Pau Kee (Ipoh Sar Hor Fun) @ Imbi

From what I gather (online), the restaurant owner used to work for one of the oldest Ipoh "Sar Hor Fun" restaurant in Singapore but later moved back to KL to start his own Ipoh Sar Hor Fun business.  "Sar Hor Fun" is slippery rice noodles, much like "kuey teow", but thinner and way smoother.

So, I ended up at Pau Kee @ Imbi for breakfast one morning.  In the shop front, you can see a banner proudly displaying all the newspaper endorsements of the place and I especially noticed one with K F Seetoh (well known for shows like "Makansutra" and "The Food Surprise!")...and the leading authority and expert on Singaporean food (and, sometimes, Malaysian food too).  He was also the guy whom Anthony Bourdain turned to (for food advice) when he was in Singapore (in his shows "No Reservations" and "The Layover").

Of course, I had to start off with what they so proudly displayed in their shop...the best Ipoh Sar Hor Fun in KL.  This is the Ipoh Sar Hor Fun @ RM5.50 that came with prawns, shredded chicken and Chinese chives...and a drizzle of that rich prawn oil!

The kuey teow was very smooth and the soup base was subtle and delicious, not overly sweet.  I don't know about it being the best but it was certainly very good...needs a little bit more prawn oil if you ask me ;)

The "Wantan" (Dumpling) Soup @ RM5.50 (for 8 pcs) was decent and the wantan skin was very thin but the soup it came in was not as good as the soup for the sar hor fun.

The wantans had a 'real' prawn filling (ie. were filled totally with prawns) which I absolutely loved.

This is the Dry Wantan Mee @ RM5.50 with just wantan (although it's normally served with shredded chicken as well) since I placed an order of poached chicken separately. 

The wantan mee was my least favourite as the soya sauce mix was light in flavour (not quite those thick and robust flavoured types).  The sauce was not oily but you can still taste a little shallot oil in it.

I had an order of Poached Chicken with Bean Sprouts @ RM4 (1 pax serving) and found the chicken to be smooth and tender...even better than some of the more reputable chicken rice stalls.

Although the bean sprouts weren't quite those extremely short and fat Ipoh-type bean sprouts, they were, nevertheless, blanched to crunchy perfection...and were good.  The soya sauce mix at the bottom was also one of the less oily ones I've had.

What I really liked was the truly refreshing chilli dip for the poached chicken.  It certainly deserves a place among the top 5 of my favourite fresh chilli dips.  This is also one of the few places where you're served freshly cut red chillies (and not bird's eye chillies) as an accompaniment to your noodles.

When I saw that they had curry on their menu, I was hesitant to try as I've never been a fan of the Ipoh-styled curries which comes with an overpowering taste of curry powder.  Nevertheless, I decided to pack a Curry Beehoon & Mee @ RM5.50 home to try.  Luckily, it wasn't the Ipoh-styled curry but the KL-type which was creamy and had a good "santan" (coconut milk) flavour.

However, the curry would appeal to those who don't like their curries spicy as the curry wasn't spicy...at all (even after I added all the "sambal" in).  Also, the ingredients of prawns and "choy sum" (Chinese flowering cabbage) aren't the typical stuff you'd find in a curry.

My Personal Opinion

It's not easy to find a good Ipoh "Sar Hor Fun" in KL....and Pau Kee's version was indeed good (but whether it can rival some of the Ipoh ones, I'm not sure)!  The "wat kai" was equally good and the curry wasn't too shabby either.

Restoran Pau Kee

10 Jalan Utara

Off Jalan Imbi

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 016-375 1360