Food Review - Restoran Ah Wa (Fried Noodles)

NameRestoran Ah Wa
Address66, jalan 14/48, PJ
FoodFried Noodles
LocationJalan 222, PJ

Getting thereLocated at the prominent corner coffee shop behind the shell station on Jalan 222

ParkingParking can be a hassle, as the parallel parking bays along the front of the shops are situated on a narrow 1-way street are limited. Diners take their liberty with parking their cars illegally across the street or on the main street (Note that this is not advisable as it is not only illegal but downright dangerous).

ServiceService was rather fast but no frills eventho’ they serve a large crowd. The wait for the food was rather quick for the number of people they were serving.

AmbienceA typical Chinese Coffee Shop ambience with brightly lit dining areas, plastic tables & chairs, that rely solely on fans to dissipate the exhaust from inconsiderate smokers who light up within the premises (as opposed to the open air segment)

PresentationThe noodles are presented in the standard colored plastic-ware as Chinese Stalls are wont to use. Nothing out of the ordinary.

TasteHere is where I strongly DISAGREE with many other reviewers and die-hard fans would lynch me but we were totally disappointed with what we were served. We were there for dinner and had ordered the famous Hokkien Fried Noodles and also the Cantonese Fried Noodle (Watan Hor).

Firstly, they were both served with very little ingredient. Perhaps we were unlucky when we were there, but both plates of noodles had only tiny amounts of meat or shrimps.

There were exactly 3 pieces of shrimp in each plate. The pork slices were also a rare find in both the plates. What was surprising was that ingredients like sliced fish cake and squid pieces (quite standard in this dish) were missing from the Watan Hor. And the vegetable used in there was cabbage instead of the green leafy Sawi (Mustard Leaves or Choy Sum). Please don’t get me wrong, the noodles aren’t bad, just forgettable. Not befitting its reputation.

The Hokkien Fried Noodles instead was rather too oily (well, drenched in oil is a more apt description actually) with a slightly burnt flavor (which some diners might actually like). I like my Hokkien Noodles to be totally infused with the gravy so that the gravy, ingredients and noodles have become a single entity.

VarietyBesides the anchor noodle stall, there are other stalls there that sell items like Friend Tofu, Fried La-La, Popiah, Taiwanese Pancake (Tai Kow Meen).

Value for MoneyAt RM6 a pop, it was definitely a disappointment on many fronts. Other than what I mentioned earlier, the portions are also slightly smaller than what you would expect. So we had to look for other food after the noodles.

For less, I could’ve gotten better tasting equivalents that come packed with more ingredients and a portion that actually fills.

Well, guess that’s what diners get for dining at a famous place.

OverallFamous for it’s Hokkien Fried Noodles but entirely over-rated. One can find better tasting and better value equivalents in many other places such as the corner at Imbi and Kedai Makanan Ah Loy in OUG (http://jmerb.blogspot.com/2009/01/food-review-ah-loys-curry-noodles-and.html)

Please let me know your thoughts.