PETALING JAYA, Oct 8 — For many, a bowl of kuey teow thng isn’t something they’ll drive far and beyond for versus a fiery flavour-packed curry mee as it’s labelled as “nothing special”.
What that humble bowl excels in is delivering comfort and a calm especially when much time and effort is taken with its broth as seen at Old Penang Kuey Teow Soup.
In the hands of Penangite Ooi Sheng Khoon, he builds a rich and deep broth with chicken and pork flavour rounded up with a hint of sweetness from rock sugar.
Using 10 whole chickens and two kilograms of pork bones, Ooi gives the broth ample time by slowly boiling it for four hours over a low fire, making it a labour of love.
Most stalls stick to whatever fish balls they can source locally but Ooi takes one step further to enhance your Penang experience by bringing in the saito fishballs directly from Penang every two days.
The slightly squarish fish balls have a nice bite, complementing the broth perfectly.
Even the kuey teow or rice noodles are different from other bowls as the locally-sourced kuey teow is thinner with a thicker bite that lends a slightly chewy texture versus the smooth slippery feel you get from a flat rice noodle.
Rounding up the bowl are thin pieces of fish cake, deep fried till golden as Ooi explains that usually those fashioned with saito fish tend to have a fishy aroma which can only be banished via deep frying.
A dollop of crispy fried garlic perfumes the broth further.
The typical bowl of kuey teow soup is topped with shredded chicken but there’s a not often found variation with duck meat cut into slices, revered by many as the ultimate version since it’s so rare.
Catering to the general cravings in the Klang Valley, the stall also offers a dry version of noodles.
Some bowls also are served with a piece of poached chicken rather than shreds of chicken meat.
The duck version is only available at their brand new stall located at Restoran Mei Keng while their five-year-old stall inside popular Kam Heong Coffee Shop operated by Ooi’s son, offers only chicken.
A bowl of the chicken kuey teow thng is RM8.50 while the duck version is RM9.50.
Fervent food hunters may remember Michu Restaurant located at SS19 Subang Jaya and Kota Kemuning, operated by Ooi, which leaned into his Penang heritage heavily, as represented with curry mee, char kway teow, prawn mee, loh mee and prawn paste chee cheong fun.
He gave that up due to heart problems, scaling back his family business to focus only on kuey teow thng.
Old Penang Kuey Teow Soup
Kam Heong Coffee Shop
8, Jalan Tengah, PJ New Town, Petaling Jaya
Open:6.30am to 2pm
Days off not fixed and depends on the coffee shop
Restoran Mei Keng
42, Jalan 14/48, Section 14, Petaling Jaya
Open: 6.30am to 3pm
Days off not fixed and depends on the coffee shop
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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