KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — What counts as a balanced breakfast nowadays?
Perhaps the right ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fat (though what’s right for each person might vary wildly, no?); if so, I volunteer my classic kopitiam trinity of kopi extra kaw, butter kaya toast and half-boiled eggs.
Perhaps that balance relates to nutritional value (which has a direct correlation with food guilt, it seems); if so, my weekday brekkie bowl of overnight oats, chia seeds, peanut butter, Greek yoghurt and blueberries ought to suffice.
But maybe I’m approaching this from entirely wrong directions. Maybe a balanced breakfast should be simpler: a little savoury and a little sweet. Anything to satisfy the morning munchies.
Which is to say this particular morning I am craving for dumpling noodles, and maybe a bowl of tong sui afterwards. (I have stereotypical Cantonese taste buds, I know; you can blame my ancestors for that.)
Make that savoury sui kow and sweet rice balls. Specifically at Palace Rice Vermicelli Restaurant in Yulek, Cheras.
The clean and well maintained shop mostly receives customers from the surrounding neighbourhood; it is a well-established if a tad under-the-radar establishment here.
Some might say that variety isn’t their strong suit (I’d argue otherwise, but more on that later): you basically come here for their signature rice vermicelli in soup with an assortment of toppings but mostly dumplings.
The dumplings in question, however, are the very definition of a mundane masterpiece. Each handmade sui kow might appear perfectly ordinary but take a bite and your assessment will alter immediately.
Expect a plump whole prawn in every sui kow; the minced pork is mixed with water chestnut for that crunchy and refreshing mouth feel.
This is the bowl to go for on most days and definitely on your first visit. Three humongous dumplings strewn among the strands of rice vermicelli, kept warm by the naturally sweet broth (we detect the amiable presence of ikan bilis).
There is no other choice of noodles, which might deter those who insist on a plethora of noodle selection. But fret not; this is one instance when having the choice made for you is the right decision.
For these are some of the best rice vermicelli (or mai sin in Cantonese) we’ve had: firm and springy, chewy but never mushy. Every slurp is smooth, dare I say sensually sleek on our tongues?
Little wonder the shop’s name in Chinese translates to Imperial Noodles. These are noodles fit for an emperor.
Some might prefer to switch it up on return visits. Their combination bowl with sui kow, fish ball and pork meat ball offers a little of everything.
Other popular toppings include fish cake, squid balls or even a verdant shower of nothing but chopped spring onions to go with the noodles.
I’d recommend ordering a side of fried sui kow too. Yes, it’s more dumplings but the textural difference makes this an entirely new dish: crunchy, with the edges shattering delicately into shards.
To complete our “balanced breakfast” (which, I’m sure you realise by now, veers more to excess than equilibrium), something sweet: good old Cantonese tong sui.
We share two bowls of ginger soup and barley ginkgo soup, both with glutinous rice balls. (We never encountered a tong yun we didn’t like but these are impressively large; a most satisfying mouthful.)
Honestly I can imagine returning just for the rice vermicelli or the sui kow alone, but if you have the appetite for it, why not both?
Palace Rice Vermicelli Restaurant 宮廷之米線
Open daily (except Mon closed) 6am-3pm
Phone: 03-9132 3833
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* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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