Saturday, July 07, 2007

Fish Head Noodles at Red Leaf Restaurant & Cafe, Jln Loke Yew, KL

fish head noodles


When we have cravings for fish head noodles and are not in the mood to queue up for a table at Woo Pin in Taman Desa or hunt for parking at Goon Wah in Kuchai Lama, our next best alternative is Red Leaf Restaurant at Jalan Loke Yew. Perhaps terming it "next best" isn't very fair. The fish head noodles here can hold its own against the powerhouses mentioned above.


Our usual order comes with huge chunks of deep-fried fish and fish head, a few pieces of firm, delectable fish paste, tomatoes, preserved vegetables and of course, rice vermicelli, in a thick milk-infused broth. The "small" serving is rather large, but all the better to drink you up, grandma.


The restaurant also serves a variety of other popular one-dish meals, such as curry mee, wantan mee, claypot lou shue fun and prawn noodles, all of which are pretty good.


For all the writing I have done on high-end Malaysian and foreign food, this is where my heart is. Simple Malaysian fare that warms me up.


Diversity. That's what it's all about.


Red Leaf Restaurant & Cafe
(coming from Jln Maharajalela, it is located just before the Loke Yew roundabout)
Jalan Loke Yew, KL.

36 comments:

God of Food's said...

Looks nice, last time i used to eat at usj 17 which quite and u got to wait like 20 minutes. But now is not that tasty as they add salted fish which bring a heavy smell.

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

god of food's:

hmmm. excessive salted fish? that's too bad. if it ain't broke, why fix it, eh?

Anonymous said...

I just cooked some fish soup yesterday too but cannot be as nice as this since to make a bowl like this, need to boil and boil to make the flavorful stock.

msiagirl said...

grr...hungrylah! Just been out with the girls for drinks and now would like some of that fish head soup please!

Big Boys Oven said...

I love fish head noodle, top on my list. I prefer if they are from seawater rather freshwater as freshwater can have a muddy taste.
FHN at Red Leaf can be very busy too during office lunchtime. I had eaten few good ones, will be feature at havefoodwilltravel soon.

k.t.x said...

emmm, nice nice...hv not hv fish head noodle for so long man. i think it is one of those which is the most value for money. char quey tiaw often cannot fuel me up..lol.

of course it started off with 'head' but subsequently used 'fish meat' in which i hv no complaints...lol.

Tunku Halim said...

Wow Lyrical, what a photo! I can almost put it into my mouth and taste its explosion of flavours!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

tigerfish:

boil longer? :-P

msiagirl:

one fish head noodles coming up. nvm...i bring some with me when i visit u, k. :-) Think Heathrow will clear it? :-P

big boys oven:

i've never had trouble getting a table at Red Leaf restaurant, our favourite lunchtime haunt. Maybe it's because i go there after 1.00pm?

k.t.x:

i think you're right, dude. I can never finish a bowl of fish head noodles. Usually get full halfway through. But I think my makan club will attest to the fact that the reason why I cannot finish my food is because I fill up my stomach with the entire bowl of soup first. yum yum!

tunku halim:

Hehe! A dieter's boon, I bet. Taste the flavours from your computer screen rather than from an actual bowl of calorie-laden noodles. ;-)

~Christine~Leng said...

Looks delicious!! wanna ask whether do you any idea that there's a famous fish head noodles located near Jalan Alor?

Anonymous said...

I so wish that there's a restaurant here that serves this kind of delight! Hmmm. They don't even sell fish head here at all! Not that i would know what to do with it. :)

The restaurant is now going to be so busy because of your mouthwatering photo.

Argus Lou said...

Waaa... dining out almost every day, hor? In Switzerland, we can only afford to dine out once a fortnight - expensive sampai mati!
*mouth watering*
I love yue tau mai (fish head rice noodles) - and clayppot lo shi fun? Wow, that's the first I've heard of it. ;P-
Regards from your beloved Dried Wrinkly Lemongrass 'sis'

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

~Christine~Leng:

Yeah, I've heard of it, but I haven't been there yet. Parking is always a turn-off! :-P

mae:

hehe...I guess it's more of a delicacy in this part of the world! Fish head noodles, nowadays, consists of a combo of fish head and the other parts of the fish too.

dear dried wrinkly lemongrass sis:

remind me to take you out for claypot lou shue fun when you come down end aug/early sept; we can have it together with the couple of japanese I promised ya. *wink*

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

i remember this place always jammed pack..but i always hav the luxury of getting it "ta paued" on a saturday morning..wake up and just heat up..n i am in the comfort of fish head noodles stoning at the tv.. theres also another place near my office..got to blog about it..

Argus Lou said...

Ooo-er, thanks so much, Lyrical. Remember, I want my Japanese mature but tender. (Your two 'husbands' should so not read this.) ;-)

Anonymous said...

Another dish in my list of must-have when I get back home.

Precious Pea said...

From the look of it, I can tell that the broth is very tasty!

backStreetGluttons said...

we have known for quite some time de object of yr heart's true desire. but that the subtle conflict between yr naturally down-to-earth nostalgic sentiments v a v the sometimes often iresistible lure of the bright foreign glows could be nevertheless strongly disengaging ( we now know who to talk fun ) hehe

Anonymous said...

Looks very thick and flavourful. Mistake to come here now, I haven't take my breakfast yet!

MeiyeN said...

yumzzz.. looks delicious and milky! is this place near ue3?

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

nipples:

the royal treatment, eh? enjoy it while it lasts, boy. next time, must give royal treatment to wife instead. hehehehe.

argus lou:

two japanese, mature but tender, coming right up. And don't worry, both husbands don't mind...they're very liberal. heehee. Especially the second one. He has 4 wives - me, tummythoz, paprika and...hmm....who was the other one ar??

the cooking ninja:

aren't you running out of space on your 555 book yet? LOL.

precious sista:

ya lor...i always finish up the soup and leave the noodles behind!

team bsg:

how is the conflict disengaging, and who is disengaged? now only u know u can talk fun to me ar? aiyoyo.

jason:

hehe. i hope u got ur breakfast already, dear.

meiyen:

very delicious! no, it's not near ue3. it's closer to federal bakery. U know where that is?

UnkaLeong said...

Alamak...another local fave that I must have when I'm back next...

*makes note to self, stop visiting foodie blogs :P

Pink Elle said...

I love fish head noodles! But I don't like those that use "song" fish or freshwater fish. It ends up being quite smelly. What kind of fish does this place use?

wmw said...

Safe reading this post, cos not a fan of fish...hehehe

Home Cooking said...

so tempting dish

WokandSpoon said...

I totally agree with you. It's always the simple comfort food type dishes that I like best as well! Your soupy noodles look soooo good!

Sze said...

OMG felt pangs when faced with that picture. two things i can't get here - seafood and curry.

msiagirl said...

I just came over to stare at that picture some more-lah!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, no worries. ;)
Aren't the other wife is PP?

Tunku Halim said...

I'm afraid I do need to diet, but your photos only make me crave for the real thing...so I'm off to the nearest fish and chips! :)

BTW I've just started a FAVOURITE TALES COMPETITION at my blog. I'm giving away MPH book vouchers as prizes. Hope you don't mind me publicising it here. Cheers! :)

Tummythoz said...

Oh I know where that is. The shop is bathed in yellow bellow lighting right? That's way I've never stop by to check it out. Now I will. Thx.

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

unkaleong:

Aiyah, don't be like dat lar. :-P

pink elle:

yah, i had an idea u liked it (I remember one of your earlier posts on fish head noodles). Not sure what fish they use tho. Will chk and let u know. :-)

wmw:

aiyah, this fish got no hole la. :-P

isha:

it's really delicious!

wokandspoon:

yep. simple comfort food. :-) I hope u get some soon.

sze:

aww u poor thang. Goulash not good enuff? :-P

msiagirl:

hehe. stare away, girl! make sure eyes don't pop out!

jason:

you could be right! hehe. Pea it is then!

tunku halim:

dip that fish in some soup, and you'll get something close enuff to the real thing. hehe. Hey, your favourite tales competition sounds like fun. I may give it a try! Somemore closing date is a long way yet, rite? 31/8? Hmmm. Must not procrastinate!

abang jackson:

adinda sanggup pergi ke hujung dunia dengan abang. Mari kita makan mee sup kepala ikan bersama-sama, 'bang.

tummythoz:

you don't like yellow dirty fellow meh? U eat bananas? ikan masak lemak? :-D

IronEaters said...

"Simple Malaysian fare that warms me up." I totally agree with that! Loves Malaysian food so much.

Argus Lou said...

Tunku Halim will have to add milk or santan to his soup, then add some bee hoon, dunk in the fried fish and throw away the chips - ta daa! Tasmanian Devil's Fish Noodle Soup (minus head and chips). Slurp!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

ironeaters:

Can you get ur fix of Malaysian food easily?

argus lou:

Shouldn't there be a tasmanian devil in Tasmanian Devil's Fish Noodles Soup? Imagine.....

Kid: Mummy, I see Bugs Bunny. I see Sylvester. I see Tweety. BUT WHERE'S TAZ???

Mother: Sweetie...See those noodles over there? Taz is in Uncle Tunku Halim's stomach. Come, come, don't cry, let mummy buy you some Porky Pig cracklings. :-)

Argus Lou said...

Ooo... Lyrical, aren't you the devil's advocate? No, you're an accountant by day and a foodie all day and night, ja?

Tasmanian devils are very fierce with very strong jaws and teeth - u don't wanna mess with them. Hell, yeah, if TH can catch one, he deserves to put it in his soup. (Or maybe he's the Tasmanian Devil since he writes those scary stories?)

re: Taz -- You're cruel.

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

argus lou:

Trying to imagine Tunku Halim as Taz, gnashing teeth and all. :-P

And darling, looking at the hours I spend at work, I think I'm an accountant by day AND by night. hahaha. I'm the vampire blogger...I come out past midnight. :-P