How many ways can you eat chee cheong fun?

For those of us who love eating chee cheong fun (or rice noodle rolls)...and I'm one of them, we're lucky that there are many types and styles of chee cheong fun for us to enjoy.

#1 - Plain Chee Cheong Fun with Chilli & Sweet Sauce

Certainly the most basic is one eaten with lat chiew cheong (chilli sauce) and tim cheong (sweet brown sauce if you're in Klang Valley).

#2 - Plain Chee Cheong Fun with Curry

Of course you're bound to find a version with curry since we're Malaysians....and we obviously love our curries! ;)

I especially love this one (offered by a yong tau foo shop, Yap Hup Kee) where the curry is almost like a thick broth with added fragrance from the bits of dried shrimps.  So good. ^.^

#3 - Chee Cheong Fun with the more typical/common liew

Plain chee cheong fun (from hawker stalls) is usually paired with more typical liew (ingredients) like boiled/softened beancurd sheets, tofu puffs, fish and pork balls.

#4 - Chee Cheong Fun with various types of yong tau foo

But these days, most chee cheong fun stalls have graduated from just providing the standard liew that it now comes with a vast choice of yong tau foo items to choose from like fish paste-stuffed brinjal, bitter gourd, fresh red chillies, ladies finger, tofu, fried dumpling, fried wantan, fried beancurd rolls and more.

#5 - Steamed Chee Cheong Fun

In a neighbourhood shop of mine, they offer steamed chee cheong fun rolls with a filling of shredded jicama and carrot (that have been cooked till soft), very much like a fried popiah, only difference is it's  steamed instead of deep fried.  We eat this with a drizzle of soy sauce.

#6 - Dried Shrimp Chilli Chee Cheong Fun

I got this from a hawker stall (via delivery) who offered their chee cheong fun that is eaten with just a condiment of spicy dried shrimp and its oil.  It's not one I usually see but it was very enjoyable too.

But the chee cheong fun with crispy dried shrimps that I eat regularly is the one from Yap Hup Kee.  It's served here with either a sweet + chilli sauce or in curry.

#7 - Kampar-Style Chee Cheong Fun

Next, we have different styles of chee cheong fun that hails from different States/cities in Malaysia.  First up is this Kampar-style chee cheong fun that contains tiny bits of dried prawns and spring onions that have been folded into the sheets of chee cheong fun.  It's difficult to see as there isn't a lot of it, just a little to bring some added flavour to the plain chee cheong fun.  You usually don't find a variety of liew like yong tau foo items offered with this style, just the standard beancurd sheets and meat/fish balls, as the chee cheong fun is the star attraction.

My all-time favourite of this style of chee cheong fun is the one from Pandan Perdana market (they've since moved into a proper shop, Restoran Good Friends, in the vicinity).  You can eat this with either curry, chilli or sweet sauce.  Their curry is one of the best I've had with chee cheong fun (their tim cheong is good too, very different from the standard brown sweet sauce we get from most sellers) and that's why I like to eat it with a combo or curry and sweet sauce. ^o^

#8 - Penang-Style Chee Cheong Fun

Penang-style chee cheong fun (as we know) is also particular to that State in that it's the only one that is served with a har ko cheong (shrimp paste sauce).,.and my current go-to is the one from O & S Restaurant...the chee cheong fun is really translucent and slippery-smooth.  This style I'd have to say is an acquired taste because of the har ko cheong.  I didn't like it when I first tried it as the thick har ko is very pungent but the taste grew on me.  Still, I try not to mix in all the har ko + you really need the chilli sauce to cut through the pungency and robustness of the har ko.

#9 - Ipoh-Style Chee Cheong Fun

Ipoh-style chee cheong fun is served in one of three ways.  The first is eaten with a chilli and sweet sauce although the sweet sauce is a little different from others as Ipoh-style sweet sauce is more reddish in colour compared to the usual brownish ones here.

The second which is also indigenous to Ipoh (I think) as I've not come across it elsewhere is that they offer chee cheong fun with mushroom sauce (sometimes cooked with bits of minced pork).  Ipoh-style chee cheong fun is always served along with some pickled green chillies.

The third is most simple one...with plain soy and shallot oil and topped with fried shallots and sesame seeds.  For this to shine, the soy must be of a good (and tasty) quality and the shallots freshly fried (not pre-fried, store-bought ones).  I've yet to come across good Ipoh (in whatever) style chee cheong fun here in KL! ;D

#10 - Teluk Intan-Style Chee Cheong Fun

Although this is not the actual/famed Teluk Intan chee cheong fun (which I've not eaten before), it's quite similar to it.  This one I found sold by a hawker in a wet market.  The chee cheong fun is filled with chopped jicama (sengkuang) and radish (choy poh, not sure if it's the salty or sweet kind but I believe it's the latter) before topping with a sprinkling of crispy, fried, finely chopped dried prawns.  It's a killer combination with its sweet, salty and fragrant flavours.

#11 - Hong Kong-Style Chee Cheong Fun

Hong Kong-style of chee cheong fun has its rice rolls steamed with a filling of either prawns or char siew (current favourite is from Wah Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun).  It's quite a sight to see the extremely thin rice rolls (some call this cheong fun coz of it's much thinner texture compared to chee cheong fun) come out of the steamer and rolled.  It's generally served with a sauce of soy and a dollop of ma lai chan lat chiew (cooked belacan and dried shrimp sambal).

#12 - Fried Chee Cheong Fun ala Char Kway Teow-Style

This fried chee cheong fun ala char kway teow-style is almost similar to any standard fried char kway teow with the requisite fresh sihum (cockles) as well except it's fried with chee cheong fun instead of kway teow.  Can it beat the usual char kway teow in taste?  Not quite...since the noodles are in a rolled form, so it doesn't get charred enough for that sought-after wok hei taste.

#13 - Fried Chee Cheong Fun with Dried Shrimp & Chilli

Finally, fried chee cheong fun with dried shrimps and chillies may be offered by stalls/shops selling fried noodles like Hokkien mee and kong fu chow (Cantonese-style noodles of wat tan hor or ying yong) although it's not commonly available.  I think I first encountered this dish at a Hong Kong-style cha chaan teng (which they called XO fried chee cheong fun).

We're very fortunate to be able to eat chee cheong fun in a variety of styles.  Are you a lover of chee cheong fun like me?  If so, what's your favourite way of eating it.  For me, I love Kampar-style chee cheong fun...and you don't really need any liew as the chee cheong fun will shine on its own if it's good.  If not this, then chee cheong fun in a thick and tasty curry or a Hong Kong-style chee cheong fun with fresh prawns and a good ma lai chan lat chiew is my next choice. ^_~