Head to Puchong Bandar Kinrara’s Sister Fish Head Noodles for freshly-made fish balls in a silky fish broth

PUCHONG, April 5 — Uncovering local gems is a tough job. Often, it requires multiple deep dives until you find a place worthy of a journey to try out.

Sister Fish Head Noodles is definitely that shiny, sparkly gem, well worth a drive to Bandar Kinrara, all thanks to a friend’s recommendation.

It was their Sekinchan Fish Ball Bihun (RM13) that sealed the deal for me.

Freshly made daily, the fish balls crafted from tofu fish were supple bites. It’s not too bouncy but it still retains some bite to make you keep eating it.

An extra bowl of Fish Balls with clear soup filled with sliced cabbage and tomatoes is the best way to get your fix for the supple handmade fish balls.

The milky broth was also a winner. It’s sweet with the use of abundant sliced cabbage, balanced with hints of tanginess from fresh tomatoes and preserved sour plum. A dash of wine, rounds up the flavours to give it a slight sweetness.

Even the clear broth minus the evaporated milk is exceptionally good. This ain’t an insipid broth but one built with layers of flavours from cabbage and tomatoes.

Usually I ignore the broth served with my extra bowl of Fish Balls (RM10 for 12 pieces) but I was happily drinking this one.

I had also crammed fish paste into my overflowing bowl. The small nuggets were good but not exceptional since it didn’t have the sought after firmer bite. Turns out they’re not made in-house, hence the variation of quality.

The Fried Fish Paste makes a good snack.

Anything served here becomes tasty bites when dipped into their fragrant chilli sauce with ‘belacan’.

The fried version (RM5 for a small portion) was a little better, when paired with the awesome chilli sauce with a distinct flavour of belacan.

Keen to try their other offerings, I was directed to their signature dish, Fish Lips Bihun (RM15). Using bighead carp or Song fish, the flesh is sweet and juicy. There's also a fish belly version.

Fish Lips Bihun uses Song fish head with fine, sweet flesh and the prized slippery skin.

It came with a caveat though as there’s fine, pesky bones to deal with.

The fish head is a good choice since the meat clings to the jaw, hence there’s less fine bones to deal with. And the big bonus is the slippery, prized fish skin.

The menu involves variations of fish balls, fish paste and two types of fish namely the bighead carp and sea fish but one outlier grabs the attention, which is asam laksa.

You can spy them cooking your order pot by pot.

Your order is cooked upon order in individual pots. They also serve beehoon which has a curly, crunchy bite, giving a contrast of textures in your bowl. A bonus is these noodles don’t soak up all of that precious broth.

The stall is on the left hand side of the restaurant’s entrance.

Get your fix of fish balls and fish head noodles at Sister Fish Head Noodles.

The stall is on the left hand side, when you walk through the front entrance.

On a side note, you can also grab crisp, chewy jin tui or sesame balls here. The black sesame paste was good and every bite came with an abundance of filling.

The eatery located in a corner lot offers comfortable seating during lunch time.

There’s also pandan and red bean paste. Sadly they ran out of the peanut flavour, which is my favourite. Look for the food truck parked at the side of the entrance, selling prawn fritters and various fried items too.

Sister Fish Head Noodles, Restoran BK33 Kopitiam, Jalan BK 5A/2D, Bandar Kinrara, Puchong. Open: 7am to 10pm. Off days not fixed. Tel:016-2215787.

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

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