(Clockwise, from top) Nyonya-style steamed noodles with pork, ginger-style steamed noodles with chicken and nyonya-style steamed noodles with fish at the stall in Bandar puchong Jaya. — photos: lOW BOON TaT/The star
IN THE FRONT corner of a coffeeshop, a food stall attracts passers-by with the aroma of meat noodles.
This dish has been served at Restoran 2323, Bandar Puchong Jaya, for the past 11 years by Chin Chun Mei, 63, who hails from Mambang Di Awan in Kampar district, Perak.
“My brother, who has been in the food and beverage industry for a long time, came up with the idea to sell steamed meat noodles and asked me to join him.
“He told me that steaming the noodles is unique because people operating noodle eateries would usually boil the noodles.
“The idea sounded interesting, so I decided to follow him,” she recalled.
Chin said they first started their business at a coffeeshop in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, before moving to their current location in Bandar Puchong Jaya in Selangor.
“One day, my brother decided to move to Johor to open a branch there.
“So, I took over and rented a stall in Restoran 2323 to continue the business,” she explained, adding that her stall offers three meat choices; chicken, fish or pork.
Customers can choose from a variety of noodles such as mee hoon, mee xian (rice noodles), fried mee sua (fried wheat vermicelli), lai fun (thick rice noodles), loh shi fun (rat’s tail noodles), hor fun (flat rice noodles) and yee mee.
Serving as the heart of the dish is the broth, derived from Chin’s homemade nyonya paste as well as ginger paste.
“My brother experimented with the paste and passed down the recipes to me.
“The preparation for the nyonya paste takes three hours.
“It involves blending the ingredients and cooking over high heat.
Chin preparing to steam the dish.
“Meanwhile, the ginger paste takes half an hour to prepare where the ginger is blended and cooked over low heat.
“The process is tedious and requires a lot of hard work, but it is worth it to get the right consistency so that customers can enjoy drinking the rich broth,” she shared.
Customers could look forward to starting their day or satisfying their lunch hunger pangs with a dish of bouncy noodles soaked in flavourful broth, topped with the meat of their choice.
Depending on their preference, they could choose the ginger paste broth for its comforting warmth that envelops the senses or the nyonya paste broth for a sour and spicy kick.
To cook the dish, Chin places the noodles and meat on a plate.
She then spreads the paste over the noodles before steaming it in a large pot.
“The steaming process takes five to six minutes to ensure everything is cooked.
“The meat is still fresh and when steamed with the noodles, the essence of the meat infuses the noodles and broth, making it different from other noodle dishes,” she said.
To enhance the flavour of the dish, customers can add the Kampar chilli sauce that is sure to tingles one’s taste buds.
Her stall is located at Restoran 2323, 23, Jalan Kenari 7, Bandar Puchong Jaya, 47100 Puchong, Selangor.
It operates daily from 7am to 2pm, except on Sundays.
All noodle dishes are priced at RM10 each.
Customers can call 012-546 0782 to place their order for dine-in or self pick-up.
