Lau Di Kway Teow Soup 老弟潮州粿条汤 in Downtown Johor Bahru, Malaysia

 

Lau Di Kway Teow Soup 老弟潮州粿条汤 is an old gem in a pretty forgotten corner of JB old town.

 

MR Er's grandfather, Lau Di, started this Teochew kway teow soup stall before the Japanese Occupation of 1942.

Today, MR Er carries on the family tradition using the same methods and recipes of his grandfather, Lau Di 老弟. MR Er's uncle Ah Sang runs Sang Heng, the other old style kway teow soup stall just across Jalan Wong Ah Fook.

Lau Di had its heydays when the CIQ was at the old location as the stall was just next to the CIQ then. Since the CIQ shifted, traffic flow to Lau Di was much reduced. 

Most of the customers here are old regulars who know where the best foods are in JB and a new generation who tagged along with their parents. Though just across the Causeway, Lau Di doesn't have much Singapore customers nowadays.

 

 

Today, I decided to try mee kia instead of my usual favourites of either kway teow or mee pok. I asked for chili paste to be added to my soy and lard based sauce.

 

Those pork lard crackles that magically turn plain and simple traditional noodles into tasty delights. 

 

After a vigorous stir, the fine film of sauce and lard coated mee kia was tasty and tacky yet smooth. The noodles were el dente (QQ). MR Er told me that his wife and daughter make the fresh egg noodles everyday at home.

The same too for these fish balls and most of the ingredients which had been home made all these years.

 
The most striking thing about Lau Di was their soup. I liked Lau Di's murky, old style soup very much. Lau Di's soup had that distinct prawny aroma.

 

The cloudy soup has that umami flavour and nice prawny taste. The full bodied soup was not oily yet it felt smooth.

As usual, when making my order, I asked for no minced pork in my noodles as most kway teow soup stalls had much more fat in the minced pork than I would like. Later I noticed that Lau Di's minced pork is made completely with lean meat.

So, for my next visit, I shall ask for this minced pork which I am sure adds texture and flavour to the kway teow soup.

 

Lau Di is another heritage hawker in JB with that traditional old style taste and flavour worth visiting regularly.

Restaurant name: Lau Di Teochew Kway Teow Soup 老弟潮州粿条汤
Address: Along Jalan Siu Nam opposite the ESSO petrol station
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/WB09l
GPS: 1.459103,103.766126
Hours: 9:00am to 2:00pm (Closed on Tuesday)
Non Halal

Date visited: 15 Nov 2012