Kedai Kopi Bobo Hokkien Mee

The Hokkien Mee stall at Kedai Kopi Bobo (16 September 2014)

Kedai Kopi Bobo Hokkien Mee (GPS: 5.34218, 100.29444) is a very popular Hokkien Mee stall in Lip Sin Garden, Sungai Dua. As mentioned in the name, it is at Kedai Kopi Bobo. I have heard about this stall before, but as it is outside my usual routine, I did not have a chance to try it.

17 February, 2015
Today, being the run-up to Chinese New Year, we are already on CNY leave. With the extra time in our hand, my wife and I decided to give the Hokkien Mee at Kedai Kopi Bobo a second try. We knew that it requires a long wait. We have tried it once before (see date below), where we bought home. We were not that impressed with the taste, but considering it was bought home rather than eat in, we thought perhaps it would taste differently at the coffee shop.

We arrived at 8:05 am. The service was friendly, but we were warned to expect a long wait. Having anticipated the wait, we agreed, then took a seat at one of the tables beside the wall. Our queue number was 14.

By 8:15 am, the stall brought out its first orders. We were surprised that there were already 13 orders ahead of ours, and only now, ten minutes after we ourselves have waited, were orders 1, 2 and 3 delivered to their respective tables. While waiting for our Hokkien Mee, we played games on our smartphone to kill time.

The coffee shop was very noisy, courtesy of two tables of aunties and uncles who spoke at the top of their voices, and seemed to have a continuous stream of conversation. We had to train our ears to hear the orders being announced, as the server would yell out the number to locate the orderers.

We only received out orders at 8:50 am, some 55 minutes after we placed them. We ordered the big bowl with spare ribs. Each bowl cost RM5.00, and this is how it looks like.

Kedai Kopi Bobo Hokkien Mee (17 February 2015)

It looked good, but we would have appreciated a little bit more spareribs. The first mouthful confirmed to me that I have tasted better Hokkien Mee elsewhere. I actually brought a spoonful of the soup to my nose to smell it, to determine the aroma. It could be better.

Having tasted this Hokkien Mee twice, it will be a very long time before we try it again. It is just not worth the wait, and if we wanted good Hokkien Mee, there are at least two or three other less well-known stalls we would patronise. We do observe how strange it is that we simply do not enjoy the Hokkien Mee at the most famous stalls - the other one which we were not impressed by is the Hokkien Mee at Kedai Kopi Classic on Perak Road. We are quite sure it has nothing to do with our sense of taste.

We knew the aroma of good Hokkien Mee when we smell it, we know what's good value for money, and we appreciate short waiting time. We did not find any of these at Kedai Kopi Bobo. However, we are quite happy to have everybody coming here. We would like them to continue patronising this stall (better that than coming our to our favourite stall and creating a crowd for us) and we would definitely not discourage anybody to try the Hokkien Mee at Kedai Kopi Bobo, subscribing to the principle that one man's meat is another's poison. If people ask me about the Hokkien Mee at Kedai Kopi Bobo, my response is that the Hokkien Mee at Kedai Kopi Bobo is very popular and is the favourite of many, but after trying it twice, I remained unimpressed by it.

Rating: B- (last update: 17 February 2015)
Category: Hokkien Mee 16 September, 2014
Today being Malaysia Day, a public holiday, we had extra time in our hands to try out hawker stalls that we would not have chance to visit. We thought we would have a relaxing morning to go to Lip Sin Garden and look for this Hokkien Mee stall.

When we arrived, we saw that the Hokkien Mee stall at Kedai Kopi Bobo was already crowded with waiting customers. It appears that the stall was usually crowded, so it has devised an effective numbering system, to ensure that all customers are served in proper sequence. Each customer holds an order card with a number. There are two sets of number cards, one for customers eating in and another for those ordering to go.

We realised that it would be a long while before we get our order. Lucky for us, we met up with a friend, who was already in the queue, holding card no. 17, so we add our orders to his. He told us that he was already waiting for 15 minutes. We waited with him for another twenty minutes before it was his turn to place the order. Rather than having the Hokkien Mee at the coffee shop, we ordered to go.

Rating: B+ (last update: 16 September 2014)
Category: Hokkien Mee Hokkien Mee stall, Kedai Kopi Bobo (7 September 2014)

We ordered two bowls with spare ribs, but when we got back, we saw that the seller has gotten the order wrong, and given us one bowl without spare ribs. Oh well!

Now comes the moment of truth. How does it measure up? It does look good. Secondly, it gives whole prawns, which is a plus compared to elsewhere, which offers sliced prawns. It was also generous with the spare ribs - at least, that's what I can say of the bowl with spare ribs.

In terms of the aroma, it has less of the "old world" Hokkien Mee aroma, if compared to the Bangkok Lane Hokkien Mee. My wife commented that the soup is too sweet, not exactly Hokkien Mee sweet. I personally thought that the soup was okay for me.

A stone's throw from this stall is Granny's Hokkien Mee. When comparing the two, based on our one visit to Granny's, we can say that we were given more soup here than at Granny's, where the soup hardly covered the noodles.

How good is Kedai Kopi Bobo's Hokkien Mee? I would say that it is above average (and Granny's Hokkien Mee nearby is also above average). However, I certainly would not want to wait over half an hour for my bowl of Hokkien Mee. I like it that the stall implemented the card number system. In so doing, it ensures no customer cuts queue. However, it is unfortunate that despite this, we still got our orders wrong.

On the Hokkien Mee being "not aromatic enough", I also suppose that taking it to go might have something to do with it. If we had ordered in, the experience might be different. So I hope to give this Hokkien Mee another chance in the future, but ordering in, and evaluating its taste based on how it is when served hot.

Kedai Kopi Bobo Hokkien Mee. This is ordered to go, photographed at home using my own bowl. (16 September 2014)

Where to eat Hokkien Mee in Penang & elsewhere
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