I GOT curious about Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province in northwest China, after eating at Mee Tarik Klasik in Kuala Lumpur.

This restaurant serves the famous “la mian”, or ramen, from Lanzhou, which was a strategic stop on the ancient Silk Road. Gansu is home to a huge Muslim community, with more than 4,000 mosques!

It’s not the “ma la”, or numbing hot, cuisine from Sichuan that Mee Tarik Klasik offers, but dishes that get their heat from dried chillies instead of Sichuan peppercorns.

There was a bottle of chilli oil on the table, but it wasn’t lethally spicy.

I welcomed the chilli in the Braised Beef Noodles, which came in a soup tinged red from the chilli oil in the beef. I was surprised that it was not pungently hot. The knobs of tender spiced meat oozed flavour. However, I found the noodles a little too soft and the soup lacking oomph.

My palate was fired up by the Boiled Fish with Pickled Cabbage and Chilli, which I absolutely loved.

The pickled cabbage – also called salted vegetables here – had a good balance between salty and tart, lacing the soup and embracing the fish slices, which were soft and sweet. Dried chillies and toasted sesame seeds gave a nice kick.

It would’ve been great if the Braised Beef Noodles came in this soup.

The Chicken Dumplings, served with chilli oil, were delightful. The skin was neither too thick nor too floury, and had a smooth texture.

A bite of a dumpling, and out tumbled a delicious seasoned minced chicken filling. The dumplings were good on their own, and did not really need the chilli oil.

On another visit, we had the Mutton Dumplings. The meat was so tasty that we wished the dumplings were more generously filled. Like the chicken variety, they didn’t need anything else.

We dived with relish into the Spicy Lamb Chops, which had tender, zesty meat on the bone that carried some fat.

Lanzhou cuisine has its own spice blend; there was no strong aroma of cinnamon, star anise or cloves. The lamb was well marinated with spices, fried with lots of dried chillies, and finished with a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds.

I just had to have the Tomato Scrambled Egg, a dish that sounds simple enough to make, but hard to prepare well.

Fried tomatoes – still juicy – meshed well with soft, moist egg. A bit of ketchup brought it all together.

One could tell from the irregularly sized strands that the Sliced Noodles with Jinxing featured handmade noodles. Fried with chicken and spices, it was a yummy dish.

At first glance, the Muslim Cold Chicken Noodles didn’t look appetising. The noodles were served with shredded carrot and cucumber, peanuts and slices of chicken, and doused with a spiced sauce.

Toss them together, though, and enjoy each fresh-tasting bite. The sauce imparted a nice tartness, harmonising with the other ingredients.

We chatted with our server Ma Ching Ching, who told us that all Chinese Muslims carry the surname Ma, and that Lanzhou ramen was created by a Muslim chef called Ma Baozi.

With Xi’an, one of the four ancient cities of China, some 500km away from Lanzhou, the latter’s cuisine bears similarities to that of the historical city.

The food at Mee Tarik Klasik is reasonably priced. The Braised Beef Noodles will only set you back RM12.80, Muslim Cold Chicken Noodles (RM10.80), Chicken Dumplings (RM12.80), Boiled Fish with Pickled Cabbage and Chilli (RM28.80) and Spicy Lamb Chops (RM38.80).

The eatery is located at 14G, Jalan Tun Mohd Fuad 2, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000, Kuala Lumpur. It can be reached at 03-7731-7218.

Mee Tarik Klasik also has other branches in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. – August 31, 2019.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.