The Delicious Kolo Mee & A Compelling Story

This is one of my favorite breakfast and I had it almost everyday. Sometime I had it for lunch and dinner. I had this noodle ever since I was a kid and I still remember when my late grandpa visited us, the first thing we did is going to his favorite coffee shop and had a couple of bowls of this noodle.

Simple ingredient but making and cooking the noodle require a lot of experience to do it correctly.

I'm not going to say much about this dish because I wrote about it before but I want to tell a story related to it. I used to know somebody when I was younger whose parent is a seller of this noodle as family business. They doesn't have a shop but operate from a small stall inside somebody's else coffee shop. I was 12 years old that time and that guy was a friend of mine. Not really a close friend but just a friend I know because I always frequented their stall for this particular noodle.

One day I saw him quarreling with his mom and I don't really understand what was going on. I was with my dad that time and because my dad know his parent so well so he was trying to calm them down. That kid ran away after that. My dad asked what happened and the mom told him the story.

This comes in two ways of serving, one is like this, with the sweet red sauce and another one is plain white without any sauce. Both are delicious, just a matter of preference and I prefer the red one.

Apparently he was disappointed with his parent because they work only selling noodle and he was asked by his teacher about his parent's occupation and he need to write a short essay about them for his assignment. He don't know how to write it because he was ashamed of what his parent did. All his other classmates were able to answer their teacher proudly but not him. Maybe that's what made him angry.

A few days after that, during the weekend, me and my family went to the shop again for our dose of Kolo Mee and I was surprise by what I saw. That kid was cooking the noodle with his dad guiding him how to do it properly and correctly. Because of my curiousity I went up to them and watch how he do it. I was impressed and knowing how hard it is to cook this noodle, I wanted to learn too. The dad taught us briefly about what's the right technic and what's the correct timing as well as what ingredients should we put im. We enjoyed it so much, although we spoiled a few bowls of it but his parent doesn't scold us. Maybe they don't even care if we failed, as long as we are learning something.

This one is mixed with delicious wantan for double the deliciousness!

After that, my parent had a chat with his parent and they told them what happened after the big quarrel few days ago. Apparently the teacher of that kid went to their stall and talked to him. He told him there's nothing to be ashamed of what his parent is doing. They might not be doctor, lawyer or teacher but what they did, has the same level of honor as other occupations. They serve food to people so that they won't get hungry, they served that noodle that not much people know how to cook and they do a lot of other people a great favor because there are a lot of the customers whom doesn't have time to cook for their family, bought the noodle from their stall. The most important part is that they're working so hard and doing it to earn money for his family, for him to be able to go to school and buy all his necessities. Without that noodle he might be not doing well as he is now. The teacher said he should be proud of what his parent did and that he should learn how cook that noodle so that when he grow up he can cook it for his parent when they're old.

That's how he changed his mind and become so proud of what his parent is doing. Sometime he even brought some of that Kolo Mee to his school and treat his friends. They love it so much that they and some of the teachers started to pay the noodle he brought to school although he has no intention to sell it. His parent told him to keep those money in his saving, for him to use in the future.

This is using another type of noodle called Mee Pok or Mee Poh. Same ingredients and comes with a mix pork soup, good for cold days.

From that day onwards, I always saw him at the shop helping his parent and doing his homework in between. I guess there's no more shame in him, in fact he has all the pride of what his parent is doing. The last time I met him many years ago, he was just graduated from university and a holder of a Masters Degree in Science. Not sure what is he doing now but I think that Kolo Mee is still pretty much a big part of his life.

We should never feel ashamed of what our parent is doing because they're doing it for us, not for them. They want us to have the better life that they probably doesn't have and not able to have. They don't want us to suffer what ever they've suffered. They want to give us the best they can even if they have to sacrifice a lot for us. What ever profession our parent have, as long as it is legal, be it a farmer, a doctor, a cook and etc... their intention and purpose are all the same. We just need to treasure those moment we have with them because when they're gone, we will have a lot of sweet memories to remember about them, that will make us smile instead of crying...

This is not called Kolo Mee but it is using the same noodle that is deep fried until crispy and soaked in a sweet and sour soup or broth. It is famously known as tomato crispy mee or crispy mee or "Mi Dawai" which means mesh wire noodle... LOL! It is also very delicious! The broth is added with some tomato sauce or puree.

So, this Kolo Mee is very delicious. It might look simple but the taste is damn good. If you ever been to Sarawak and never try this noodle, you've never actually been to Sarawak, literally. This noodle is famous and can be found anywhere in any city throughout Sarawak, Borneo.