A hearty bowl of the beef noodle soup.
DESPITE what the stall’s name suggests, Pak Ngah Sup Utara wasn’t started by a middle child. Its founder was the youngest child in his family.
Fatin Satila Mansor, 40, operator of the 40-year-old beef soup stall in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, has no idea how the moniker came about.
However, she added that the ‘Utara’ part was because her grandfather along with the recipe came from Kedah.
She said her late father, Mansor Yahya, started the stall in the early 1980s.
The stall serves turmeric-hued vermicelli garnished with beef lung, meat, tripe and bakso (meatballs).
Fatin preparing the ‘bakso beranak’ (birthing meatball) dish which has a huge beef ball with five smaller meatballs. — Photos: LOW BOON TAT/The Star
“From what I have been told, my father was working as a truck driver in Pasir Gudang, Johor, when my grandfather asked him to return to Kuala Lumpur,” said Fatin.
“My grandfather was selling satay in the Chow Kit area and my father started his food stall at this spot near the Chow Kit market,” she said.
A former student of SMK Selayang Baru and the fifth of six children, Fatin used to help her father at the stall after school.
“All my brothers and sisters would come to the stall after school.
“We would wait until he closed shop at 5pm before going home,” she added.
Fatin is keeping the 40-year-old family business alive.
When Mansor died of a heart attack in 2009 at age 55, Fatin’s elder sister Zanafizah took over the stall.
Fatin decided to step in when her sister got married.
“We are very proud that our father’s business has lasted this long and are determined to continue his legacy.
“We have customers coming from as far as Kedah and Penang.
“When we asked how they got to know about us, they’d tell us that they had previously come with their parents.
Founder of Pak Ngah Sup Utara, the late Mansor Yahya, in the 1990s.
“Many of our customers return to our stall because of nostalgia,” said Fatin.
She recalled the time her father emptied 40 litres of beef stock down the drain because it did not smell right.
“It was a big waste but my father said it was better to throw it away.
“He said that if it were inadvertently served to his customers, his reputation would be irreparably damaged.”
She said this happened only twice in the span of 40 years.
“I make sure that the meat is fresh by putting the beef lung through a ‘smell test’ first. We also ensure there is no bruising on the meat.
“I know if the soup has turned out right just by smelling the escaping steam.”
Prices for a bowl of hearty beef soup with turmeric-coloured vermicelli start at RM7 but customers have the option of the “super special” that has double portions of beef, lung cubes, tripe and meatballs, which costs RM13.
The stall is on Jalan Haji Hussein, off Jalan Raja Bot in Chow Kit.
Peak hours are from noon to 1pm, teatime and on weekends. Business hours are from 9am to 5pm.
The food is available via delivery platforms like Grab and Food Panda.
