Hunt down this truly hidden backstreet ‘kopitiam’ in Semenyih for ‘nam yu’ fried pork and Hakka ‘zhar yoke’ noodles

A visit to Semenyih for plant hunting led to an unexpected discovery of local Hakka style pork noodle dishes at Backstreet Time, a hidden back lane kopitiam.

The kopitiam, run by a father-daughter duo, offers a warm, small-town atmosphere with dishes like nam yu fried pork noodles and Hakka zhar yoke noodles.

Backstreet Time is located in Pekan Semenyih, open daily except Thursday, serving from 6:30am to 2:30pm.

SEMENYIH, Oct 3 — Food adventures don’t always begin as food adventures.

We don’t always head out with a clear gastronomic destination in mind, though that is common enough. Especially for Malaysians, ahem.

(I’m sure we have all had the experience of driving across state lines at the oddest hours to simply reach a popular stall just as it opens , yes?)

But this time, it wasn’t for pan mee , pani puri or pisang goreng (though I still prefer to call it goreng pisang ; it works if you read it as "fritter of banana” ); we were out hunting for plants in Semenyih where several garden and landscape nurseries are located.

What we ended up finding were very local, Hakka style pork noodle dishes where we least expected to find them (but more on that later).

To be exact, less of actual hunting and more of arguing over whether to get more flowering plants such as hibiscus and rain lilies or greener, leafy species such as an Alocasia or a glossy Philodendron.

All that spirited discussion (to put it mildly) would make anyone hungry; indeed, who knew debating passionately could be such an intense calorie burning activity?

We certainly were famished. Time for munchies.

It’s early enough that most places were still offering breakfast but rather than drive around looking for an eatery that’s not too crowded, we decided to just walk around and see what turns up.

Which is how we found ourselves at Backstreet Time, literally a back lane kopitiam at the rear of a terrace house. It’s not a place you’d just happen to walk past unless you happen to be exploring the area (that’s us; it was just a few minutes’ stroll from a nursery).

A father and daughter team manned the cooking and coffee stations, respectively. Looking around, it’s clear that the shop caters mainly to local customers from the surrounding neighbourhood.

As the daughter busied herself making drinks and toasting bread — we started with the requisite kopi and butter kaya toast — her father continued cooking every plate of noodles to order.

A simple, unhurried rhythm, with friendly smiles. That small town, close neighbourhood ambience. Easy to fall in love with, hard to replicate in the big city. Certainly not in a crowded albeit air-conditioned mall.

The first plate to arrive was the nam yu fried pork noodles. The aroma of the nam yu or fermented red bean curd marinade was not too strong, not too subtle. Just nice.

The slices of pork looked lean at first but there was the gorgeous layers of juicy fat too, infused with the bold, savoury flavour of the fermented red bean curd.

Whilst waiting for the second plate of noodles, we shared a bowl of their handmade fish balls. This wasn’t on the menu but the daughter suggested it when taking our orders.

Coarsely shaped, fresh tasting, with enough of a bounce to make every bite a joy. A good recommendation.

Finally the Hakka zhar yoke noodles arrived. This is an unctuous dish of braised pork chunks with wood ear mushrooms, full of five-spice powder fragrance. Good on rice, maybe even better with noodles given it’s breakfast time.

(Breakfast time always feels like a time for noodles, somehow. Mornings are made for noodles .)

We left Backstreet Time with full bellies, energised for further plant hunting and debating. One adventure leads to another, and so on.

Food adventures don’t always begin as food adventures. And these might be the best sort of adventures of them all, don’t you agree?

Backstreet Time 后街的光阴

Pekan Semenyih, Semenyih.

Open daily (except Thu closed) 6:30am–2:30pm

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一次前往士毛月寻找植物的旅行，却意外地在后街时光（Backstreet Time）这家隐藏在后巷的咖啡店里发现了当地客家风味的猪肉面条。

这家由父女二人经营的咖啡店，提供温暖的小镇氛围，菜肴包括南鱼炒猪肉面和客家炒肉面。

Backstreet Time 位于 Pekan Semenyih，除周四外每天营业，营业时间为早上 6:30 至下午 2:30。

士毛月，10月3日——美食冒险并不总是以美食冒险的形式开始。

我们并非每次出门都会事先想好要去哪家餐厅，虽然这种情况很常见。尤其是对马来西亚人来说，嗯。

（我相信我们都曾有过这样的经历：在非常奇怪的时间驱车跨越州界，只为了赶在某个热门摊位刚开门时到达，对吧？）

但这次，我们不是为了吃板面、炸香蕉或炸香蕉（虽然我仍然更喜欢称它为炸香蕉；如果你把它读作“香蕉油炸饼”，也说得通）；我们去士毛月寻找植物，那里有好几家园艺和景观苗圃。

我们最终发现的是非常地道的客家风味猪肉面，而我们却在最意想不到的地方发现了它们（稍后会详细介绍）。

确切地说，与其说是实际狩猎，不如说是争论是应该种植更多开花植物，如木槿和雨百合，还是应该种植更多绿叶植物，如海芋或光叶蔓绿绒。

如此激烈的讨论（说得委婉点）会让任何人感到饥饿；的确，谁能想到激烈的辩论竟然会如此消耗卡路里呢？

我们当时真是饿坏了，该吃点零食了。

现在时间还早，大多数地方都还在供应早餐，但与其开车四处寻找不太拥挤的餐馆，我们决定四处走走，看看有什么好去处。

就这样，我们来到了 Backstreet Time，它其实是一家位于排屋后巷的咖啡店。除非你碰巧在附近闲逛（我们就是这样；它离一家托儿所只有几分钟的步行路程），否则你不会偶然路过这里。

一对父女分别负责烹饪和咖啡制作。环顾四周，很明显这家店主要服务于附近社区的居民。

女儿忙着调制饮料和烤面包——我们先点了必备的咖啡和黄油咖椰吐司——她的父亲则继续按订单烹制每一盘面条。

节奏简单舒缓，人们脸上总是挂着友善的笑容。这就是小镇的氛围，邻里关系亲密。很容易爱上这里，却很难在大城市里复制。当然，在拥挤但有空调的商场里是找不到的。

第一道上桌的是南乳炒猪肉面。南乳（发酵红豆腐）腌料的香味不浓也不淡，恰到好处。

猪肉片乍看之下很瘦，但其实也有层层叠叠的肥美多汁的脂肪，浸润着发酵红豆腐浓郁鲜美的味道。

在等第二盘面条的时候，我们点了一碗他们家的手工鱼丸。这道菜不在菜单上，是店员女儿在点餐时推荐的。

外形粗糙，口感清新，弹性十足，每一口都令人愉悦。值得推荐。

客家卤肉面终于上桌了。这是一道用木耳炖煮的肥肉块，汤汁浓郁，五香粉的香味扑鼻而来。配米饭吃很美味，但考虑到是早餐时间，配面条可能更胜一筹。

（不知为何，早餐时间总感觉应该吃面条。早晨就该吃面条。）

我们酒足饭饱地离开了Backstreet Time，精力充沛地准备继续寻找植物和展开讨论。一次冒险之后又是另一次，如此循环往复。

美食探险并非总是以美食探险的形式展开。而这些或许才是所有探险中最棒的一种，你同意吗？

Backstreet Time 后街的光阴

Pekan Semenyih，Semenyih。

每日营业（周四休息），上午6:30至下午2:30

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想尝尝邦咯岛的椰浆饭吗？那就去斯里塞甘布花园的Alee Kopitiam吧，那里不仅有美味的椰浆饭，还有超赞的酿辣椒鱼、芋头糕和糖水。

班加罗尔一日游：鲜花市场、安得拉邦特色餐厅 (Andhra bhojanam) 和 Farmlore 餐厅——一家位于印度硅谷边缘，占地 33 英亩的农场内，以农产品为主要食材的餐厅

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