Tasty Mee Rebus served at stall near Masjid India
I have set out on a quest to locate a stall that serves a decent helping of Mee Rebus and with some help from friends and the Internet, I located Rosli Mee Rebus in the Masjid India area.
But before I begin, due credit goes out to blogger PabloPabla of www.deliciousasianfood.com where there is detailed write-up about local food.
With clues from this domain, I made my way to Masjid India via LRT and the KTM Komuter from Mid Valley Megamall (it is a strategic place where parking is cheap on weekdays).
The Komuter ride cost me RM1 while the RapidKL rail transfer to the Masjid Jamek station costs RM1.30. Commuting gave me a chance to connect with the real world and while I was at it, I took the opportunity to warm up my Apple ipod player.
It took about 15 minutes to get downtown from Mid Valley Megamall via rail and another 10-minute walk from the station to get to the Masjid India area.
Now, in the blog, the mentioned landmark was Wisma Haniffa. This is a textile outlet located near Jalan Bunus. I knew this area very well because my father used to run a tai chow (stir fried) food business in the area.
Simple and tasty: Pak Rosli Mee Rebus is a product of pride, integrity and a good attitude. But much has changed in the neighbourhood’s landscape since I last set foot here. I spent 10 minutes to locate the landmark and came up empty.
After some deliberation, I decided that it’s best to ask because nothing had turned up on my GPS. I went to the Masjid India police beat base to ask about the Haniffa building and a plainclothes cop pointed to a building across the Mydin hypermart.
“Ha, bangunan itu lah encik, sekarang ni, tengah ubahsuai,” (that’s the building, its under renovation now) said the policeman.
I thanked him and proceeded to walk to the site and saw a few stalls along the backlane. With plain instinct kicking in, something tells me that I am near the mark and as I slowly walked past each stall, I noticed that there is a stall somewhere in the middle row that matches a photograph which I saw on the food blog.
I found what I was looking for and wasted no time in ordering a plate of mee rebus. The first thing I noticed at the stall was how the condiments and garnishing were laid out.
Despite its simplicity, the stall was quite professionally rigged. Service was prompt as my order was delivered within five minutes with a hot mug of teh-o kosong (tea without sugar).
And everything that I had ever hoped for materialised. Rosli’s mee rebus is as tasty as described in the blog.
I found the noodle dish simple and cheap (at RM3.20 a plate, you can’t complain). What I like is the rich taste of its gravy complemented with slices of raw green chillies and fried shallot.
This was very close to what I had many years ago in Jalan Riong where the most delicious nasi berigin stall is located.
The stall, operated by a few brothers, offers Mee Rebus using chicken as its soup base and if you know the stall owners well enough, they will throw in some stewed chicken feet.
At Rosli’s stall, the noodle dish is kept at a bare minimal. You get a piece of hard boiled egg with your order.
When I was done with the makan, the stall owner came up and chatted with me.
“Encik ni dari mana?”, (where are you from?) he asked.
I told the elderly man that I had come all the way from Subang Jaya after reading about his mee rebus stall and his immediate reaction was a wide grin.
“Dulu, saya berniaga kat Emporium Selangor. Masa tu, pelanggan tunggu saya buka kedai dan bila tutup, dia orang tahan saya,” (I used to operate at the Selangor Emporium and customers there will wait for me to open shop and when I am done, they kept me open till I ran out of noodles).
Based on his description, this man had seen better days. Now that he had relocated to an obscure spot in the busy Masjid India area, business has been on the decline.
The back lane area behind Wisma Haniffa in Jalan Masjid India. According to Rosli, he has been in business since 1972 and specialises in selling Mee Rebus, Tauhu Goreng (fried beancurd) and Mee Tauhu (beancurd noodles).
“I used to work in Singapore and when I was there, a Javanese man taught me how to prepare the Mee Rebus and his advice to me was to be honest if I want to make a living,” he said.
I was amazed with the man’s sincerity and when I was told that the tahu goreng dish is a meal on its own, I told Pak Rosli that I’ll give it a go.
This simple dish came with sliced cucumber and blanched beansprouts and what made it really tasty was the kuah kacang.
I spent a few hours at this roadside stall, learning more about the man’s origin and the people who eat there. I observed a few retirees who ordered the same dishes and according to Pak Rosli, one of his regular customers was a Datuk.
“His driver will eat here while the boss dines in his luxury car. One day, I was called to mengadap (summoned) by the rich man who asked me how many bungalows I owned.
“I was nervous but after he queried me on whether I have struck it rich with my Mee Rebus, I jokingly told him that my craft provided me just enough to survive,” he said.
Well, despite his good reputation, this humble Mee Rebus stall owner told me that he lived in a High Chapparal home.
So, I asked him to elaborate what exactly the word meant and after some persuasion, Pak Rosli told me that he and his wife lived in a squatter’s home.
For me, the Rosli Mee Rebus experience was complete. Great food, excellent stories and reminiscence of the old school way of doing things made my trip to his stall an unforgettable affair.
We spoke about the old and good makan places in Singapore and in the midst of our conversation, Pak Rosli said he had a secret recipe that was available through special request.
“Ah, kuah Mee Rebus saya ni berintikan daging. Kalau encik tak risau pasak kolesterol tinggi, saya guna daging tetel. Memang sedap!”
(I use beef as the gravy’s base and if you are not afraid of high cholesterol food, I can add some cow’s fat which gives the noodles a very fragrant taste).
His proposal had raised my eyebrows and having heard about daging tetel, I am now convinced that this is one of the best Mee Rebus in the Klang Valley.
Eating at Pak Rosli’s stall was a humbling and heartwarming experience. He cooks from the heart and without cutting corners and gives his customers a good deal with the intention of serving good food.
And with a rich and colourful history, I would say that Rosli Mee Rebus made it to ‘Samo’s places to eat in KL before they are history’ list. So, you better catch the man and his trade before its too late.
Pak Rosli’s stall opens daily from 9am to 5pm. To get there, try locating the old Wisma Shen because the stalls are found on its back lane.
For you gearheads out there, the lat-long readings are: 03 09 235 N, 101 41 853 E. Just log this into your handheld or in-vehicle GPS unit and the unit will take you there.
Last but not least, happy hunting and have a good time!
