Go Noodle

The outlets are springing forth one by one in major shopping complexed within the Klang Valley. I heard people were willing to wait for more than half an hour to secure a seat to dine here. And a buddy of mine who is not a foodie also made special mention of this place, saying that the pricing is reasonable for KL standards and it taste kinda decent too. Knowing this person from university days who is a sucker for fried food, if he recommends something soupy and clear, it gotta be good I reckon? Not to mention that when my ex-superior went down to KL to visit her son, out of all places, her son brings her to Go Noodle! Another friend of mine also keep craving for this everytime she drops by KL. Makes me wonder what is the sorcery behind this craze over noodles, which seems to me appear quite generic.

Upon planning a solo-trip to Genting during my transition period between jobs, I browsed through the list of food available in SkyAvenue and already set my mind to try both Kyochon and Go Noodles. After checking in to my room, I made a dash to have a late lunch. Nothing is more rewarding that a bowl of steamy and soupy dish to warm your hungry stomach at a chilly weather setting.

It may appear generic, with customizable noodles, soup base and toppings. Not wanting to upset my already empty stomach, I went for the clear soup and their signature Mi Xian. The “Bursting Meatball” seems very attractive. Well, at least by the sound of its name, as who could forget that iconic scene of Stephen Chow’s God of Cookery.

There you have it, the Bursting Meatball. The movie scenes of the meatball fillings squirting some broth to the face of the person sitting on the opposite end of the table. Yours truly took the counter table just in case, I will just only dirty the wall in front of me. Well, fortunately or unfortunately, none of the mentioned happened. There is actually another flavourful layer of minced pork inside the pork meatballs. From the closeup picture, you can actually notice that the filling is more coarsely minced which has a contrasting texture to the outer layer and it is more packed with flavours from the marinade/broth. Though there is no explosion effect to the surrounding, do take caution not to scald your tongue as the filling is indeed quite hot.

This is a glimpse of their outlet in SkyAvenue, far from being full because I dined in some off-peak hours. The decoration is similar across as I visited their Gurney Plaza outlet. The seating maybe be slightly uncomfortable as diners are packed close to each other and the stools provided will ensure that you leave soon after your last spoonful of noodles.

On my second visit with my parents, we ordered 2 bowls for sharing. This time, we managed to try both the clear soup and also the spicy broth. And I have the liberty to have add-ons for my noodles as the menu in Gurney Plaza adopts the standard price, unlike in Genting whereby the entry level bowl of noodles will cost you about RM15

This is the fish paste Mi Xian with an additional topup of fish maw (RM8 for 60g if I remembered correctly). The fish paste is very bouncy without any unpleasant fishy smell. The Chinese wine complemented the clear broth well. Although I dislike the strong-smelling coriander sprinkled on top, I think most will agree that it plays a complementary role in enhancing the taste of the soup. Not a person who appreciates fish maw myself, my dad says that it was quite good though

As mentioned, the second bowl was the spicy broth. Far from being the tongue-numbing "ma lat" type, the spicy version gives a slightly sourish taste, something similar to a cross between kimchi and your usual Szechuan style of soup. I opted for the pork belly noodles with a top-up of bursting meat balls. Note that for top-up, you only get 3 meatballs. I forgot how much was the top up but it was reasonably priced. Two bowl of noodles above and one drink comes to slightly above RM40.

In conclusion, I will still recommend the clear broth over the spicy broth and Mi Xian over the usual beehoon. For the toppings, lala and garoupa slices in clear broth is topping my wishlist if I were to step in any Go Noodle outlet. The bursting meatball and fish paste are still in my recommended list though as I find the pork belly nothing really special to shout about. They serve pan mee as well but I think the texture of Mixian in aromatic soup with wine will keep you satisfied for at least another few tries.