Mee Tarik Restoran: Chinatown’s favourite halal Chinese-Muslim supper — hand-pulled RM15 noodles & freshly-made dumplings
If you’ve been to Malaysia, then you’d know there’s never such a thing as “it’s too late to have a meal”. Partaking in supper is like a sacred ritual to us Malaysians. So imagine my excitement when I was walking down Chinatown at midnight and came across a restaurant swamped with crowds slurping down bowls of noodles. A quick Google search revealed it to be Mee Tarik Restoran, a Chinese-Muslim restaurant.
Fun fact, Lanzhou in Gansu Province is famous for authentic Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles or lamien. Lanzhou beef lamien or Lanzhou beef hand-pulled noodle, is a type of Chinese noodle dish originated in Lanzhou, China. If you ever plan on swinging by Chinatown’s Mee Tarik Restoran for a spot of supper, you might have to wait for a table. In fact, this little Chinese-Muslim noodle joint has garnered quite a sensation on social media and this piqued my curiosity even more.
Not wanting to wait for a table, I decided to visit the restaurant during lunch time. What was the hype all about and was it really that good? I was really excited about this experience.
What I tried at Mee Tarik Restoran
What’s better than a standard bowl of noodles? Well, hand pulled noodles, of course! To make them, wheat dough is kneaded, pulled, twisted and stretched into long strands, then thrown straight into bowls of hot broth to cook. Simply watching them performing at the front of the shop (at most times) is mesmerising enough.
Over at Mee Tarik Restoran, you’ll be able to watch the talented chefs in action making their signature hand pulled noodles. Once done, these delicious noodles will be placed in a hot bowl of broth alongside delicious toppings.
Customers come here more specifically for its Mee Tarik (hand-pulled noodles) in beef soup and succulent beef slices so I ordered the Beef Ramen (RM14). The Beef Ramen consisted of a flavorful, clear broth, shaved beef, lots of cilantro and scallion and their signature chewy handmade noodles.
On their own, the noodle soups are mild, boasting a clean broth with delicate flavours. Each table in the restaurant features a small pot filled with chilli oil. I eagerly took a bite of the noodles and was so surprised at how delicious and springy it tasted. Don’t forget to add in a spoonful of the chilli oil— simply divine.
With a bite of the springy hand-pulled noodles, the melt-in-your-mouth beef, a bit of homemade fresh chilli oil, and a sip of the rich broth, I couldn’t help but wonder about the magical power of a plain bowl of beef noodles. But I have to admit RM14 for a bowl of noodles definitely felt overpriced. I wouldn’t usually pay this much for noodles, but it was nice knowing that they were freshly made.
Besides that, crowd-favourites also include steamed or fried dumplings which come in either lamb, beef, chicken or chives with eggs. I opted for a mix of two: Lamb and Chicken Dumplings (RM16). When you walk into this restaurant, you’ll notice two huge trays of dumplings. I assume they are freshly made just like every other thing else served here.
The dumplings were very clean tasting and you had to dunk them in the chilli oil in order to get a deeper flavour. I couldn’t really taste much of the chicken in the dumplings and felt like the lamb dumplings were tastier. Perhaps next time I’ll return for the fried dumplings instead.
Final thoughts
Don’t forget to try the lamb or chicken skewers, which is a big hit amongst customers. The fried steamed bun with condensed milk is also highly recommended here.
Right before I left the restaurant, I got the opportunity to watch one of the employees make their Chives Pancake (RM11) from scratch. It was pretty amazing how everything was pretty much handmade here. I understood why Mee Tarik Restaurant is a much loved supper spot amongst Malaysians.
After all, imagine slurping down freshly hand pulled noodles and dumplings with spicy chilli oil at the side of Petaling Street at 2am. And the fact that it’s halal makes it even better.
Expected damage: RM15 – RM20 per pax
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