I have past by Harbin Cafe many times but never really been there until recently. What actually caught my attention was the fact that they advertise themselves as having the one of the best Hainanese lor me in town. What's also intriguing is that lor mee is suppose to be a Hokkien dish ergo a Hainanese lor me warranted some investigation on my part.
The typical lor mee consists of a mixture of white rice noodles or beehoon and yellow noodles served with thick starchy gravy made up of corn starch, egg and spices. This is usually complimented by slices of pork and a half boiled egg. In some stalls, they might surprise you with innards like intestines or chicken feet which would put off most Westerners. Lastly, it comes with chili and ginger paste to compliment the thick gravy noodles just like the one shown below.
Hmm. I can't seem to find the slightest difference between this and the Hokkien style. The ingredients are the same except perhaps they added in the pork belly. Not sure.
What a tempting looking pork belly. I could just eat this minus the noodles.
I decided I wasn't in the mood for innards and just had the normal one. I think it cost around RM3-3.5. The lor mee was just average because it tasted like any ordinary lor mee you would get in Penang. Perhaps because of the marketing hype I expected more. Anyway, you are not going to see me doing any back flips or somersaults on this.
Nonetheless, Harbin is still quite a popular cafe since it also sells Malay economy rice and Western food. The Malay food is a crowd puller during the day time where as the Western food seems to do better during the evening. For directions to Harbin Cafe, it is located at the intersection of Jones Road and Burma Road. Alternatively, you can use the SOCSO building at Pulau Tikus as your landmark since it's just directly opposite it.
7 comments:
This Lor Mee is the same as those available at Colonial Restaurant in Armenian Street and it is slightly pricier.
hmm.. this one located same row as the duck rice we posted before...
we pass there so many time... and saw the signboard too...
but never got time to walk in also.:P
My colleagues tried this before, they said it tasted pretty bad. :-|
Actually they were good when i was still studying form 4! Hah, is been 13 years from now. i still remember it was one of the best during that time. (same family from Kuan Ying template's Lor Mee) And i alway tar pau for my late grandma after the tuition. What makes them special, is added more "five Spice", have egg aroma and thicker starch then ordinary one.
I think the wondership has changed few year ago.
CK Lam-Thanks for sharing. I didnt know this.
Penang tua pui-I definitely will try the duck rice which you reviewed earlier. I think its just 20 meters from Harbin.
Allie-yeah, I was dissapointed with all the hype but it wasnt that bad either. I would say it's rather ordinary.
Gill gill-I didnt know that they have been around for so long. I guess over the years the recipe might have changed.
Do you know the Harbin Cafe has a good Western food during night time?
i would recommend the Steak, rib eye and mix grill. anyway, dont go for others, just taste so so only.
gill gill-hey thanks for the info. I will certain follow your recommendation the next time. Certainly look forward to the steak :0
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