Ah Koong (Fish Noodles) @ Pudu

Ah Koong @ Pudu (the original shop, not the halal chain of AK Noodles House you find elsewhere) is my family's favourite spot for fish ball noodles.

And we've been a regular customer to their original shop for many years (read my previous entries here and here).  I like to go there especially when the weather is hot as their air-conditioning is always at full blast to keep me in cool comfort.

In a recent trip, I noticed they had fish noodles on offer.  What's so special about fish noodles you might ask? Isn't this a fish ball noodles shop after all?  Well, what I meant was that fish noodles are noodles made from fish paste.  So, I ordered a bowl of Fish Noodles @ RM12.90 to try.  The bowl came filled with some of the usual ingredients you might find in a bowl of ordinary fish ball noodles like fried fish paste and fried beancurd sheets but it also had the extra ingredient of lean pork slices that were super tender (which you obviously won't find in the halal AK chain of restaurants).

The fish noodles look exactly like those long, thin, rounded strands of fish paste served at steamboat places. And because the noodles are already made of fish paste itself, less fish balls are given.  It was a bit weird eating fish noodles as it felt like I was eating a whole bowl of liew (ingredients) like in a steamboat.  The advantage of this though is that this bowl of noodles (since it's made from fish paste) isn't nearly as big as their usual bowl of fish ball noodles (which I sometimes can't finish).  Having this leaves me with more 'stomach' room to have yong tau foo at the side.

It wasn't quite my thing, the fish noodles.  If I want to enjoy my bowl of noodles, I need my carb-laden counterpart!  I prefer to eat my usual bowl of fish ball noodles (RM9) with all the liew and, most times, I can't resist adding fish skin wantans (RM3 for two).  These are absolutely my most favourite type of wantan as I adore the skins made from fish paste.

Another time, I added additional oysters (can't remember how much the extra oysters cost) into my bowl of fish ball noodles.  Hmmm, this bowl of fish ball noodles came sprinkled with yin sai (Chinese coriander, my favourite) unlike the fish noodles which was accompanied by daun sup which I'm not a fan of while green onions is a staple in all bowls.

Some of the oysters were huge while some were smallish.  They give you that burst of juices when you bite into them.

Although I do enjoy eating fresh oysters and oyster omelette but oysters in soup noodles (rather similar to Taiwanese oyster mee sua)....nah, not so much.

There's a variety of yong tau foo items to choose from to make a nice accompaniment to your meal of noodles from stuffed brinjals to bitter gourd, chillies, ladies finger, beancurd sheets, beancurd puffs, tofu, wantans, all sorts of fish & meat balls and much more.

But of all the items, we really love two of them, the Fried Fish Cake (RM5.50 for one) and Fried Tau Pok (RM2.50 a piece), and we never fail to order them each time we're here.  The fried (inverted) tau pok is abundantly filled with minced pork and yin sai (sometimes a mixture of yin sai and daun sup).  Even my spouse who dislikes both daun sup and yin sai cannot resist these delicious tau pok.  You can, of course, still get this fried tau pok in the halal AK branches but the filling is made with fish paste instead of minced pork.

I love the texture of their fish cake which is firm yet slightly bouncy (from the addition of flour).  I would even pack some home to eat with my homemade noodles or use it to fry vegetables though, at RM5.50 a piece, it isn't all that cheap.

My Personal Opinion

It's our go-to place for fishball noodles coz, not only can I have one of my preferred fish ball noodles, I can also have my favourite fish cake and fried tau pok while at it. ^o^

We will continue to be a regular customer as long as they keep up their standards.

Ah Koong Restaurant
No 172 Jalan Changkat Thamby Dollah
Off Jalan Pudu
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2143 3477