EVER since his primary schooldays, Khoo Beng Huat has been hands-on with his family’s pork noodle business.
It started with his grandfather, whose original stall in Penang is still operated by Khoo’s cousin.
In the 1960s, Khoo’s father brought the family business to the Klang Valley.
When Khoo took over the business over a decade ago, he made adjustments to the original family recipe.
“I’ve tweaked the soup to be more flavourful and on the sweeter side,” he said.
The soup base is slow-cooked for 12 hours the day before.
Khoo uses pork femur bones, which are the long bones from a pig’s legs that are boiled with “first draw” soy sauce.
“The ‘first draw’ is from the initial extraction of the brewing process.
“It has a richer, more aromatic flavour. I add that along with sugar, salt and some other sauces to season the soup,” he said.
Customers can pick their noodles of choice from the available options, such as hor fun and mee hoon.
Then, in go pork slices, pork meatballs and cabbage slivers to add dimension to the soupy concoction.
Khoo will ask customers if they would like intestines to be added as well.
Lastly chu yao zhar (fried pork lard) tops off the dish as a garnish.
Customers will delight in finding that the chu yao zhar is crispy and the soup flavour clear without excessive grease.
Khoo’s menu also includes dry pork noodles, bittergourd pork noodle soup and herbal pork noodle soup.
The herbal soup has a bold flavour for those who enjoy trying something different.
The prices start from RM9 for a bowl of soup noodles or dry noodles.
You can get the bittergourd pork noodle soup at RM9.50 and the herbal pork noodle soup at RM10.
A bigger bowl of noodles or a free-range egg cost an additional RM1.
“People of all ages visit my stall to enjoy my noodles, from university students living nearby to older residents who have become regulars,” said Khoo.
His pork noodles are also available for takeaway.
The pork noodle stall is in Restoran De Coffee O, a coffee- shop along the side of Jalan Temenggung 3/9 at Bandar Mahkota Cheras in Kajang.
It opens from 6am to 2pm every day.
The stall closes once every two weeks, usually on a Wednesday.
