HoLiao Noodles @ Pandan Indah

HoLiao Noodles @ Pandan Indah had been opened in my neighbourhood for a couple of months before I even realised it was there.  I wasn't aware until my friend/makan buddy clued me in on its existence during one of our meet-ups.

This branch in Pandan Indah is their second after their initial/original outlet in Salak South Garden.  Their speciality is their delicious handmade Hakka noodles served alongside a bowl of soup with different choices of liao or liew (ingredients).

Their menu is pretty straightforward and simple in that it offers their standard handmade noodles, either original or spinach (though shahe fen or lai fun is also available), with a few side dishes and that's it.  So, let's start with their Handmade Dry (Spinach) Noodles @ RM8.50 (with fish skin wantons) for my first try.

The first thing I noticed about their handmade (spinach) noodles was how nicely presented the noodles were...even after they've been tossed around during the cooking/boiling process.  I don't think I've ever seen noodles presented so neatly arranged...lol.

Presentation aside, the noodles were cooked just right, springy and al dente.  I found the texture of the noodles very enjoyable. ^o^  The noodles were subtle in taste due to the lightness of the sauce underneath (so this may not be as appealing to those who prefer a darker or more robust sauce).

Luckily, there's the pork lard oil and pork lard crisps to lift up the flavours of the subtle sauce.  The tiny morsels of pork were crispy and fragrant but the freshness can be a little inconsistent.  Some days when they're super fresh, I would wish there were more (you may order extras at RM3 if you so need).

Then there's this take-as-much-as-you-want homemade chilli oil available from the condiment tray (along with soy sauce, pepper and another chilli sauce for the side dishes) provided at tableside.

The chilli oil is something similar to the dried chilli condiment you get at some pan mee stalls except this one is cooked in oil.  It's very good...extra fragrant from the addition of sesame seeds (I try to scoop out more), savoury tasting and not spicy at all. ^.^

So, for those who find the flavour of the noodles a little understated, you can amp up the flavours by adding in the chilli oil.  The noodles certainly benefitted from the addition of this chilli condiment as it elevated its taste even further.  I definitely felt it tasted much better with the added chilli oil.

My son prefers the Handmade Dry (Original) Noodles @ RM8.50 (with pork wantons).  This colour of this noodle has a stronger resemblance to Hakka mee (of course) but, in terms of taste, I can't say I tasted any significant difference between the two.

To enjoy the noodles to the fullest, make sure you give it a good kacau-kacau (stir) before diving in.  The reason I say this is because, if you watch the video on their Facebook on the preparation, the noodles are not tossed with the sauce beforehand but laid on top of the sauce.  This is so that the noodles can be presented in such a neat arrangement.

Actually, the noodles here are very reasonably and affordably priced.  The dry noodles on its owned served with minced pork wtth a generous sprinkling of pork lard and spring onions is a mere RM6.50.  If you choose to have it with a bowl of liew in soup, the price goes up to between RM8.50 - RM9 (still a very decent price for an air-conditioned shop).

I should give credit where credit is due....and that is the consistency in the cooking of the noodles.  They nail it perfectly each time with the texture (at least on the numerous times I've been here).

With every bowl of dry noodles, you get to pick your choice of liew that comes in a bowl of soup.  Choices include fish skin wantons, pork balls, fish balls, pork wantons, pork tendons or a mix of difference liew.  The different choices of liew can also be ordered separately on its own in bigger quantities.  The fish skin wantons did not impress at all.  They were poor renditions of those good ones you get from stalls/shops specialising in fish ball noodles.

The fish balls didn't feel like they were house-made, more like those commercially prepared ones that are a dime a dozen which you can easily get off any supermarket shelf as evidenced by their perfectly shaped balls that comes with a super bouncy texture.

The (dried squid-filled) pork balls were the same....reminiscent of those procurred commercially which is very common when it comes to pork balls as they're used by many pork noodles shops/stalls as well.  Most are of a decent quality, some are better quality than others where you can taste the fragrance of the bits of dried cuttlefish in them.  The one here I barely detected the dried squid.

At least the pork wantons were made inhouse (a video on their Facebook confirmed that) but the minced pork filling was just passable.  I'm sure many of us have had our share of better wantons from wantan mee stalls.  The accompanying bowl of soup, subtle in flavour without any complexities, isn't particularly worth mentioning either.

But if you're undecided or you want to try a bit of everything, order the mix which allows you to taste the pork balls, fish balls and fish cake slices all at once.  For this, your bowl of noodles will cost RM9 (just RM0.50 more).

Besides the different liew which can be ordered separately (as a side dish), there are a couple more side dishes that you can order too to supplement your meal.  When we had their Fu Chuk Roll @ RM6.90 initially, they tasted like crispy fried fu chuk only (not sure if there was any fish paste inside as I couldn't detect any). It looked very different from the photo in their menu which showed a bean curd roll rather than a flat piece of fu chuk.

But when I ordered the same thing on a later visit, it finally resembled the fu chuk roll as seen in their menu and the one served at their Salak South branch.  This one you can clearly see (and taste) the fish paste (even if scant) wrapped within the lightly crispy fu chuk skin.

The first time we were here, they ran out of the Spring Onion Fish Cake @ RM6.90 and we only got to try it on our next visit.  This crispy beancurd had more of the fish paste filling (with bits of chopped spring onion) inside and was fried to yield a crisp texture.

Although the slightly bouncy texture of the fish cake/paste doesn't lend it to become my most favourite, I can still say these two side dishes with fish paste (+ crispy beancurd) are good choices if you were to eat here. ^.^

The third side dish we tried (after summoning enough courage) was their Spicy Wantons @ RM6.90.  Turns out it wasn't spicy at all as they used the same homemade chilli oil served with the noodles (I initially thought it was a different chilli like some kind of mala chilli oil). >_<

Although the pork-filled wantons can't be said to be among the better ones out there, dousing it in their fragrant homemade chilli oil made up for the difference thus making them juicier and more moreish.  Options of fried wantons, Chinese sausage and sai toh fish cake complete the rest of the side dishes offered.

A couple of healthy drinks of Luo Han Guo (Monk Fruit) @ RM3.50 (this drink is naturally-sweet so the sweetness can't be tweaked to your preference), Ginger Tea @ RM4.50 (wouldn't mind more ginger taste), Glutinous Rice Pu'er Tea @ RM0.80 and Plain Water @ RM0.80 to wash down our pork oil and pork lard laden meal of noodles.

I was surprised by the taste of the glutinous rice pu'er tea which had a very light hint of sweetness (not the usual bitterness we associate with most Chinese teas) that made it very pleasant to drink.  And no, there's no sticky rice added to the tea (I googled).  Instead it comes from a herb (included in the tea) that gives out a sweet aroma that resembles the fragrance of sticky rice.  I enjoyed this a lot (and has become my go-to drink here) although it may be a tad diluted as the taste wasn't very strong (and this has sent me searching for the same tea on Shopee...hehe).

My Personal Opinion

Ho Liao (in the context of food) literally means "good stuff/ingredients" which can also translates to mean "delicious food".  I have to agree to a certain extent.  The noodles were the highlight here...definitely.  I thought the texture (and taste after adding the killer chilli oil, killer as in strikingly impressive and not gila spicy) was very good.....but the liao (or liew) that come with each bowl of noodle were very ordinary and unexciting.  Same goes to the side dishes that are a common find at other noodle shops + their taste didn't make them stand out enough to be highly appreciated.  Well, I'm not so sure of the ho liao part...but I'm sure of the ho chiak part!

That said, the place is still worthy for a visit if only for the noodles...with a "side" of non-spicy fragrant chilli oil and crispy pork lard.  The affordable pricing and good taste of their noodles (not to mention the food gets served very quickly even when they're very busy) have made them a regular haunt of ours for a spot of handmade noodles.  Sometimes a noodle as simple as this can satisfy our simple tastes and needs! ^_~

HoLiao Noodles

6 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/38

Beautiful Pandan

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 016-877 0342