By Olivia Lyngdoh Mawlong
A traveller can easily miss Praimon Lyngdoh Mawlong’s two-year-old shop that sits humbly down the Dympep Mawkdok Bridge. One can also mistake it for a kwai shop or a roadside tea stall.
But a peep at it reveals the secret world of Mawlong, the Mei-ieid who creates the magic platter.
Mawlong’s shop is famous for its two-minute noodles cooked with care and love and mixed with the grandma’s magic ingredients.
Mawlong and her daughter, Badamonlang, set up the shop two years ago and the noodles are on the menu from the beginning. The crowd inside the small shop cramped with wooden benches and tables comprises both locals and new-comers. Fatigued tourists, gossiping villagers, noisy youngsters are all to be found at Mawlong’s waiting eagerly for the porcelain bowl full of joy.
A customer, M. Kharhujon, sitting at a corner and fiddling with his phone was startled when he was asked to make room for one more hungry soul. As the conversation started, first with weather reports and then the booming tourism in the State, the middle-aged man revealed that it was his first time at Mawlong’s.
“I had heard so much about the noodles everywhere that I thought I should give it a try. I loved the dish,” said Kharhujon, who had just satiated his soul and was waiting for a hot cuppa.
But what’s so unique about the 2-minute noodles here, one might wonder.
“It’s different, completely. I think she uses some magic ingredients. I love the noodles here and visit the other shops up the bridge only when Kong Mawlong’s shop is closed,” said Denzel Nongkynrih, an old customer.
The eatery also serves rice, tea and other snacks but the ‘magic’ noodles are the most sought after.
When asked how they came up with the idea, 62-year-old Mawlong smiled. “We don’t know. The idea just popped up. Many customers come to our shop just to eat noodles.”
As customers thinned out, Mawlong sat on a bench to catch her breath. She had decided to unravel the mystery box of ingredients. As she started to speak, another customer came in asking for 2-minute noodles.
Mawlong uses the traditional chulha, or stove, fuelled by fire wood. “The shop, by God’s grace, is full most of the time and both of us are always busy. Sometimes we don’t even get time to rest for even a second. On a good day, 40-50 packets of the noodles are prepared. And on Saturdays and Sundays, the number goes up,” Badamonlang said.
She chopped onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves and within 10 minutes she was ready with five plates of noodles. The old woman prepares the noodle with egg or meat in whichever way the customers want to eat. “There are more visitors during the monsoon as people coming from outside want to see the rain and the waterfalls of Sohra,” she continued the conversation as she served the customers. Three more had arrived during the conversation.
The duo leaves home every morning at 6am and works till 7.30pm. Mawlong said water is a problem and they have to buy water every day.
The Mawkdok Dympep Valley is a popular tourist spot and adventure sports destination. It is the gateway to Sohra and many tourists stop by for refreshment. With the increase in footfall, the number of shops too has risen.
“But no one can beat Mei-ieid’s recipe because of the warmth with which she serves. It is perfectly in sync with the welcoming nature around,” said Kordor Sohtun, another old-timer.
