Ah Koong Restaurant @ Pudu

My family and I have been going to Ah Koong Restaurant @ Pudu, the original (and only) non-halal branch and not their other halal branches (known as AK Noodles) on a fairly regular basis, at least once a month for its fish ball/seafood noodles(+ a side of yong tau foo) although I've to admit theirs is not my no. 1 favourite fish ball noodles.  My all-time favourite is still the one at Yin Kee which my family isn't into since their speciality (and best dish) is their true fish ball noodles (only fish ball and fish paste related stuff).

They prefer to come to Ah Koong and it's down to a few reasons.....1) their fish ball noodles is not the typical fish ball noodles + it's available in a dry version (which is critical to my family), 2) their dining environment is much more comfortable since it's air-conditioned (especially conducive during this hot spell we're having) and 3) well, they do make one of my most-liked white coffee (this one only applies to me-lah).

I like it so much that I would buy their instant 2-in-1 white coffee (not theirs lah actually but one used by them at their restaurant which is manufactured by Yee Kong in Ipoh) which they sell at their restaurant (this is now the only white coffee I drink at home).  I used to buy it from them at RM20 (for a pack of 20 sachets) but recently found that I can get it from Shopee for much less with discounts, so there's where I get my stock now.

When we dine here, our default noodles have always been fish ball noodles in soup (for me) and fish ball noodles dry-style (for my family) with the same standard but loaded liew (ingredients) of boiled fish ball, fried fish ball, meat ball, fish cake slices, fried beancurd roll, fried fu chuk (beancurd sheet), seaweed, lettuce, spring onions, coriander (yin sai) and finally finished with tiny bits of fish paste (you'd find floating in the soup).

But, truth be told, my family would always complain about the overcooked wantan mee (for their kon lo) but still gobble it up anyway.  I used to like to add-on their fish skin wantans but (sadly) they no longer make them.  So, apart from the missing fish skin wantans (one by default used to be given), the three boiled fish balls are now also down to two (albeit with increased pricing!).

They also offer noodles in a curry or tom yam soup base but I always stick to the clear soup version.  Some days I would eat my default noodles with a premium add-on...like prawns for instance.  You'll be charged according to the weight of the prawns.

I chose one prawn and it was pretty large and it was really fresh on the day I had it.  Additional cost of this one added prawn was RM10 on top of the price for a bowl of fish ball noodles.  Since the prawn was super fresh, firm and sweet tasting, I was ok with the RM10 price tag for one knowing how pricey prawns are these days.

If you like, you can add-on slices of abalone (the canned kind-lah).  I tried that once and you get 4 thin slices for RM6.  Besides that, you also have a choice of canned scallops.

On another visit, I had add-on oysters for RM10.  Quite a good portion given for the price.  These are not the western-type oysters (that you find at buffets, shucked and ready to eat with lemon juice or Tobasco sauce) but the type of oysters similar to what you'd get in a bowl of Taiwanese oyster mee sua or oh chien (oyster omelette).

I've to say these type of oysters is an acquired taste.  I'm not crazy for it but will eat it from time to time.  Why I say it's an acquired taste is that when you bite into one, there's a tremendous burst of juice which can or may taste fishy to those who are not fans of oysters (sometimes it can be really fishy if they aren't fresh enough).

There's also a selection of fish as add-on though it's not available every day (it probably depends on the price and freshness).  I've seen white pomfret (chong yue) and grouper (sek pan)...the latter of which I had before (some years back) but didn't tickle my fancy as it wasn't fresh enough (that day).  These days, fish is so expensive that add-on fish can cost in the region of RM20 (it's best to check the prices with them first before commiting).  More than RM30 for a bowl of noodles is not something I'm willing to pay on a regular basis though.

Probably another reason why we patronise Ah Koong is because we can have a side of yong tau foo to accompany our meal.  Although I can't say their fish paste stuffed yong tau foo is excellent (as I've eaten better ones elsewhere), I do like their unique and tasty fried stuffed beancurd puff (which is what my husband enjoys eating the most).

They stuff their beancurd puffs (tau fu pok) with minced pork and Chinese parsley (yin sai) though (sometimes) they substitute it with daun sup (Chinese celery leaves) or even spring onions when yin sai is pricey.  The fact that it's filled with lots of yin sai is the very reason why this beancurd puff stands out from the rest (and the very thing my son dislikes about them....lol..but will still eat them by choosing one with less noticeable yin sai), the other being that it's a filling of minced pork instead of fish paste.  The beancurd puffs are turned inside out before stuffing the yin sai-fragrant minced meat filling and when deep fried, the exterior gets really crispy and delicious.

Of course when one is a fish ball specialist, you'd always find fried fish cake offered as well.  Again, this is not my favourite fish cake as theirs have that bouncy texture but that's what most people adore.  I'm not the biggest fan (neither is my husband) but we do accept a slightly bouncy texture since that's how most fish cakes are made anyway.

The fried fish cake and beancurd puffs are two of their most sought-after yong tau foo items and, if you look around, you'll see them on almost every table.  These two items are always our default order along with some other yong tau foo.

Besides the availability of their white coffee for sale, a number of their fish balls (and fish paste related stuff) are also for sale which can be handy if you're having steamboat at home (they even sell their soup base).  I usually pick up two of my favoured items (when I'm there) and they're their signature fish cake (RM13.50 for 2 pcs) and fried fish balls (RM10.90 for 18 pcs, 250g).

Their signature fish cake is already cooked, so all that's needed is to pan-fry them in some oil to get a nice browning and a light crisp on the skin.  Great on its own as a snack or as a dish to accompany your meal of rice.

It's also ideal as an added ingredient into a bowl of your homemade made-from-scratch soup noodles or (if lazy) simply in a bowl of instant noodles is what I usually do.  Other than that, I cut them into slices and fry them with vegetables (veggies like cabbage, broccoli, choy sum and green beans would work well).  You can also make use of them in fried rice or fried noodles.

This fish cake tastes loads better than those commercially produced fish cake you get at the supermarkets (or even wet markets) as some of them can taste really fishy (especially the lower quality ones).  Since discovering the availability of this, I've stopped buying those commercially prepared fish cake.

The other thing I always pick up when I'm here is their fried fish balls...the same fried fish ball you'd find in their fish ball noodles.  Of course the one you eat during dine-in is nicely round-shaped, the one you cart home is not as they've been vacuum packed and pressed out of shape...lol.

Again, I would add them to my bowl of instant noodles or, sometimes, I would even use the extra soup left over from any tapau-ed soup noodles and drop some of these fried fish balls in to accompany a meal.  The only thing they don't sell is their crispy stuffed tau fu pok.....coz if they did, you bet I'll be carting them home to fry too.

My Personal Opinion

I've blogged about Ah Koong a few times already (you can check it out here, here and here) and it remains a regular haunt of ours to dine in as it's a place where all of us can enjoy something (our usual orders) that we like even though it nay not necessarily be the best.

It's also a place where I can go to get my hands on their fish cake and fried fish balls to use at home.  Get them from the restaurant (if you're there) or through their online shop to try and you'll know they're much better in quality and taste than those fish cakes you'll ever get from the supermarkets.

Decent enough for a comforting bowl of fish ball noodles with a side of yong tau foo that you get to eat in an equally comfortable environment. ^_~

Ah Koong Restaurant

172 Jalan Changkat Thamby Dollah

Pudu

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03-2143 3477

Hou Kei Yong Tau Foo @ Taman Seraya

It isn't always easy to find something which all members of the family enjoy eating as we all have our preferences when it comes to food.  But yong tau foo happens to be something that we can all agree on.

Since I live near the Ampang area, an area that's synonymous with yong tau foo specialists that three comes to mind immediately, Ampang Homeland Yong Tau Foo, Orchard View Yong Tau Foo and Foong Foong Yong Tau Foo with all of them located on the same street and next to one another (with all enjoying brisk business).

Besides shops that specialises only in yong tau foo, you'll always find them when you see chee cheong fun stalls.  They're also commonly found in many noodle shops too as an add-on to noodles.  It's also a very popular side dish offered by many eateries especially the fried dumpling and beancurd sheets.  Because of the many varieties of yong tau fu one can choose from, you're bound to like at least one type (if not more), so I've not come across anyone who doesn't like yong tau foo. :P

I do have quite a few favourites that I frequent when it comes to good yong tau foo places but there are also some fairly decent ones closer to home.  Recently I found Hou Kei Yong Tau Foo @ Taman Seraya through ShopeeFood to add to my growing list.

For my initial tasting (or more like testing), I ordered the Yong Tau Foo with Meehoon Set @ RM8.10 (Soup Only/Small) which comes with 3 pcs of yong tau foo.

The only thing with the set is you don't get to choose the type of yong tau foo you want, the shop will pick randomly for you....which was fine by me since I'm ok with any type.

I ended up getting brinjal, bitter gourd and chilli which was great since I got different ones from my extra order of yong tau foo of Fried Beancurd Sheet, Fried Dumpling with Coriander, White Tofu and Tofu Puff.

I actually quite enjoyed the very ching or light tasting soup base so much so that I would put a note to be given soup even when I was not having meehoon.

Their meehoon do come with some scant fried (but limp) shallots, so the addition of some (store-bought) crispy fried shallots and a drizzle of shallot oil will make the soup noodles taste even better! ;)

The yong tau foo items had a good amount of fish paste filling that was tasty and my usual favourites always include brinjal, bitter gourd and fresh red chillies.

Of all the yong tau foo items, I'm probably least fond of white tofu (a sentiment echoed by my family too) but this one I ended up really liking.  I think it was the taste of the tofu itself and its smooth texture (together with a tasty filling) that made this differ from the rest I've eaten.

Of course when it comes to yong tau foo, the fried items are a must...and they have four to choose from.  I got the fried fu chuk, fried seaweed roll and fried dumpling with coriander (you can also opt for the plain fried dumpling).

The Fried Fu Chuk @ RM1.80 was savoury and very crispy (but it's unlike those fu chuk rolls you get from yong tau foo specialists).  I initially thought it was just crispy fu chuk but was happy to see there was some fish paste filling inside.

The Fried Seaweed Roll @ RM1.80 was actually popiah skin-wrapped seaweed with fish paste but it had a bland taste overall probably due to the (usually) bland tasting popiah skin.  I would give this a miss next time.

The Fried Coriander Dumpling @ RM1.80 turned out the best.  The dumpling skin was slightly thicker than the norm but it was fried till crunchy.  The moment you bite into the crispy dumpling, you get that distinctive taste of fresh coriander stuffed within a good amount of fish paste filling.

Besides meehoon and rice with their yong tau foo, they also offer plain Chee Cheong Fun @ RM1.35 that's run-of-the-mill in taste to the many sold by chee cheong fun hawkers.

Their chee cheong fun comes with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and some fried but limp shallots.  You can have it with curry sauce and their version is light and acceptable.

But for those who like it a bit more savoury, you'll have to add a drizzle of tim cheong (sweet sauce) to their light tasting curry to bring more flavour.

Sometimes when I order meehoon soup or chee cheong fun (for breakfast), I would even order more yong tau foo items and keep them for dinner later (not the deep-fried items though, that we'll eat immediately).  All I have to do is to reheat them together with the soup given and it makes for a hearty meal at dinner with rice. Their price per piece is also among (if not) the lowest I can find on ShopeeFood (it's even cheaper than some dine-in prices).

My Personal Opinion

Judging from the many different photos, you can see that I've been ordering from this yong tau foo place many times already.  I wouldn't say the yong tau foo is anything spectacular (I've had loads better ones) but it has that home-made taste that I like.

Besides, it's also one that's closer to me that I can order frequently when I want a yong tau foo meal even though I've a few decent ones in my neighbourhood itself but the pleasant and subtle soup base of this one is what sets it apart from the rest.

But, most of all, it's a yong tau foo I'd order solely because of the existence of the fried coriander dumpling (that only coriander lovers will appreciate) since it's not something easily found elsewhere. ^o^

Hou Kei Yong Tau Fu

55 Jalan Bunga Tanjung 8b

Taman Seraya

56100 Kuala Lumpur

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

Madras Lane Chee Cheong Fun & Yong Tau Foo @ Petaling Street

I made two trips to Petaling Street just to try all three Madras Lane curry laksa stalls to see which one is the best and to see if I concurred with Lonely Planet's curry laksa pick.

I also had the opportunity to try some of the other well-known stalls while I was there.  One of which was the chee cheong fun stall which I managed to do on my first visit.

The chee cheong fun @ RM3.30 (for large) is highly popular with sprinkles of sesame seed in a chilli and sweet sauce.  I don't know if it's the chee cheong fun itself or the sauce that didn't quite endear itself to me. Maybe it's because I was so disappointed with the curry laksa I had on that first trip.  Perhaps the curry sauce might have fared better.

Another famous stall here is the yong tau foo stall that has been around reputedly for more than 60 years.   It was on my first trip that I first noticed the queue building up even before the stall was opened.  Curious to find out how they taste, we joined the Q (to tapau some home) after we were done with our curry laksa on our second visit.

This is a self-service stall where you have to line up, order, pay and take the food yourself.  It reminded me of other self-service ones in the (old) Imbi market and O & S Restaurant.  So, I was obviously excited...not excited that I have to do all the 'work' myself but excited that it'll probably taste good coz only stalls who knows they're good and doing brisk business will 'dare' make you do all the 'work'...otherwise nobody is going to go through all that trouble if the taste doesn't cut it! :D

Again, like most of the stalls here, this stall is also quite territorial (meaning you can't order food from certain stalls).  I did notice that some of the customers seated behind the yong tau foo stall were having chee cheong fun (besides yong tau foo), so I guess chee cheong fun is allowed (though the curry laksa is not).  I don't know how 'deep' this territorial thing runs since I didn't eat there but decided to tapau.  I suppose it can't be helped since tables are limited and competition is fierce.

The yong tau foo here is priced at RM1.40 per piece and they offer a limited variety but all the common ones are there like fried bean curd rolls, fried sui kow (dumplings), both fried and white tofu, fried and boiled fish balls, stuffed brinjal, chillies, ladies finger and bitter gourd.

All the yong tau foo are prepared fresh and fried on site.  Our favourite fried items are always the bean curd rolls and sui kow which also seems to be a firm favourite with others seeing how fast they fly off the shelves trays as soon as they're fried.

The fried bean curd rolls surprisingly were quite huge in size.  Sorry they look a bit 'deflated' as I got the ones that were at the bottom of the pile as they were 'cleaned out' very quickly once out of the wok.

I ate one of the fried dumpling as soon as I reached home and the dumpling skin still managed to maintain most of its crispiness.  Unlike most other fried dumplings out there which usually contain finely chopped carrots and jicama (and some even wood ear fungus), this one has none of those ingredients in its filling, just the fish paste.

These few yong tau foo pieces were my lunch that day (the pieces are of a good size but look small here because I used a big plate).

The man boss asked if I wanted to pack soup for my yong tau foo and I said yes.  That's when I noticed the soup was actually scooped from the wok that contains yong tau foo pieces (mainly the fish balls and tofu) steeping in broth.  But what surprised me most was the taste of the soup which was quite good, certainly more decent than most yong tau foo broth I've had before.  He gave me so much soup, I decided to reserve (and freeze) the extra to make noodle soup at a later date...hehe.

When it comes to yong tau foo, it's the filling that will set it apart from other yong tau foo...and this one tasted good.  I'm not sure if it was just fish paste or a combination of fish and minced pork (as some blogs mentioned, some even said there was salted fish).  Personally, I felt the filling was just fish paste (I didn't taste any pork but there was an extra savouriness to it though).  The filling had a nice, firm bite which I really liked as it wasn't the usually springy-type fish paste.  What got me was just how tasty the filling was.

My Personal Opinion

If you like a really springy fish paste filling, perhaps this one is not for you.  I, on the other hand, liked it a lot for that nice, firm and tasty bite.

Of course you'll read about complaints of how rude the stall owners are...but, then again, isn't that the norm with highly popular stalls?  They know they've got something good.  I suppose when you have a highly sought-after 'product', things can get a little heated when there's a massive crowd.  So, it depends on your luck whether you catch them on a good or bad day...kekeke! ;)

In the end, it won't be the Madras Lane curry laksa that'll make me return but the yong tau foo instead.  The place may not be that conducive for an eat-in but you can always tapau.

Madras Lane Chee Cheong Fun & Yong Tau Fo0
(Penjaja Gallery Jalan Tun H S Lee)
Off Petaling Street
50000 Kuala Lumpur