A fish ball specialist opened a shop recently in my taman, Ping Yu Noodles @ Pandan Indah, which I'm always thrilled about since fish ball noodles is one of my favourite noodles to eat. The exterior and interior of the place is not reminiscent of a typical fish ball noodle shop. The place has a stylish, modern contemporary design with soft lighting and warm, natural wood finishes creating a clean, warm and comfortable dining environment.
I was told by someone that they specialise in fish ball noodles, otherwise I wouldn't have known either (since I don't read Chinese). On my first visit, I saw a couple come in, sat down, looked at the menu...and left. If they choose to
look different from your typical fish ball noodle shop, they should at least showcase their menu outside the shop so that people are aware what they offer.
What else do you start with at a fish ball specialist place? You start with a bowl of
Fish Ball Noodles Soup @ RM13 of course. It's a very simple/plain version of fish ball noodles as it comes with just their housemade fish balls and slices of fish cake topped with some fried garlic and spring onions.
Both the texture of the fish balls and fish cake, however, turned out overly firm and very dense to me (unlike most of the fish balls and fish cake I've eaten thus far). From their
Facebook, they say they use
skipjack tuna (I've no idea what fish that is) but, in a later visit, I asked if it was
sai to yue (
ikan parang or wolf herring) as it's a common fish many use to make fish paste and fish balls (and the staff answered in the affirmative).
I chose
kway teow as my noodle of choice...and what a lovely choice that was! I thoroughly enjoyed the thin, translucent and ultra smooth texture of the noodles. I also loved the
soup base with its clear, clean, subtly savoury taste. They don't
over complicate their bowl of fish ball noodles.
When I'm at a fish balls specialist place, I always order their
Fried Fish Cake @ RM10 coz if their fish balls are good, so will their fish cake. But, unfortunately I ordered this on my first visit and it suffered the same fate as the fish balls...not good. >.<
When the fish cake arrived, I noticed how thin it was compared to other fish cake I've had. Being so thin (with hardly any visible air pockets), I guess the fish paste was even more compact thus further contributing to its dense texture. This fish cake is the same one they use in their noodles but at least that one is sliced thinner, so it was more palatable.
With both the fish balls and fish cake failing to impress me, I still made a return visit coz I really liked the light and comforting soup base as well as the texture of the
kway teow...and that was enough to make me revisit. This time I went for the
Fish Ball Noodle with Prawns & Squid @ RM21.
This turned out unexpectedly good. The two good-sized prawns were super fresh with firm meat, the squid incredibly soft (and not chewy at all unlike most of the squid I've had before) and even the fish balls and fish cake was better this time round, softer and not so dense.
.
Here's for easier comparison purposes...the prawn on the spoon so that you can estimate the size of the prawn...a fairly large-sized prawn that's good enough for a bowl of seafood noodles.
P/S: Don't ask me why they choose not to snip off the feelers (or antennae) of the prawns (maybe they thought it's nicer presented this way). It was rather annoying actually as it kept interfering with the noodles. >.<The freshness of the seafood coupled with the softer fish cake and bouncier fish balls (even better than a lot of other seafood noodles I've eaten) made me rethink and have a change of mind about the place.
Then, on my third visit, it was
back to square one when I had the
Dry Fish Ball Noodles @ RM13 served with the same no. of fish balls as the soup version.
The sauce of the dry noodles (I asked for meehoon + yellow mee) was neither fragrant nor tasty. The few pork lard crisps didn't help either as they were rancid. Clearly they were kept for too long and well past their shelf life...either that or the oil they used to fry the pork lard was already stale.
The fish balls and fish cake were still of a decent texture (and not overly dense like my first visit) but the soup I've grown to love from my first visit has (unfortunately) turned salty and even a little fishy (so overly savoury I found it almost undrinkable)! >_<
Because this place looks so swanky for a fish ball noodle shop, even their
Hot Chinese Tea @ RM1 is served in a stylish glass...
lol. You get an additional fresh chili paste (other than bird's eye chillies) with the seafood noodles. The place seems to be run by a group of young people (either friends or family) as I didn't see any foreign staff though I find them not particularly friendly or engaging.
My Personal Opinion
I'm flabbergasted (defined as a feeling of intense shock, surprise or astonishment, often leaving a person speechless or unable to react immediately...I'm explaining the meaning here not because I think you don't know the meaning but because that sums up exactly how I felt) about my experience here. All 3 experiences couldn't be more different! O_o
On my first visit, it didn't meet the standards of a good bowl of fish ball noodles coz the two most important ingredients, the fish balls itself and the fish cake, failed to live up to expectations coz they were just too dense in texture. I wondered to myself how the shop was going to survive with such dense fish paste when they're a fish ball specialist shop (+ they offer no other noodles).
But, because I enjoyed the soup base and silky smooth kway teow, I was willing to give them a second chance and, for my second visit, I chose a bowl of seafood noodles instead (with prawns & squid before realising it also came with fish balls and fish cake). This turned out to be very enjoyable.
So, I confidently returned for a third visit and this time it was the broth...it was too salty. For a shop that's dedicated to offering just one type of noodles and not doing it consistently right does not bode well for the shop. They'll lose customers if the texture of the fish paste is not right...and lose more customers when the soup base is not right.
With all these inconsistencies, from the texture of the fish balls/fish cake to the saltiness of the broth, I'm not sure if I'm brave enough for another visit as I just don't know what I'd get...it's like a case of spin the (lucky) wheel here. If they've any hope for survival, they have to be more consistent with their food.
Plus, I think fish ball noodles is more popular as a breakfast food but then they only open at 9 am which I feel is too late as people usually eat breakfast from 8 am (most coffee shops and even some standalone shops open at that time) so that they can get to work (I did make a suggestion but it was shrugged off). Maybe that's why I always find the place practically empty (at dinner time) when I dined there (usually only 2-3 tables are occupied and once, I was the only one there when I entered...and still the only there when I left). >_< There's room for improvement for sure and wish them all the best.
Ping Yu Noodles
4 Jalan Pandan Indah 4/10
Pandan Indah
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-4280 0301
