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Tuesday 5 May 2009
030509 Section 14 Chee Cheong Fun, Hai Keng Restaurant, 24, Jalan 14/20
My grandfather and I share one eating habit, that is, when we find something we like, we eat that thing pretty much consistently over a period of time. This chee cheong fun stall has been a favourite of ours for a while.
The owner of the stall is a guy of few words, which is reasonable considering how many sheets of chee cheong fun he has to chop (lots and lots).
Chee cheong fun is a type of rice noodle, which is made by pouring a mixture of rice flour, water, and some other ingredients onto a hot cloth on a hot metal plate. This thin sheet is then steamed for a quick while, lifted off the sheet and quickly folded. When it is to be served, it’s chopped into thin slices and a ‘teem cheong’ (sweet sauce) made of black beans (among other ingredients) is poured over it. It’s also sometimes eaten with green chillies and chilli sauce, but I prefer mine with the teem cheong alone.
According to my grandfather, who’s read the newspaper article in which the chee cheong fun man was featured, and who’s had many conversations with the guy while waiting for his order, this chee cheong fun man starts his day at about 3am daily.
He makes the noodles himself, and that alone takes a few hours as he makes 4 to 5 boxes of these things. He then opens shop at about 7am when the breakfast crowd arrive, and keeps going till about before noon when the noodles run out.
Typically eaten as a light breakfast, it’s almost comfort food to us. Would I recommend this? Most definitely so.
1 comment:
Based on your description, it reminds me of an episode of No Reservations where Anthony Bourdain goes to HK. There, he visits a noodle maker who still prepares them "the old style", i.e., he would wake up early in the morning to make a dough and then using a bamboo pole to "push it". The resulting noodle has a different texture to that factory made and, as a result, an experience of its own. Great post!
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