KLANG, May 21 — A good bowl of mee hoon kueh needs three things: silky smooth pinched noodles, a good broth and fragrant fried ikan bilis.
Kah Ping in Klang has all three which makes it highly sought after by mee hoon kueh fans.
The eatery, managed by Yue and his wife Tee Chie, has a long history that can be traced back to the 1950s.
Originally located at the crossroads of Jalan Gelugor and Jalan Meru, it started out as a place that just sold brewed local coffee, toast and half boiled eggs that was run by Yue’s father.
It was only in 1980 that they started to sell mee hoon kueh, a recipe concocted by Yue’s Hokkien wife. For many years, they have been winning customers with their silky smooth pinched noodles. These include families who have brought all three generations to eat at this humble stall.
In 1995, after the premises changed hands, they moved to this food court just further up the road. As the space was significantly smaller, it also meant an inevitable split of the family as Yue’s sister broke away to set up her own eatery, Restoran Ngoh Jie at Jalan Pekan Baru in Klang. Yue’s son also runs his own stall at Jalan Kim Chuan in Pandamaran.
The mee hoon kueh served here tastes just like how your Mum would make it at home (if she makes mee hoon kueh!).
Unlike the ones in KL which is served with a pungent chilli sauce, here it is accompanied with just soy sauce and chopped chillies on the side. Small shelled prawns also give the broth a sweetness that makes it more memorable.
Occasionally though, Yue tells us that they have to omit the prawns as it takes a lot of effort to shell them and source for fresh ones that are not too expensive.
Keeping their regulars happy means they have a wide array of noodles like yee mee, Maggi mee, etc. to pair with their clear broth. They also serve loh mee, bitter gourd beehoon soup and curry laksa.
On Fridays, there is the classic Foochow red wine mee sua... a nod to Yue’s Foochow heritage. In an effort to please their customers, they have also concocted new flavours like an appetising sweet and sourish broth made with limes and chillies. It’s an invention of Yue’s youngest daughter who helps out at the eatery.
Pair your bowl of noodles with a cup of Yue’s hand brewed local kaw coffee. He picked up the skills from his father when working at the coffee shop as a young boy.
Try his Kah Ping Special, a coffee drink that has a smoother taste, distinct coffee fragrance and is less sweet. Surprisingly he tells us that he does not drink any coffee but prefers teh O! There is also kaya toast and half boiled eggs to go with your coffee.
There’s always a crowd of customers at their eatery but if you manage to walk in when it’s quiet, try asking for a special mee hoon kueh where the dough is stretched till it becomes wafer thin like transculent wantan skins.
As it requires a lot of work to pull and stretch the dough, it’s only prepared by Yue’s daughter when she is free.
A small bowl of mee hoon kueh is priced at RM5. If you add an egg, it is RM6 while extra fried ikan bilis can be had for RM1 more. The loh mee is priced at RM6.
