Hien Kee Fish Ball Noodle @ Jalan Loke Yew

I've noticed this shop (under a block of public flats) from the main road whenever we pass it enroute home or to other breakfast stops after church.  So, one day I took note of the shop's name and googled it when I reached home.  Turns out it's a fish ball noodle shop and since that's one of my favourite noodles to eat, we (more like I) decided to pay a visit to Hien Kee Fish Ball Noodle @ Jalan Loke Yew to see if it's any good since reviews mentioned that this is the popular Loke Yew flats fish ball noodle stall that have been around for many years.

From afar, the signboard looked new but the shop was the complete opposite.  It was pretty old and run down.  The place is rather tiny as there's only about 3 - 4 tables inside the shop (which the stall shares with the drinks shop) but they set up more tables outside along the pavement (and across the road under some trees).  Besides limited tables, parking here is also very limited.

Even though there weren't that many tables (probably 10 or so in total), our food took a while to arrive as it's a small operation run by 3 people, a lady who does the cooking, an elderly lady who helps + sends out the food and a guy (in a wheelchair) that takes orders and collects money (from what I witnessed).  The menu (written in Chinese) and prices are displayed inside the shop.

Luckily, they're a fish ball noodle specialist and I can pretty much guess what they offer (since I don't read Chinese).  I ordered a bowl of Fish Ball Noodle Soup @ RM8 for myself.

The bowl of noodles (I chose kuey teow) came with fish balls, fish cake slices, fish wantans (only one piece) and beansprouts before finishing with a few lard crisps, fried shallots and a sprinkling of chopped Chinese celery (daun sup).  The latter is a bit of a deal-breaker for me as I prefer it with Chinese parsley (yin sai), not daun sup! >.<

Whenever I try new fish ball noodle stalls, I would always compare them to my curent no. 1 favourite in Yin Kee (that one is gold standard for me).  The fish cake was alright, nothing outstanding, and just a few miserly thin slices were given.

The fish balls, on the other hand, won't be among my must-have anytime soon.  Their texture was a little bouncy and much denser than my favourite ones from Yin Kee.  But I must give credit to the very likeable beansprouts as they were the fat and crunchy ones.

My husband had his Fish Ball Noodle, Dry Style @ RM8 with a combo of mee + meehoon.  Luckily there's a choice of dry noodles since my husband isn't into any type of soup noodles, more so if it's fish ball noodles.

As you can see, the bowl of (same) ingredients on its own looked even more scarce.  Taking a sip of the soup, the flavour didn't impress although I expected it to be subtle tasting like all other fish ball noodle soups but even so, some would have more depth of flavour by whatever they use to boil the soup base, one of which is toong choy or dong cai (I think it's referred to as Tianjin preserved vegetable).  This one didn't seem to have that preserved vegetable in the mix.

One of my most favourite things to eat at a specialty fish ball noodle shop is their fish skin wantan (also known as fei tip or flying saucer) but, as always, you usually get just one piece in each bowl of fish ball noodles.  No matter, that's why it's always available as an add on or a side dish.

The Fish Skin Wantans @ RM9 (for 10 pcs) were certainly decent tasting with the thickness of the fish skin just right.  The minced pork filling however was lacking (or missing) that fragrant taste (of dried sole fish powder) which would have made the wantans a lot tastier.  Some would even add this sole (also known as flat/flounder) fish powder into their soup to perk up the flavours even more.

My Personal Opinion

It's difficult for me to visit (and eat at) shops that specialise only in fish ball noodles since it isn't something my husband would choose to eat if he has a choice though he's still willing to accompany me to some of these places knowing how much I love to eat fish ball noodles.

Luckily, this turned out to be a fish noodle speciaist that I can safely skip since the noodles (as well as the environment) failed to live up to my standards.  This is not to say it isn't decent, I'm sure it is to many (based on the fairly good reviews/ratings they've received), just that I've eaten better ones than this.  I'm sure my husband would be happy to know that I have no plans to revisit....lol!

Hien Kee Fish Ball Noodle

24 Jalan Loke Yew

Pudu

55200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 017-252 5012