PETALING JAYA, Aug 9 — In Ipoh, we’re spoiled for choice when it comes to local fare like kai see hor fun, chee cheong fun and even crème caramel. It’s a different story in the Klang Valley. Even though most of these items can be found quite easily, the Ipohans will tell you, it just does not taste the same. Luckily, the lure of the big city has drawn a few Ipohans who have brought a taste of their hometown with them.
Take for instance, one of Ipoh’s iconic dishes, the simple kai see hor fun or chicken kway teow soup. For some, a visit to Ipoh is not complete without a visit to Thean Chun Coffee Shop in Ipoh Old Town. Patriach Neow Ah Chye and his son have been dishing out their silky smooth kway teow topped with poached chicken slices and prawns, paired with a sweet tasting chicken broth laced with prawn oil for decades.
In an interview with The Star, Neow’s son Tze Kian claims that the stall can trace its history back to his grandfather who started this stall and concocted the family recipe back in 1948! The recipe has not changed till this day.
This fourth generation stall’s legacy can also be found here... hidden in Puchong. About seven to eight years ago, Neoh Chee Heng, 43, the youngest son of the family decided to give up his 10-year IT career to open the stall at Restoran Goodwill. Unlike his elder brothers, as he had studied IT, he had never worked at the family stall prior to this. Once he decided to open the stall, he returned to Ipoh to learn the ropes for about six months.
For a bowl of Chee Heng’s kai see hor fun, it’s best you brace yourself and wake up early. By 10am or so, he’s down to his last bowl of the sweet broth as he only makes two large pots daily since he has no one to help him with the preparation work.
Kai see hor fun is a simple noodle dish but as most skilled cooks know, the simplest things are the hardest to get right. What is needed is good quality ingredients and of course, the skills to pull it off. What makes his kai see hor fun a cut above the rest in the Klang Valley is how he works — everything is prepared a la minute to maintain its freshness. He also insists on quality ingredients to prepare his signature dish, like the special kway teow noodles brought in from Ipoh, which yields a silky smooth texture with a slight bite when cooked.
Hence, your bowl of noodles may take time to prepare, as he poaches the chicken and prawns in small batches. The family’s recipe for the broth, the mainstay of this simple dish, is a little sweeter compared to that from other stalls. On its own, the broth can be a little overwhelming but pair it with the smooth flat rice noodles and it makes a pleasurable bowl.
What you’ll also notice is the unmistakable fragrant aroma, as you drink each spoonful. This is the result of the fragrant orange prawn oil lacing the clear broth. It’s scooped from the top of the boiling broth every time they serve a bowl. The trick — we find out from Chee Heng — is he uses prawns caught from the sea versus the bland-tasting farm bred prawns preferred by many for their crunchier texture. Chee Heng also insists on using free-range chickens or tai shan kiok for their smoother flesh.
Talking about Thean Chun Coffee Shop in Ipoh, a visit there is not complete without their signature crème caramel. Everyone orders the wobbly sweet concoction, as seen through the kopitiam’s geotag on the Instagram feed. If you are hankering for that smooth egg and sweet caramel taste, you can get a similar version over at Annie1, a restaurant in Damansara Uptown which specialises in Ipoh eats including their famous Menglembu wantan mee.
The dessert’s caramel is not the deep dark brown colour as the one served at Thean Chun, but it’s quite close with its smooth eggy texture. Moreover, it is served exactly like at Thean Chun: with a glass of ice-cold water to clear the palate.
Even their Ipoh white coffee hits the spot; rich, thick and creamy with a frothy top like they make it in Ipoh. The busy coffeeshop is also popular for their springy Menglembu wantan noodles topped with chunky pieces of juicy caramelised char siew and their aromatic curry noodles, which can be ordered with a variety of toppings including pig’s skin and char siew.
It also has another Ipoh item on the menu rarely seen in the Klang Valley — steamed glutinous rice topped with a dollop of sweet kaya.
Over in the SS2 morning market, early birds can “catch” the Ipoh chee cheong fun topped with mushroom sauce, or just sprinkled with a red sauce and pickled green chillies at a stall located just outside Nikudo Seafood. It’s run by a friendly couple, Fong Siew Hong and his wife, Nancy Loke.
Those who remember the iconic Lim Mee Yoke corner shop in SS2 will remember this couple who used to sell their Ipoh chee cheong fun there. When Lim Mee Yoke vacated the premises about 13 years ago and moved to the “Chow Yang” area in SS2, the couple decided to open this stall instead. They also operate a stall at the nearby Medan Selera, opening for only three nights a week, as they lack manpower.
Their chee cheong fun is sourced directly from Ipoh, made from a family recipe passed down by Fong’s parents. It’s sent down in the early morning with the newspaper van. In the old days, Fong remembers the tedious steaming and preparation of the smooth rice noodle rolls over a charcoal fire with his parents.
His mother would push a cart with Fong’s elder brother around the Canning Garden neighbourhood at night to peddle their chee cheong fun. Eventually, Fong’s elder brother took over the stall and operated in Taman Cempaka until he finally retired. Another brother still operates a stall at Kafe Ipoh Central on Jalan Raja Ekram selling chee cheong fun.
According to Nancy, during the Canning Garden stall’s heydays, jealous rivals claimed that a female ghost once visited the stall and paid for her food with hell money or the printed bank notes often burnt as offerings to the deceased. Unfortunately for the rumour mongers, their plan back-fired and the stall got even more business as curious customers trickled there to verify the story.
Previously, when Fong and his wife first moved to Kuala Lumpur, the couple preferred to do sales. Eventually, Fong decided to sell chee cheong fun since he saw the potential for a successful business. Their stall in Lim Mee Yoke was a huge success. Nancy recalls that they used to sell up to 10 kilograms of chee cheong fun every day!
As Nancy explains, the Ipoh style of eating chee cheong fun is plain with just a dash of soy sauce and a spoonful of piquant crunchy pickled green chillies. This way you can relish the delicate rice aroma from the smooth rice noodle rolls. Another popular way is to serve it with a mushroom sauce.
Unlike other stalls, this stall’s mushroom sauce is not overly salty and is served with a clearer broth, which has a lighter and more delicate umami taste from the slices of shiitake mushrooms. The secret behind their sauce is cooking skills and of course, Fong does not skimp on the ingredients including the broth which he prepares himself.
All of the sauces including the pickled green chillies are either prepared by the couple themselves or sourced directly from Ipoh. For instance, they prefer using a particular brand of soy sauce from Ipoh, as it does not have any added MSG. Even their thim cheong or sweet sauce is different from the thick brown sauce usually found in Kuala Lumpur, as this version is more liquid and tinged red from red glutinous rice grains. This sauce is also known as kam cheong or hoisin cheong, by Ipohans.
In addition, the couple also sells a variety of Nyonya kuih sourced from Aroma Nyonya, Anson chee cheong fun made by a friend and chai kuih from a place in Ampang. Other Ipoh goodies, like biscuits, are also available.
If you fancy some yong liew and the famous salt-baked chicken from Aun Kheng Lim, drop by Restoran Ipoh Sedap, located just opposite the police station in SS2. Opened about five years ago, this place is run by a family from Pasir Pinji, Ipoh. They are in the business of making fish paste from a type of fish, known as “tofu fish.” The restaurant offers up to 30 varieties of yong liew (Ipoh’s version of yong tau foo).
Homesick Ipohans will be happy to discover sar kok liew, the deep fried yam bean fritters unique to Ipoh. There are two varieties here; plain and one flavoured with five-spice powder. Try their pork tendon balls that have more bite. It’s not hard to spot the dark brown coloured balls tinged with with dark soy sauce, making you think it’s made with beef tendons.
Another popular item is their stuffed tofu with a paste made with minced pork and fish paste. You can order noodles with your selection of yong liew. The restaurant also serves Ipoh chee cheong fun. For a refreshing dessert, try the lime jelly with shaved ice topped with sliced preserved plums.
In addition, the restaurant is also the sole agent in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya for the famous salt-baked chicken from Aun Kheng Lim at Ipoh’s Jalan Theatre. The free-range chickens are stuffed with angelica root or tong kwai and baked in Australia rock salt. The tender chicken infused lightly with the herbs is delicious eaten on its own.
According to Avery Lim, who runs Restoran Ipoh Sedap, they get about 30 boxes of the salt-baked chicken on a daily basis. Customers can take-away or eat the salt-baked chicken on the premises. The restaurant also brings in handmade fragrant biscuits or heong peng, salty peanut brittle and rojak sauce from Ipoh regularly.
Restoran Goodwill
41-43, Jalan Kenari 17C, Bandar Puchong Jaya, Puchong.
Open: 7.30am to 12pm. Closed alternate Wednesdays.
Annie1 Family Restaurant
20, Jalan SS21/58, Damansara Utama (Uptown), Petaling Jaya
Open: 7.30am to 9pm (Mondays to Fridays), 8.30am to 3.30pm (Saturdays and Sundays)
Ipoh Chee Cheong Fun Stall
In front of Nikudo Seafood, SS2/63
Open: 5.30am to 11am. Closed on Mondays.
Lot 80, SS2 Medan Selera, Jalan SS2/63
Open on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays: 4pm to 8.30pm
Restoran Ipoh Sedap
No. 94, Jalan SS2/60, Petaling Jaya
Open: 9am to 9.30pm (Mondays to Fridays), 8am to 9pm (Saturdays and Sundays). Closed on Tuesdays.
