Yi Poh @ PJ Old Town

It was in one of our recent visits to Jin Xuan Hong Kong for dim sum one Sunday morning that I noticed Yi Poh @ PJ Old Town just next to it across the road.

Yi Poh sounded like Ipoh to me (in Cantonese) but was told that it's actually grandma's sister (in Chinese). This restaurant, headquartered in Seremban, is best known for its loh shi fun (a recipe that dates back to 1948).

To start, I had to try the famed loh shi fun, so I went with the Yi Poh Lo C Fun (Dry) @ RM6.30 (for small) with char siew and minced pork.  Give the noodles a quick toss in its soy-based sauce (with pork lard fragrance) for a pretty delicious mouthful.

The rice noodles here are unique in that they look more like lai fun noodles (used in assam laksa) than the short noodles with pointy ends we're more accustomed to (which we also call loh shi fun or rat-tail noodles). One taste of the noodles and I soon realised that the texture is closer to (and firmer like) loh shi fun rather than gummy or soft like lai fun.

The bowl of soup that came with the dry loh shi fun was peppery hot but (luckily) that wasn't the same soup base (phew!) for the Yi Poh Lo C Fun (Soup) @ RM6.30.  This soup base was rather tasty and I enjoyed it very much.

On another visit, I tried the Soup Hor Fun @ RM6.30 and immediately regretted my choice.  That's because I detected the hor fun (aka kway teow) had a very slight offensive taste (that I disliked in some kway teow) but, at least, this was still edible.

Not So Fun Fact: Recently I finally decided to ask a noodle shop owner (I'm a regular at her shop) if there is such a thing as offensive kway teow that I've tasted.  Guess what was the first thing she said to me.  She said the noodles have this cockroach smell, right? >_<  She suspects it has something to do with the ingredient (rice or the poor quality of it) used to manufacture the noodles or the unhygienic handling/storage of the noodles (like cockroaches walking over the noodles).  Yikes!...I'd rather hope (and believe) it's something to do with the manufacturing process (be it rice, oil or chemicals) rather than the disgusting notion of cockroach contamination (in the factory or of the noodles!!).  So there...it's real...I'm so glad to know that I'm not out of mind and that some people have had a similar experience.  I've even experienced it with meehoon and rice (though it's more rare).

The Yi Poh Hakka Mee @ RM6.30 is another noodle dish that Yi Poh is well known for.  And that's precisely why the char siew served here is more reddish-coloured (that's commonly served with Hakka mee) and is almost 100% lean.

You can also opt for Yi Poh Wantan Mee @ RM6.30 but don't hold your breath for dark coloured, sweetish, caramelised char siew that's a hallmark at other wantan mee stalls coz the ones here are similar to the ones you get with Hakka noodles.

The wantan mee is served with two meaty soup wantans and one fried wantan + some greens of choy sum. The wantan noodles here have more bite than those springy types and the flavour of the sauce is pretty decent.

Condiments of pickled green chillies and sambal for you to add to perk up your noodles (if you wish) are available at tableside but I found the taste of the sambal to be among some of the worst I've eaten.  You can even find jars of this sambal for sale at the restaurant but if they're similar to the ones on the table...thanks but no thanks! >_<

They also have a couple of side orders you can add on to complement your meal like pork balls, pork tendon balls, Thai tofu, Thai fish balls, fish balls, soup wantans, fried wantans, pork stomach soup and vegetables.

We got an order of Pig Stomach Soup @ RM6.90 which came sprinkled with lots of Chinese coriander (I like!) and some fried shallots in a peppery soup that my spouse said was not hot enough (by that he meant peppery, not panas).  It certainly was hot enough when I had it the first time as a bowl of soup with my dry noodles but that was lunch time...and this was in the morning (maybe that's why...the longer it steeps or boils, the hotter it becomes).  At home, when I make hot pepper soup, I would transfer the soup out and discard the peppercorns at the bottom coz I once left them steeping in the pot and the soup became much hotter at dinner time.

Their meaty Fried Wantans @ RM1 (a piece) were rather good.....freshly fried, crispy and not greasy at all, meaning the oil was perfectly hot (you can see from the pic that there's none of that glistening surface on the wantan skins).  I should have ordered more...next time I will! ;)

Golden Fireworks @ RM6.90 were fried enoki mushrooms dusted with chilli powder and fried with curry leaves.  I wasn't a fan of the batter and the seasoning of salt was too heavy-handed.  Not sure why it was served with fried wantan skins at the side which were bland and tasteless.

We ordered a plate of greens of Choy Sum @ RM6.90 on my first visit with my sister-in-law (she asked for the oyster sauce to be omitted).  They came with crispy pork lard on top (not that I'm complaining).

For drinks, I had the refreshing Kedondong Juice @ RM5.40 on my first visit that was pretty acceptable though not the best around.  The Iced White Coffee @ RM4.40 on my second visit certainly ranks among some of the worst tasting white coffees I've had.  Not only that but the iced coffee was served lukewarm with not a piece of ice in sight (probably they made the drink too hot and the ice melted instantly).  I noticed a customer asking for more ice for his coffee...and so did I.

My Personal Opinion

Your best bet here, in my opinion, is their loh shi fun in a delicious soup base (so, you must like loh shi fun to begin with to come away with an enjoyable meal).....complemented by (perhaps) a side order of satisfying fried wantans.

Yi Poh Restaurant
A19 Ground Floor
Jalan Pasar 1/21
PJ Oldtown
46000 Selangor
Tel: 03-7772 1027