Herbal-icious

Like a freakingly early Christmas present it was, the email that landed in my inbox a few weeks ago. An Eating Asia reader had gotten in touch to share the coordinates of a few of his favorite Kuala Lumpur nosh spots - recommendations, two entire pages' worth.

So here we are, ravenous on a Saturday afternoon, idling at our table in anticipation of a claypot full of Restoran Yap Hup Kee's Chinese herbal loh see fun. The photo up top reveals why loh see fun - rice noodles about as long as an adult forefinger, thick in the middle and tapered to a point at the ends - are translated as 'rat tail noodles'.

When the hot pot arrives we dip in to find three kinds of mushrooms (Chinese black dried stuffed with fish paste, enoki, and firm white button), pieces of deep-fried tofu and tofu skin, squares of firm-but-creamy fresh tofu, heavenly shuijiao (dumplings) generously stuffed with pork and the very freshest of prawns, and a good-sized pile of those noodles. Everything floats in an assertively herbal broth. The flavors - sweet, savory, a little bitter, lively and mellow at the same time - are too complex to allow a guess at the ingredients, though the photo above shows one to be dang shen, the root of the Chilean bellflower (Codonopsis pilosula), believed to be energy-giving. This soup simply tastes like it's good for us, which is just fine because we finish every last drop.

Yap Hup Kee is also known for its Hakka yong tow foo. The self-serve selection (dish up your own plateful, then hand it to the staff and they'll cook it up) is jaw-droppingly extensive, featuring a few unusual vegetable items that we felt compelled to try.

Yong tow foo pieces arrive on a plate, in a pool of thin broth. It's all good, but being veggie heads we especially like the broccoli stem wrapped in fish paste and wing bean stuffed with same. Also tasty, with a pleasingly chewy texture, are the sheets of deep-fried tofu skin spread with cloud ear fungus-studded fish paste.

We notice - too late, because our bellies are full to popping - that nearly every table sports a plate or several of chee cheong fun topped with dried prawns. Our tablemate relishes his, and urges us to place an order. We want to, we so want to ... but sometimes you just gotta know when to draw the line. Next visit.

Thanks reader - you know who you are!

Restoran Yap Hup Kee, 45 Jalan Brunei Barat (off Pudu), Kuala Lumpur. Tel. 03-2148-9220. 9am-5pm and 6pm-12am. Closed every second Tuesday. Claypot loh see fun requires a minimum of two people.

Branch at 31 J SS21/56B, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya. Tel. 03-7710-8131. 10am-9pm, 7 days a week.

Comments

[tummythoz]

I know this place - terribly slippery floor. About the chee cheong fun topped with fried dried prawns, it's heaven sent!

[shiewie]

Yes, chee cheong fun here is super smooth! I don't like it with the crispy deep fried dried prawns though - interrupts the smoothness of the noodles!

[Cin]

I'm going to M'sia at the end of October and, trust me, I will be scouring your site for the best eating places to visit in KL (and Penang?)!

[Fashionasia]

wow!! I love anything herbal....
There is a branch in Damansara Utama??hmm..never knew existed. Must go find out. thanks for sharing

[babe_kl]

i like to come here too, the chee cheung fun is smooth and slippery. great choice you have there

[Tu Cong Van]

It looks like Com Binh Dan in Viet Nam? I love all of your photos, how can your husband take such great photos like these?

[Robyn]

OK, majority opinion on the chee cheong fun says I have to revisit for a taste. But the votes are split on yes or no to prawns...

Fashionasia, word from my 'source' is that the Damansara Utama location is lacking in atmosphere, but the food is still OK.

Cin, don't know if I'll get to Penang before then (so much food, so little time) but Dave heads up there regularly, always introduced by locals to their favorite spots so I'll try and get a wee list together for you.

Tu - yes, kinda like com binh dan -- except every dish has fish paste in it!! As for the photos, I proudly proclaim that we have not gone digital. It's a combo of camera (Canon T-90), film (Fuji Velvia 100F slide film), and technique (light, use a tripod, reflector if necessary .. in other words be prepared to make a total fool of yourself in public to get just the right shot of that bowl of noodles). Also a lot of time invested sorting and scanning slides. :-)

[Cin]

yay! could you pretty please? :-)

[michael]

if u happen to be in Bentong on ur next trip. Drop me a mail and I'll tell you where to eat good delish chee cheong fun . Its so al dente that even I dont believe it. WHat the Taiwanese called Q

[Fashionasia]

okie thanks!!! is it anywhere within the Damansara uptown square??? sorry for asking....just havent a clue where is it.

[RST]

Haha "Q". Never thought of that word as "Q". "Q" with a falling tone of course as in "ya 'Q' oh!"

But I believe "Q" is more than just "al dente". If fact, it's probably even more than just "toothsome" and is already somewhere in the realm of "chewy".

Richard
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[Robyn]

Fashionasia - I got the info off Yap Hup Kee's card, so - sorry - I don't know the details about the Dam'ra location.

Gastronomica's most recent (I think) issue had a one-page essay on the Taiwanese concept of 'Q' (I'm not sure the journal is available in Asia). From what I recall the writer identified sago pearls and Taiwan-style oyster omelette as having the ultimate 'Q'ness.

[RST]

It's not just Taiwanese. It's a Southern Fukienese (Min Nan) word used through the SEAsia of the Fukienese diaspora. But thanks for the heads-up on the Gastronomica article. Will look it up today.

Another very striking food word that really needs explication is the Fukienese concept of t~inh (my transliteration: Mandarin = tian), which is not quite "sweetness" or at least "sugar-sweetness". It's something that is more elusive-and can be applied to for instance chicken broth. The concept has counterparts throughout SEAsia. In the Philippines for instance, there is the lovely word manamis-namis, which is distinct from matamis. Dr. Doreen Fernandez translates the word as "hidden sweetness" I think or "hide-and-seek sweetness". The latter may be applied to sugar-but manamis-namis may be used for instance to describe utter freshness in patis or even vinegar.

Richard
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[RST]

Oops. Just found the passage in Doreen's book. She said "hidden" sweetness but not "hide-and-seek". It's from an article on Filipino food flavors in the collection called Tikim. But I think that she also discusses this elsewhere (e.g. in the Kinilaw book, when talking about "sweetness" in fish sauce or vinegar). Both terrific books BTW: very highly recommended for those interested in SEAsian cuisines.

(P.S. to Robyn//Also found the passage on bagoong Balayan in Doreen's Tikim//will send later)

Re: t~inh

Don't know how to transliterate it. Tnginh? Funny how conveniently the Roman letter "Q" fitted that word. Never quite visualized it written that way.

[RST]

Delightful article! For those eatingasia readers who do not have access to Gastronomica, Zoe Tribur's piece (simply titled "Q") is available online through the Gastronomica website. Go to Gastronomica.com, click "issues", find the current issue, which should give you a table of contents. "Q" should be "click-able" as a link.

I have a few disagreements with her on which foodstuffs could be described as "Q". Cuttlefish definitely, perhaps sea cucumber (but the sensation of biting into a sea cucumber is so different: I don't think that "Q" necessarily encompasses gelatinous qualities-although gelatinous foodstuff can definitely be "QQ".) I also scratched my head a little bit on oyster omelette being Q. Sago pearls are definitely "Q" although they are so small that the "Q-ness" of it is really not the most important point about them. I also note that a lot of the "bubba tea pearls" in the US that these teenaged Asian punk kids like so much have been "de-Qed" and do not have the true chewy quality of "real" pearls.

Richard
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[Mosaic]

i like exotics food..

[sharon]

The Bentong chee cheong fun stall next to the chinese town hall is really2 delicious,but the stall owner is abit cxxkie...hahaha the fried noodle and the tong tofu are good too

[bayi]

The authentic Hakka yong tau foo which this outlet sells has a little salted fish among its ingredients. This makes the fare taste distinctly different and appealing to many. I always tend to eat more than I intend to when I patronize this place. The curry chee cheong fun with its tiny deep-fried prawns is just the dish to send one to heaven! :)