Thursday February 26, 2009
FOOD TRAIL
By SAM CHEONG

OF ALL the Chinese noodle dishes, the yee thau mai (fish-head beehoon) is one of the most extraordinary.

It stands out because of its ingredients — salted vegetables, deep fried fish head, tomatoes and condensed milk.

I was first introduced to the yee thau mai by one of my ex-bosses Albert Lee (I used to work in a production house in SS19, Subang Jaya), who took me to a stall in Taman OUG, Old Klang Road.
Prompt service: Wah Cheong coffee shop is a popular eating place.

There, he treated me to a bowl of noodles at a corner coffeeshop and I was told that this was the best yee thau mai around the neighbourhood.

That was of course was nearly two decades ago.

Today, the fish head beehoon is a thriving food business. Even K.Y. Lau, my father in-law told me of some outlets specialising in the dish in Jalan Kuchai Lama.

I have yet to verify his findings and recently, Majorie Chiew, a colleague of mine tipped me off about a stall serving this particular dish in Section 17, Petaling Jaya.

“Eh Sam ah! Have you tried this place? I had a bowl of fish head noodles there and the portions are generous. You should check it out,” said Chiew.
Generous portion: Wah Cheong coffee shop’s yee thau mai.

So, on one Sunday afternoon, I went to the place in question and ordered a bowl of noodles. It’s not hard to find it because the stall is located at a corner coffeeshop called Wah Cheong.

Now, what I saw at the entrance of this makan place was a bit of a concern to me. Foreign workers hired by the stall owners were seen washing eating utensils, bowls and plates on top of a drain cover.

This is course, is the biggest letdown. Reservations aside, I proceeded with the order and waited patiently for my yee thau mai to be served.

While there, I could see a steady stream of people savouring their food during the lunch break. The variety of food worth mentioninig here are the yuk yeen fun (meatball noodles), chicken rice, and hakka noodles.

Chiew, who is a fellow food critic in The Star also mentioned about the yong tau foo, which is priced at 90sen a piece.

This, she added, is the cheapest stall around Petaling Jaya. Okay, back to the yee thau mai, I ordered a small bowl of noodles and delivery was prompt. In about 10 minutes, I was served with a piping hot bowl of noodles.

Now, in order not to attract too much attention, I took out my Nokia N-82 cellphone and started snapping some close-up shots with its built-in camera.

Now, on a scale from 1 -10, I would rate Wah Cheong’s yee thau mai a 6.

I found the fare to be pretty decent. Compared with the same dishes I had in Old Klang Road and Subang Jaya, this yee thau mai lacked a few things: coriander, spring onion leaves and soft tofu.

But then, there are different styles in serving the fish-head beehoon.

And at RM5 a treat, I’d say that the portion was generous.

Most fish head noodle stalls use freshwater fish like the Chinese carp and Giant snakehead as its main ingredients.

If you hate the “earthy” taste of freshwater fish, then this may be an acquired taste. All you need to do, is to dab it with some fiery cili api and soya sauce.

After leaving Wah Cheong’s coffeeshop for my office, I bumped into my colleague Peter Hoe, who is an old friend and was an intrepid traveller in his younger days.

Hoe, who was having lunch in a coffeeshop opposite Wah Cheong, actually saw me taking photos with my cellphone’s camera. -> The printed version actually states Sam Cheong is using N82 !!! 

I told him my purpose and his reaction was: “Haiyaaa! If you love fish head noodles, I take you to Taman Desa lah bradder! The quality is second to none and nobody has disputed it.”

So, I took note of that because my next food trail would be with Hoe on the hunt for the best yee thau mai in the Klang Valley.

Now, to get to Wah Cheong coffeeshop, the best way is to car pool because parking is scarce. To locate this coffeeshop, head to Jalan 17/29. Lat, Long coordinates for this makan place are: 3°7’44”N 101°38’3”E.

So, have a great time finding this place and happy eating!

> This is the writer’s personal observation and does not reflect Star Metro’s opinion.