The small village of Ulu Yam Lama is renowned far and wide for Lor Mee (卤面), which is substantially different from the version in Penang. In fact, many people from Kuala Lumpur deliberately travel to Ulu Yam Lama (about an hour’s drive from the city) just to savour this delicacy. 9657 Basketball Court Restaurant (9657篮球场面档) is one of the shops that serves this dish. It is located next to a sheltered basketball court near the primary school.
The main delicacy, Lor Mee (卤面, RM16.00), is cooked in a thick gravy which is prepared from corn starch, egg and spices. Lor Mee uses thick yellow noodles about half a centimeter in diameter. This savory dish also contains pork slices, choy sum (菜心) and pork lard (猪油渣). Vinegar is often added to taste.
Klang Valley’s Hokkien Mee is completely unrelated to Penang’s Hokkien Mee. The former is sometimes called Hokkien Char Mee (福建炒面, RM16.00) to show the distinction. Using the same noodle as Lor Mee, Hokkien Char Mee is cooked with dark soy sauce, pork slices, choy sum and pork lard. A good plate of Hokkien Char Mee revolves around proper application of “fiery aroma” (镬气), in which this restaurant does remarkably well.
The next dish, Fried Rice Cake With Dried Shrimps (虾米炒白粿, RM16.00), uses a type of Fujian rice cake called “pek ker” or “pek kueh”. The rice cake is soaked in water overnight, and then stir-fried with dried shrimp, pork and vegetables. Its chewy texture is somewhat similar to Korean rice cakes, garae-tteok. This dish is highly recommended especially if you have not tasted it before.
Next in line is Fried Rice Vermicelli With Gulong Braised Pork (古龙扣肉炒米粉, RM28.00). The word “Gulong” refers to a local brand of canned meat products. In my opinion, this dish is too salty and fails to deliver the savoriness that I was expecting. Perhaps it is not the chef’s strongest forte.
We also ordered a platter of Fried Fishcake (炸鱼饼, RM20.00) and Fried Tofu Skin (炸腐竹, RM10.00). These snacks are meant to be eaten with sweet chili sauce.
One good way to cleanse the palate after a heavy meal is by having Fried Sweet Potato Leaves (清炒番薯叶, RM15.00). Unbeknownst to many people, the sweet potato plant has soft leaves and juicy stems, both of which are edible. The dish is cooked with garlic and red chili peppers.
Overall, the dishes at 9657 Basketball Court Restaurant are acceptably tasty and reasonably priced. The restaurant shares the premises with Restoran 5776 (5776火锅卤面) which opens in the evening. The nighttime operator serves similar dishes, but offers hot pot (火锅) too.
Address: Pusat Aktiviti Serbaguna JKKK Kg. Stesyen Hulu Yam Lama, 44300 Hulu Yam Lama, Selangor
Contact: 016-326-6083
Business hours: 8:00am-4:00pmTaste