serving up anything great anyway. How wrong we were!

Cottage Noodles Cafe sits in a quiet location along Jalan SS22/25 in Damansara Jaya. That's the road around Atria Shopping Centre, just around the corner from Domino's Pizza. Here, they serve one of the loveliest Hakka Noodles I have ever tasted. The signature dish here is a konlo (dry, non-soupy) noodle. It is a springy handmade Hakka noodle tossed in a generous helping of mince pork gravy served with crisp, thick beans sprouts and garnished with spring onions in a delectable concoction that will have you begging for more. The secret of this dish is definitely in the restaurant's special mince pork sauce. Sauteed in some aromatic secret ingredient, the sauce is the perfect accompaniment to Cottage's excellent handmade noodles. This simple, unpretentious yet superbly delicious dish is what makes us return time and time again.



The place also serves up a killer curry noodles. Now while curry noodles aren't exactly unique, Cottage Noodles Cafe makes up for it with a thick curry broth over it's very own flat-type, fettucini-like Hakka noodle. Side dishes include a good assortment of Yong Tow Foo. Mae and I always order the shop's Deep Fried Sui Kow - a meat, shrimp and chives dumpling that they fry to golden brown perfection. And believe me when I say this goes perfectly with the curry noodles.

We were here over the weekend. This time around, we noticed some additional items in the menu; namely the Stewed Duck/Lotus Tuber with Hakka Noodles; Stewed Mushrooms and Chicken Feet in Hakka Noodles; and finally, Stewed Swine Leg in Hakka Noodles. This would fall under the establishment's premium dishes, retailing at RM9 a pop. Otherwise, the food here is pretty affordable going for RM3.50 for the Hakka Noodles and RM5.00 for the Curry Noodles. We'll probably get around to these new dishes when we've had enough of our regular fix of Hakka Noodles. That could take awhile.

Finally, one of the best testament of the quality of the food in a restaurant is when the proprietor sits down to a hearty meal of his own stuff. On our way out we were pleasantly surprised to find Cottage Noodle Cafe's head honcho, Phillip, pigging at his Stewed Duck. I snapped a shot of him and explained that I would be blogging about it. So if you head on over to Cottage, don't forget to look up Phillip and get him to give you a discount - or maybe a couple of Deep Fried Sui Kows on the house. Hehehh!

Here's a little trivia for you. The Hakkas are a bunch of people originally from Northern China. While I can't say that I know very much about them I have heard that Hakka women are a fierce and fiesty lot, known to beat up their husband at the slightest whim. Hahahaha! Maybe that's why their noodles pack a punch! I have heard people say that you should never marry a Hakka woman, unless you have a deathwish. But what do I know? I'm a Hainanese. Our people are supposed to be crazy. Oh well. :)

26 comments:

  1. Hahaha! Nice trivia! I used to detest Hakka a lot because they were my neighbours and yeah, they cursed a lot in Hakka. But I married a Hakka man. However, this Hakka man treats his Hainanese wife real good. So, Hakka man good, Hakka women (pssst...those are my 4 sisters-in-law) are LOUD. *run before war breaks out between Hakka and Hainanese*

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  2. I miss a good plate of authentic hand-spun Hakka noodles with lots of minced meat and chilli sauce.

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  3. ahh, that explains your blog :p heheheh!
    p/s: btw, your blog ain't working on IE today, better check those matrix like codes of yours

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  4. Aiyah.. I better know my PJ routes well for this one.

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  5. OOooiiii! I'm a Hakka woman you know... ;)

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  6. Aiyoh cham.. I'm a mix between Hakka+Hainanese parentage.. How ar???

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  7. bad james, bad, bad! m hakka woman lah... and now you tell the hakka woman secret... many men will stay away from me. :)
    my mother being a hakka, i can say as totally opposite of your known perception of hakka women. she's very soft spoken and gentle.
    but though me being a hakka, haven't try hakka noodle. haven't try tha signature hakka dish too... what is it call.... something cha. the only hakka dish i try lots of time is the yong tau foo (esp. a must for CNY).

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  8. yes yes u are absolutely right abt the hakkas. The Hakka men are always afraid of the wives and yes, I have that death wish :)

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  9. i have eaten there before and kinda have the opposite impression of the food. i found it bland and unappettising. i was subsequently lead to seremban where the hakka noodles there is OoOOOoO... surprisingly good. sorry, diff ppl diff taste kuaaaaa... :(

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  10. solly my smiley turned out so garang. :O

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  11. Yo Gina. wanna know the PJ routes to this place.. cruise on over to
    http://www.streetdirectory.com.sg/kl/kl_map.cgi?x=402477&y=346203&level=4&circle=&star=1&heading=Street:%20JALAN%20SS%2022/25%20(SS%2022)
    haven't fully read the article.. but.. James.. you getting paid to err.. ummm advertise? man.. should charge them man.. ha ha ha..

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  12. James, are you getting any discount or fried sui kow on the house next time you visit? :P What I heard about Hakka women is that they are the hardworking lot wor... so, which version is true?

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  13. :lol: Lilian. But don't forget, Hakka men are probably very tame because of Hakka wives. Hehehh!
    Hmm... I hope your diet allows the ocassional Hakka Noodle, Peter!
    Dun make me come there with an ax or something, LeoKoo. :lol:
    You're hopeless lah Gina!
    But I'm sure you're the nice one, Pickyin. *gulp*
    Then I guess you're both mad and Mad, Sunshine. :lol:
    Then you must go for the offensive and get your man, Lucia!!! Hehheh!
    :lol: So why are you using a pseudonym then, Hakka Death Wish?
    Hmm... I guess maybe it's because I like simple foods, Weezy. I can't get enough of the stuff. :)
    Thanks for the link Paulos. And yes, I should start asking for discounts!
    Hahah Momof2, you must have heard that from a Hakka woman. But you may be right. All the Hakka women I know are a hardworking lot. :)

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  14. lucia - the dish you are thinking of is called lui cha or harm cha, depending on which type of hakka you are.
    both my parents are hakka...it is SCARY. the men tend to be timid and the women tend to be loud and scary. :)

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  15. alamak, like that I must be a crazy, fierce and feisty guy!!

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  16. hey hakka mens r not afraid of their wives... well at least not mine heheh :p
    i saw this joint when i went to duviet, never got the chance to try it yet. i always go to the old folks place at pudu for a bowl of super delicious hakka noodles yummm

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  17. Hakkas have different clan and each clan has it's own personality in terms of talking...
    Sin On Clan = Are the most gentle types of hakka when they speak. So not all the womens are like that..
    Hopoh Clan = All bark but no bite. So they may speak loudly and rough, but that doesn't mean that they're all bad. :P
    Tai pu Clan = The mens here are normally the more understanding or sometimes the most stubborn ones. Whereby the women of this clans are the most feared ones :P
    Being a hakka for quite some time already.. It all depends on how the parents bring up their child.. So maybe you might have a fierce sin on, or a gentle tai pu.. So my conclusion here??
    Not all hakka's are bad :P Hv a nice day :D

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  18. Hahah, I'll take your word for it, Spot.
    Sorry, Papi. Hakka men are the quiet ones. :)
    Duviet's not too bad too, eh Babe? :)
    Hahahah, thanks for the breakdown Hakkaman. This is very eye opening. Yes, I agree with you not all Hakka's are bad. Just like not all Hainanese men are crazy. Hehh. :lol:

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  19. Eh my colik is Hopoh Clan, she dun bark :p
    My mom is Tai Pu Clan and i dun think she's being feared hahaha well except by her children
    James, I always like pho at Du Viet

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  20. i ate there thanks to your recommendation. not bad at all!
    good reco!
    adriene

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  21. Glad you liked it Adriene. Now you can go next door and try out Babe_KL's recommendation. :)

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  22. i ate there last weekend, brought my whole family too.
    it can't beat the seremban hakka noodles. you must try it the next time you go down to s'ban. it's located in the market (top floor).
    take care,
    kate

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  23. Now you got me all curious, Kate. Gimme an address!!! Some photos!!

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  24. Just went there last nite as part of a farewell for a cell member. The food was excellent and reasonably priced. for 7 of us.. it came up to about RM60. I think it's worth it.
    Very filling too.. I had the Curry Hainanese Noodle.
    Excellent, give it a 9/10 :) . I'll go there again definitely!!

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  25. Oh ya.. thanks James for the blog, my cell members thank you :)

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  26. Glad to be of service, Paulos!

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