Soong Kee (Beef Ball Noodles) @ SS2 PJ

This road (along SS2/66) has become a good 'hunting ground' and usual "makan" (eating) place for my family when it comes to Sunday breakfasts.  This exact location used to house the famous Ho Weng Kee's wantan mee until the equally famous Chan Meng Kee's wantan noodles took over.  Chan Meng Kee then moved a few shops down the road and this place was taken back by Ho Weng Kee wantan mee again.

On my most recent visit (however), I noticed that the signboard was different again and now houses Restoran Soong Kee @ SS2 PJ.  Anyone who has ever eaten beef ball noodles will recognise this name instantly as the infamous one from Jalan Silang (since 1945).  The sign in front says this is their 4th branch and, reassured, we ventured in.

The shop does offer a wider variety of food but I'm here to eat first and foremost....their Beef Ball Noodles @ RM8.  This bowl of springy Hakka wantan dry-style noodles was topped with a generous portion of their tasty trademark finely minced pork and beef in their special concocted sauce and some boiled "choy sum" (Chinese flowering cabbage).  [#Tip: I've always wondered if the mince topping was made with just pork and the lady in the shop confirmed, when I asked, that it's made with a combination of pork and beef (at least their version is).]

The noodles were as good as I remembered it to be at the original shop in Jalan Silang even though I've not eaten at the original shop for a very long time (but I have been a regular for so long that, despite the years of absence, I can still remember the taste).  The others, like Yang Kee and Yang Mooi, have come very close in taste to Soong Kee's version but not quite 100% there.  The difference (to me) is that Soong Kee's noodles, when tossed with the flavourful minced meat, are somehow drier than the other two.

The beef balls, fresh and good, were slightly softer in texture to what I remembered.  Their soup base, on the other hand, has a more subtle taste compared to the robustly flavoured ones from Yang Kee and Yang Mooi.  I preferred this soup base more than the others I've had.

Of course, you have to eat the noodles and the beef balls with their homemade chilli sauce, otherwise it just won't be quite the same without it.

You can have your noodles with either beef balls, sliced beef, beef tripe or a combination of the three.  This is the Beef Ball & Tripe Noodles also @ RM8 with a mixture of really tender beef slices and tripe and the same springy Hakka wantan mee style noodles as the one above.

I also noticed from the banner and the menu that they serve porridge too...and if this is the same Loa Yau Kee's porridge, in front of Soong Kee in Jalan Silang, I know I'll be in for a real treat.  For those of us who have followed the story of Soong Kee (and I also saw it in an episode with Jason Yeoh) that Loa Yau Kee's boss has retired and "sold" his porridge business to Soong Kee. 

Loa Yau Kee's porridge has remained my favourite porridge to this day and, if they're able to replicate the taste, I'd be very happy.  So, I excitedly ordered a bowl of Fish Porridge @ RM7. 

The "sang yue" (otherwise known as snakehead or "ikan haruan") fish slices are served fresh and uncooked with julienned ginger, Chinese parsley and a drizzle of sesame oil.

The thinly sliced fish can be easily cooked by dunking it into the hot porridge (which wasn't quite scalding hot enough for me).  I remembered how hot the porridge was when served in their original stall.  But, then again, since the fish slices were so super thin now, it didn't need to be scalding hot, I suppose.

Because the fish slices were so thin, it disintegrated into smaller bits when stirred into the porridge.  Although the sang yue was fresh, I would have preferred if they were slightly thicker (like how it was in their original stall).  The porridge consistency (which is more watery than the norm) was similar to their original stall but overall the porridge was lacking in flavour (obviously from too few slices of fish).

The Chicken Porridge @ RM7 was served similarly as the fish porridge with the chicken on the side.  The poached chicken slices were smooth and tender but the taste of the sauce coating the chicken wasn't as good as the one I ate at the original stall.  I remembered I loved the taste of the sauce so much that I would scoop every last drop and pour it into my porridge to flavour it.

If you don't feel like having porridge but still want to taste the chicken, you can order it separately.  This is the Chicken (Single Portion of Drumstick) @ RM6.

My son had Wantan Mee @ RM6.50 with "char siew" (barbequed pork).  This is Ho Weng Kee's wantan mee (you can see the menu pasted in the front of the shop claiming so).  The noodles had a good flavour, though it was a bit on the oily side, and the char siew was very lean (we should have requested for the meat-to-fat ratio that we preferred). 

The bowl of wantans

My Personal Opinion

This iconic brand, popularly known as 'Jalan Silang beef ball noodles', has stood the test of time dishing out consistently good tasting beef ball noodles for the past 70 years!

Soong Kee has cemented its reputation as one of the best beef ball noodles in KL, and now they're in PJ with this 9-month old outlet.....and will continue (I'm sure) to serve these noodles for many generations to come.

Not only that but they've also brought along the famous Lao Yau Kee's porridge and Ho Weng Kee's wantan mee all under one roof.  It's great that I don't have to go to the unfavourable Petaling Street area for my fix of porridge now (though it isn't as awesome as it used to be) but still remain a porridge that's not replicated elsewhere...and still a favourite of mine.

Restoran Soong Kee
32 Jalan SS2/66
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor