KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — The food and beverage business can be a cut-throat one. If you’re serving the same dining concept for many years, it’s hard to stand out in the crowd unless you are serving the best of the best.

Some operators carve a niche for themselves, serving up something out of the ordinary. Unlike a food fad that fades as quickly as it’s introduced, these operators have capitalised on people’s curiosity for many years with great success.

If a twist to a Chinese classic like the ubiquitous xiao long bao can be converted into a dish worthy of a three Michelin-starred restaurant, as seen in Hong Kong’s Bo Innovation, what’s wrong with playing around with hawker favourites like laksa, chee cheong fun and pan mee?

Albin Chong picked up cooking out of his own interest after he gave up his construction worker job.
Albin Chong picked up cooking out of his own interest after he gave up his construction worker job.

For 10 years, Albin Chong, 52, who is better known as “Uncle Botak” has been serving up his signature fried chee cheong fun. It’s his own take on the chai tow kuih or fried radish cake, usually sold in stalls at the morning market or the pasar malam.

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The firmer radish cake is now replaced with the softer silkier cut up pieces of rolled up chee cheong fun. It makes a nice change eating the steamed rice rolls pan fried versus the usual way where it is paired with sweet sauce, pickled green chillies and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

Cut up pieces of the rolled chee cheong fun is pre-fried in the wok with sliced cabbage.
Cut up pieces of the rolled chee cheong fun is pre-fried in the wok with sliced cabbage.

For his dish, Albin first fries up the cut chee cheong fun rolls with sliced cabbage. The rolls are slightly toasted by the heat of the wok. Next, he fries the tiny dried shrimp or har mai mixed with minced pork. Once that is fragrant, he cracks an egg into the hot wok.

Once the dried shrimps and minced meat are fried, the pre-fried chee cheong fun and cabbage are added back to the wok to be mixed together.
Once the dried shrimps and minced meat are fried, the pre-fried chee cheong fun and cabbage are added back to the wok to be mixed together.

A quick scramble breaks the egg up in pieces. He adds back the pre-fried chee cheong fun and cabbage into the wok. A quick mix of everything in the wok with a handful of bean sprouts and the dish is ready to be ladled on a plate lined with a piece of banana leaf.

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Add a dollop of fiery green chilli sambal, the same type used for pan mee and you have a winner on your hands.

It’s not the only unusual item served at this stall, as he also fries up a fried pan mee, similar to the KL style of Hokkein mee.

Albin’s version of fried pan mee is similar to Hokkien mee.
Albin’s version of fried pan mee is similar to Hokkien mee.

Right next to Albin’s stall is the pan mee stall run by his wife, Jenny Lai, 50, a former hairdresser who sports a blonde do. He uses the pan mee from his wife’s stall.

The freshly made noodles are first quickly cooked in hot water. After it is drained, Albin braises it in a broth laced with dark soy sauce. The result is delicious — thin strands of the pan mee with a lovely chewy texture (and none of the alkaline taste like the yellow mee) that pair well with the crispy lard fritters, sliced fish cakes, prawns and pork meat.

Another dish up the sleeves of Albin is the fried mee sua done two ways. It’s either fried like beehoon or cooked Cantonese style with the softer thin rice flour strands deep fried.

The coffee shop that the fried chee cheong fun stall is located in is a popular neighbourhood hangout.
The coffee shop that the fried chee cheong fun stall is located in is a popular neighbourhood hangout.

In his younger days, Albin had worked in Japan for a few years as a construction worker. After he returned to Malaysia, he picked up cooking out of interest.

You will find the stall in a 40-year-old corner coffee shop that draws a morning crowd of old and young folks. Recently, as the stall was featured in Chinese daily Sin Chew Jit Poh, it’s been getting a lot of attention.

A plate of the fried chee cheong fun is priced at RM6.50, just like their fried pan mee. The stall also fries up the conventional char kway teow for RM5.50.

There’s no signboard but everyone in the neighbourhood know of this stall’s existence.
There’s no signboard but everyone in the neighbourhood know of this stall’s existence.

Nearby, in a corner single storey house situated in Taman Gembira, there’s a stall started by Lucy Kok Siew Ling, 86. Previously, the family was in the business of selling fireworks but she switched to operating a stall out of her home about 40 years ago.

Chai Kok Wah continues his mother’s legacy with the fried pan mee (left). The noodles are lightly cooked in a broth with fish cake and cabbage (right).
Chai Kok Wah continues his mother’s legacy with the fried pan mee (left). The noodles are lightly cooked in a broth with fish cake and cabbage (right).

Originally a stall that sold the soup version of pan mee, she came up with the novel idea of frying her pan mee. Once they tasted the fried variant, people would order that instead. This is what we understand from her son, Chai Kok Wah, 53, who now runs the place since his mother is bed-ridden.

You will find a stream of regulars that come to savour the dish as it’s on all the occupied tables. Unlike the dry pan mee where the noodles are cooked in boiling water and tossed in soy sauce, this fried version tastes better.

Fried pan mee from Lucy Stall is similar to the soup version.
Fried pan mee from Lucy Stall is similar to the soup version.

Here the noodles are made first by pressing the dough flat and running it through a noodle machine to cut it into thick strands. Chai tosses the strands into the wok that is filled with broth made from boiling dried ikan bilis, cabbage and fish cake slices.

He stirs in a generous dollop of dark soy sauce. He also adds a handful of sayur manis into the mixture. After a few minutes, it’s cooked to an al dente texture. Just before it is served, crispy fried ikan bilis and chopped spring onions are added.

Before frying, he makes the noodles from dough that is flattened.
Before frying, he makes the noodles from dough that is flattened.

Regulars pop by to have their fried pan mee throughout the day.
Regulars pop by to have their fried pan mee throughout the day.

There is also a spicy sambal on the side that adds more oomph to your fried noodles. This stall’s sambal has quite a following amongst their regulars; it’s even been packed and brought overseas before.

If you prefer a more substantial meal, you can also add a bowl of pork balls on the side with soup. A small portion of the fried pan mee is available at RM5.50 while the large portion is priced at RM6.50.

Located in Subang Jaya, you can spot the signboard of Restaurant Well Cook Gourmet from the road it fronts.
Located in Subang Jaya, you can spot the signboard of Restaurant Well Cook Gourmet from the road it fronts.

Over in Subang Jaya’s busy SS14 area, you will find Restaurant Well Cook Gourmet that is famous for its fried laksa. The business started out in 1987 as a stall in the food court located in The Mall.

Located opposite Putra World Trade Centre, the shopping centre is now renamed Sunway Putra Mall. Chin Gok Tan, 68, and his wife, Teoh Gim See, 65, started the business after they relocated from Penang. Previously Chin was involved in the business of selling records as he loved music especially Elvis Presley.

Once it is plated up, the fried laksa is garnished with pineapple, cucumber, onions, fresh mint leaves, torch ginger flower and calamansi lime.
Once it is plated up, the fried laksa is garnished with pineapple, cucumber, onions, fresh mint leaves, torch ginger flower and calamansi lime.

The couple moved to Kuala Lumpur to seek their fortune and since Teoh was a good cook, they decided to offer their Penang specialties like assam laksa and curry mee. Another dish they were also popular for was their claypot yee mee.

About 13 years ago, Teoh heard about fried laksa from her sister who had tried a home cooked version. Intrigued by the dish, she set up creating her own version, as she wanted something special for her stall.

The experienced cook tweaked the recipe and was guided by her sister’s tasting notes. It took her a few tries to come up with the dish. It’s closer to assam laksa and the special laksa sauce it is fried with is the key to its delicious taste — a secret mix of torch ginger flower (bunga kantan), pineapple, onions, assam jawa and mint.

The lye fun noodles are fried in a wok with the bean sprouts and the special laksa sauce.
The lye fun noodles are fried in a wok with the bean sprouts and the special laksa sauce.

Her special concoction uses the ingredients you usually find in a bowl of assam laksa to create the sourish appetising taste. Unlike the assam laksa, this version omits fish but you still can taste it as they use fish sauce.

The omission is due to the labour intensive work needed to debone the fish, so they opted for chicken and prawns. The restaurant is also pork-free, a throwback to their days in the shopping centre where they used to only serve pork-free items.

Mimicking the laksa, they use the slippery lye fun noodles that are made from rice flour. Each plate (priced at RM8) is served with calamansi lime, fresh mint leaves, bean sprouts and cucumber.

Chin Chuan Sin (left) and his father Chin Gok Tan from Restaurant Well Cook Gourmet.
Chin Chuan Sin (left) and his father Chin Gok Tan from Restaurant Well Cook Gourmet.

About three years ago, Chin Chuan Sin, 35, joined the family business. The youngest child and the only son, he decided to take over the reins of the family business since his parents are getting older. Regulars will notice the transformation that the younger Chin, a former IT programmer, has brought to the place.

Most noticeable is the brand new signboard that helps you easily spot the restaurant from the main thoroughfare that it fronts. Other tweaks to the operations include streamlining the processes so there’s a faster turnover for the food especially during busy periods like lunch time. He has also computerised their ordering system and the place is now fully air-conditioned for the comfort of customers.

Even though there has been many calls to expand their business, the younger Chin is adamant that he prefers to keep it authentic and only open one outlet since it will be hard to manage a chain of restaurants and still maintain their quality.

Uncle Botak Stall
Restoran Yong Hua
97, Jalan Sepadu
Off Jalan Klang Lama, KL
Open: 7am to 2pm. Closed every Tuesday.

Lucy Stall
341, Jalan Selesa Satu
Taman Gembira
Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, KL
Open: 7.30am to 3.30pm. Closed every Wednesday.

Restaurant Well Cook Gourmet
74, Jalan SS14/2,
Subang Jaya
Open: 12pm to 8.30pm. Closed every Monday.