SEREMBAN, Oct 13 — This isn’t mum’s cooking. More like... grandma’s cooking?

Fine, gossamer strands of thin rice vermicelli swimming in a dark braised gravy that is more soupy than saucy. 

Chunks of pork, some lean, some fat. Then the sudden pop of a cephalopod tentacle.

This is a plate of squid bee hoon, as old school as you get. As close to grandma’s cooking as you’re likely to get outside your home. Or, to be specific here, Coffee Tiam Foo’s Cooking.

Located along the always bustling Jalan Temiang in Seremban, Coffee Tiam Foo’s Cooking is an institution in the old town area. 

Certainly the place is packed and parking can be a challenge, but neither has deterred hungry customers, naturally.

The shop is open past lunchtime but most of the crowd is here for breakfast (which in Seremban often comes as a substantial bowl or plate of noodles).

Though one never starts with noodles, not immediately. One must appreciate proper protocol: kopi first, please. Caffeine before carbs.

Coffee here is still made the traditional way, with long-spouted coffee pots and flannel filters. The result is a strong brew, rich and intense. More bitter than sweet, to properly wake us up.

We enjoy our cups of kopi kaw with the requisite orders of half boiled eggs and butter kaya toast. 

The latter looks joyfully retro with its slightly irregular, rectangular shape, perfect for dipping into the eggs as thick soldiers.

Still, noodles are the main attraction here at Coffee Tiam Foo. Besides the squid bee hoon, other favourites include their Hakka mee (a Seremban staple), pork noodles, laksa, claypot loh shu fun and loh mee.

The last two also make an appearance, sort of, in a third dish that the proprietor recommended to us: Ah Yee loh shu fun.

Here the noodles of choice are the Hakka “silver needles” or loh shu fun (thinner and longer than the loh shu fun we are used to back in the Klang Valley). 

But instead of a dark, caramelised claypot sauce, we have a thick, gelatinous gravy reminiscent of a loh mee, albeit clearer in colour.

Topped with minced pork, fried shallots and ribbons of Chinese style omelette, this is a hearty dish meant to keep one’s belly full for a full day of work ahead.

To go with our noodles, we shared some yong tau foo (another signature menu item of Coffee Tiam Foo), both the fried and soup versions.

There are over a dozen types of yong tau foo available, from fried sui kow and bean curd puffs to bitter gourd and eggplant filled with pork and fish meat. Homemade meatballs, crispy pork skin, fried tofu, stuffed chillies, and more.

All of it fantastic, though our favourite is their fish skin wrapped fish cake. One of the fried varieties, the crunch of the fish skin makes it so addictive... one piece won’t be enough.

Nor indeed, for some, just one plate of noodles.

For the flavours remain nostalgic, evoking that longing for home cooking at grandma’s house. Where else would one pair fresh, springy squid with luscious pork belly and a dark, heady gravy?

Coffee Tiam Foo’s Cooking 傅幫煮

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Open daily (except Fri closed) 7:30am–3pm

Phone: 010-761 9366

For more food fables and café chronicles, visit Life for Beginners.

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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