The boat noodles phenomenon has taken the Klang Valley quite by storm for the past year or so. Scenes of noodle bowls piling up sky high were something that almost everyone was bragging about on social media. Personally, I haven’t had any of these boat noodles until recently because I couldn’t quite subscribe to the idea of eating one mouthful of noodles from one bowl. For a fulfilling meal, the task of having to eat 10 bowls was quite daunting, not to mention the time and detergent needed to clean 10 bowls instead of just a single bowl. It all seemed such a waste of time and resources to me. But somehow, people seems to love the idea and the stacks of empty bowls seem to be a major satisfactory factor. I was told by this Boat Noodles operator that the record held by a guy was 77 bowls and 74 bowls for a woman. Wow – impressive.
Boat noodles is a Thai streetfood hawked from small boats on the canals of central Thailand. Its popularity grew tremendously, so much so that it’s now sold in street corners and widely available in Thailand.
The Original Boat Noodles serves their noodles (RM1.90/bowl) in 2 types of broth: Ayutthaya and Pathumthani. The former originated from Ayutthaya with an intense flavour derived from a creamy dark broth boiled with no less than 10 herbs and spices. The rich brownish broth is thicker than the Pathumthani broth.
Using dark soy sauce for its delicate broth, the Pathumthani recipe uses 19 herbs and spices. While slightly sourish, the broth has a wide profile of aromas stemming from the 5-spice powder, star anise and cinnamon.
Both the Ayutthaya and Pathumthani broths are available with beef or chicken for the boat noodles. Personally, I prefer the Pathumthani version for its more delicate flavours.
In order to remain competitive and relevant, The Original Boat Noodles recently introduced some new additions to their menu.
Thai Popeye’s Tempura – kangkung leaves coated in light batter and deep-fried till crispy, eaten with a rich piquant “soot-yot” dipping sauce.
Yum Mama – classic Thai instant noodles smothered with chicken slices, crabtick and vegetables.
Yum Woon Sen – similar to Glassnoodles Kerabu. Rice vermicelli is piled with bouncy shrimps, squids and crab sticks and drenched with a sour spicy sauce.
Yum Meatballs – simple comfort food – chicken balls.
Bangkok Omelette with “soot yud” – fried rice wrapped in a golden omelette, similar to the Nasi Padprik that’s popular locally. The rice, although rather plain-looking, was quite fragrant on its own even though there’s no other ingredients in it.
Kra-Pow Chicken Rice – “Kra Pow” refers to the Thai basil leaf. It’s minced chicken saute’ed with spices and Thai basil leaf – simple but so good. Together with the accompanying fried egg, this is a one-plate meal by itself.
Boat Noodle Sangkaya – in Thai, “sangkaya” means “custard” so this is similar to our kaya. Steamed bread was served together with the Sangkaya. I found the texture of the custard a bit “powdery” and tasted of predominantly of coconut cream.
Besides these new menu items, check out their new beverages: Ice-blended Green Tea and Ice-blended Coconut.
You can savour the new menu items in Boat Noodles’ 9 outlets in Malaysia which are located in Empire Damansara, The School at Jaya One, Ikon Cheras, Berjaya Times Square, Publika, Sutera Mall (JB), Gamuda Walk (Kota Kemuning), Klang Parade and D’Pulze Cyberjaya.
For more information, visit Boat Noodles’ Facebook Page at
https://www.facebook.com/meesampan