We’ve always wanted to pay Lai Foong a visit – why? Firstly because we have an affinity for ol’ school coffee shops, the kind that has been around for decades and secondly because we’ve been hearing plenty about the good food served here, consistently. However, after countless times attempting – we kindda gave up. Looking around for parking nearby, especially during lunch hour was close to impossible. The numerous attempts made didn’t go to waste though because this time, we learned, improvised and made it here with ease.

Central Market is a 5 minutes walk away from Lai Foong, which made it an awesome place to park, very convenient. The downside to this is that during lunch hour – it is impossible to get a spot. Trust me, I’d know … I spent 40 minutes waiting for a spot before giving up and leaving. It is empty in the morning though. I arrived at Central Market open car park at 10.20 am and there were plenty of spot available.

So, if you intend to drive, it is best to head over in the morning. Plenty of parking availability at Central Market. Besides, a short walk under the morning sun is healthy, isnt it? Worry not, no major, busy roads to cross. The eatery is located on the same side/stretch as Central Market, just a lil further down. If you prefer lunch hour, and fully intending to drive, be prepared to wait for a long while for a parking spot. A better option for lunch would be the train – Central Market/Pasar Seni station. Not too long a walk.

Lai Foong Coffee Shop occupies 2 lots – a corner lot and the one next to it. I frankly prefer sitting in the corner lot because it resembles a proper ol’ school kopitiam as oppose to the one next door, which some how reminds me more of a restaurant – does that make sense?

What is famous here? several items. Lai Foong is perhaps best known for their Lala Beef Noodles. If you do not fancy that, the Wan Tan noodle and Fried Koay Teow here is suppose to be good too. There are other dishes available, Chicken and Char Siew rice, fried noodles and rice but the three items mentioned above is what’s popular at Lai Foong.

Fried Kuey Teow (Large), 7.50 ringgit + Wan Tan Mee (Large), 8 ringgit

Yup, food here is delicious. Both noodles came from 2 different stalls. The Fried Kuay Teow is cooked by an old uncle. From the way he moves, his speed and how at ease he is with the space he moves it – it kindda shows you that he has been doing it for ages. During lunch time, when it gets packed, I noticed that he starts operating like a machine – cook and serve, repeat… non stop. Good thing he has an assistant to bring the dishes over to the customers’ table and collect money. No matter how many orders that keep piling up, he endures and prevail, lol. Talk about working under pressure, ey. During the mornings though, when the crowd is just starting to gather, things are more easy going.

I personally prefer dropping by at this time, the mornings as that is when you’d get to appreciate the full yumminess of the dish. The flavors are more evident at this time of the day. I guess at noon, when the demand is high, it kindda is difficult to maintain the same flavor/taste throughout all the dishes you cook, right? It all depends on your luck.. at times, with the rush, the taste suffers. You can either take your chances or arrive anytime before the rush hour/lunch as it is a good time to truly appreciate the awesomeness of this dish.

The Char Kuey Teow was really good. I can understand why many food bloggers rated Lai Foong to have one of the Top 10 Fried Kuey Teow in downtown KL. The noodles were well cooked and tasty, came accompanied with egg + cockles + fishcakes + Chinese sausages + lard + prawns + taugeh. Here, when you order LARGE, you’d get LARGE, Lots of noodles. I ate it all anyway since I was really hungry. Burp!

The Wan Tan noodles were yummy too. It was oily, ‘kechuppy’ – a combination I like very much when done right. It wasn’t overly wet, simply a good equilibrium dry and wetness. For a LARGE plate, it sure did come with a lot of noodles and a generous amount of pork slices. I liked the fact that the pork were not sliced too thin, to an extent that you can hardly enjoy its taste. Here, it was just the right amount. Niceeeee, I enjoyed it.

Would I head here again?

Yes, I’d be back. Would love to give the Fried Kuey Teow another go, have not satisfied my craving yet.