When I was first told about it on twitter, I went – NO WAYYYY!! Part of me wanted to cry, another part was madly excited. For me, Ngiu Chap is the only dish that we Sabahans can fully claim (as) our own. Penang can have their Laksa, Sarawak their Kolo Mee (or Sarawak Laksa) and Ipoh probably their Nasi Ayam if they want to, but Ngiu Chap truly belongs to Sabah – at least our version of Ngiu Chap or beef noodles 😀
You have no idea how popular the dish is in Sabah despite the fact that there are very few restaurants that serve it there. There is something so addictive about it that keeps you wanting for more and more especially when you are on a hang-over – which we (most) Sabahans regularly are. LOL!
I’ve been praying all these years that one day somebody will open a restaurant that serves Ngiu Chap in KL. In fact, a simple stall will do. Oh yeah, it will. I’ve been looking all over – from Wangsa Maju to PJ, from Cheras to Subang, you name it. Not a single dish that I found was even close to the Ngiu Chap that they served in Sabah.
Some suggestion had brought me to a little corner off Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang and I almost cried out of frustration because I felt like it was my very last hope. The closest to Ngiu Chap that I managed to find was the one in Jalan Tun HS Lee also suggested to me by some Sabahan friends but it was still far from what I wanted for a Ngiu Chap. Way way far.
I had actually given up searching when the news finally reached my ears one month after it was officially opened. Knowing fully that I had my last bowl of Ngiu Chap when I returned to Sabah for the General Election 5 months ago, I knew I could not wait any longer. I had to be there the very next day or I wouldn’t be able to put myself to sleep. LOL!
After doing a little run in Putrajaya, we drove over to the Bandar Puteri in Puchong, to the address given on the website. The nearer we got to that place, the more excited we both became. I had never been so excited about having a dish for such a long time. It was like a time bomb – waiting to explode. When we finally spotted the restaurant, we both looked at each other and screamed (literally). LOL!
The familiarity of the smell kicked into my nose the moment I entered the restaurant. Looking at the number of customers, I knew that business was already doing very well for the newly-opened restaurant which was not at all surprising. Ngiu Chap can pretty much excite everybody especially Sabahans who are known to be scattered all over Klang Valley (and probably the whole of Malaysian Peninsular).
Knowing that we might explode in excitement, we chose to sit on the outside, away from other customers just in case we failed to control our emotion and burst. We ordered what we wanted to order – two bowls of Ngiu chap of course, and waited in eagerness as the friendly waitress brought our order to the kitchen. When the dish had finally come, the familiarity struck almost instantly like a lightning. I suddenly didn’t know how to start. I wanted to cry 😛
When I finally regained my composure, I slowly picked up the spoon and began the ‘moment of truth’ by tasting the soup first. It is always good to start with the soup because it usually decides how good (or bad) a dish is.
That familiar sweetness put me in a complete stillness for a moment. It was exactly the taste that I wanted in a Ngiu Chap, the Ngiu Chap that I get served with every time I come down to the Kah Hiong Ngiu Chap Restaurant in Hilltop of KK to get a bowl of.
Then I put a spoonful of the noodles into my mouth – slowly gnawing and savoring my every bite – I shivered at the softness of it in my mouth. It tasted so good it was almost painful not to say it out loud. Nom nom nom. 😀
I shook my head in disbelief when I ate the beef. I could not believe how good it was to be having a bowl of Ngiu Chap again after such a long long time. I could not even bring myself to finishing the last spoonful because I really didn’t want the savoring moment to end. Uhuks!
I knew for sure that the restaurant is owned by the same chap (or group) that owned the famous Koh Hiong Ngiu Chap in KK based on the name alone. In fact, I was told that he had to bring the cooks all the way from Sabah so that they could keep the dishes to their original taste.
Of course the most important ingredient to keep the dishes as they are is the hot chilli sauce produced by the restaurant itself. The bottled chili sauce is already famous on its own. I won’t miss buying a bottle or two to be brought back to KL every time I come to the restaurant whenever I was in KK.
The price is slightly more expensive probably because many of the ingredients have to be imported from Sabah especially the chili sauce itself. But still, it’s very much worth it. But then, Ngiu Chap is not something that you can have too often or you’ll risk getting a GDL (Gaut Datang Lagi) as most Sabahans would always joke (but worried) about.
To make stories short, I couldn’t even put it in words. You know when you are lost in a desert for a week or so without water and food and when you finally manage to find your way back, you cry at the sight of drink water (iced and cold!) and you take your first sip. That’s how it felt like when I had a bowl of Ngiu Chap at the restaurant this morning. It was so – fulfilling. 😛
Need I say more? 🙂
Ngau Chap in KL – like finally. I can’t stop saying it right now. Seriously, I didn’t know a food could excite me that much. Damn!
LOL!
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