Thursday October 30, 2008

Cheap and tasty but nothing fancy

FOOD TRAIL BY SAM CHEONG

CHEE cheong fun, or flat rice noodles, is a dish made popular in central and northern Peninsular Malaysia. The noodles are often in the form of sheets, which are then cut into strips, but sometimes, they would be rolled up, and cut into bite-size pieces.

I recall the good old days when I was living in Setapak where a man, who made his rounds on a sidecar motorcycle, would announce his presence by blaring his squeeze horn and yelling: “Chee cheong fun!”

For 80 sen (in the early 70s), the hawker made my day. He would throw together a plate of rice noodles, foo pei (bean curd sheets sandwiched together with a thin layer of fish paste) and a piece of yong tau foo (stuffed bean curd).

Simple and tasty: The chee cheong fun from Khoong coffee shop in SEA Park

Sweet sauce (theem cheong) was poured over the rice noodles, which were cut up with a pair of scissors, and sesame seeds were sprinkled on top as the finishing touch.

And, to wash it all down, he also threw in some soup; you could ask for second helpings if you wanted. Such experiences are the stuff of my memories of growing up in the city.

In the 80s, when I spent most of my time commuting between Setapak and Jalan Hang Tuah in the city centre, I came to know about a chee cheong fun stall that had a story of epic proportions: there was this legendary stall in a coffee shop in Jalan Imbi that had done so well that the lady who ran it could pay for her children’s studies abroad.

Serving hungry hordes: Frankie (left) at work while his father watches

I bet a lot of city dwellers who had worked in Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle would have come across hawkers selling chee cheong fun from their sidecar-motorcycles or even eaten it in coffee shops.

The only surviving mobile chee cheong fun seller whom I know of is a man who sells it in Jalan Brickfields during lunch hour. You can spot him in action opposite the YMCA building.

All these delicious memories were stirred by a message from reader K.M. Loo from Petaling Jaya, who asked: “Dear Mr Cheong, do you know where I can get a decent plate of chee cheong fun without blowing a hole in my pocket?”

Unpretentious: Frankie’s chee cheong fun with sweet sauce and sesame seeds.

Well Loo, you are in luck. I can name at least two places in the Klang Valley where you can get just what you are looking for. The first place is located in Jalan 21/12 in SEA Park, Petaling Jaya.

This is the famous Khoong coffee shop located at the very end of the road. If you have been following my trail, you will know that I have mentioned it before,

There is a stall in this makan place that offers Chee Cheong Fun at RM2.50 a plate. There is nothing fancy about the way it is presented; it is just plain tasty and cheap.

The stall is managed by an elderly couple and during lunch hour, you can see people queueing up for their fix.

If you live in Subang Jaya, there are two places where you can go for your chee cheong fun. First, there is Parkway coffee shop in SS19.

Popular eatery: Khoong coffee shop draws a good crowd, so go there early or be prepared to wait.

It is not hard to spot this food outlet because it is a corner lot which can be easily spotted from Persiaran Tujuan.

There is a stall here offering something very different called the ‘Teluk Intan’ chee cheong fun, and you can have a plate with curry gravy at RM2.80.

Again, this is not an expensive dish and most folks who had actually tasted the real Teluk Intan version would say that it is close but lacks the final ingredient that has made it famous.

And what might this be, you ask? The answer is fried lard bits or chee yau char. I patronised this stall when the Kampar Noodles stall was closed.

Just a few kilometres away in USJ 2, there is a guy who does chee cheong fun very well. His name is Frankie and he runs a Yong Tau Foo stall in a corner coffee shop opposite the Shell petrol station.

To get there, all you need to remember, is the Summit USJ shopping centre and the intersection to Giant in USJ 1.

The chee cheong fun stall serves two variants: with curry, and sweet sauce gravy. And for less than RM3 per serving, I don’t have much to complain.

I found the theem cheong to be pleasant tasting but the curry chee cheong fun was too salty for my taste.

Nevertheless, it went well with a tall glass of leong char (herbal tea).

Most the places mentioned are open only during lunch hour and are non-halal.