KAJANG, May 6 – It can be challenging to find a decent Hong Kong-style chee cheong fun nowadays but we found one at Ten Hup Chee Cheong Fun in Kajang.
For local residents, Ten Hup is a familiar name; the shop started as a stall along the food street behind the Kajang wet market almost four decades ago before opening a full restaurant in its current location along Jalan Bukit (the same row as Mingmom Chinese Cuisine, known for their Pork Lard White Kolo Mee).
So basically the chee cheong fun shop hopped from one food haven to another, and just across the main road from its original site. What matters is that the taste has remained consistent.
Part of the appeal of Hong Kong-style chee cheong fun over other approaches is that the restaurant would have to make them fresh to order. This is how you get soft, slippery rice rolls instead of the chewier, rubbery texture of premade chee cheong fun.
Of course, this means some patience on the part of the customers as the shop would only be able to make a certain number at a time.
When I strolled over to the chee cheong fun station at the entrance, there were already a number of customers waiting for their takeaway orders.
Making fresh ‘chee cheong fun’ to order. — Pictures by CK Lim
The staff manning the station mistook my curiosity for hunger (or so I assumed) and told me apologetically they were waiting for the water to come to a boil, in order to steam the rolls.
Ah, all the better to observe the whole procedure, from start to finish!
Honestly, there is a hypnotic quality to the entire process, a ritual if you will. Once the water is hot enough, the staff will ladle the right amount of very thin batter onto the muslin cloth spread over each rectangular steamer then quickly cover it with a domed lid.
Scraping the steamed batter into rolls. — Picture by CK Lim
It is a matter of minutes before they open the lid again and transfer the entire muslin cloth to the working area. They then drop morsels of cooked prawns or chasiu, before scraping the steamed batter into rolls, encasing its filling along the way.
Quite lovely to watch, but even better when that plate of chee cheong fun arrives at your table and you can taste the staff’s handiwork. Make sure to soak each piece in the seasoned soy sauce and add a smidgen of their homemade sambal for that extra kick.
The drinks menu is typical of any kopitiam; you could have your kopi O or your teh C. We ordered their cham for a much needed caffeine kick but it was the Barley Pumpkin drink that was a true standout – naturally sweet and full of nutritious fibre.
‘Cham’ and Barley Pumpkin (left). Mini Lionhead Meatballs (right). — Pictures by CK Lim
Most of us wouldn’t be satiated with a plate of chee cheong fun alone, no matter how well executed the steamed rice rolls are. The shop thus offers an assortment of side dishes, from fried wantans and dumplings in soup and fried.
We went for their Mini Lionhead Meatballs, which we rightly guessed had a crispier exterior due to their smaller size than a full-figured lionhead meatball (known as shizitou in Mandarin, these are typically larger and moist inside).
Just enough of a crunch from the use of water chestnuts and savouriness from the generously seasoned minced pork. Delicious!
If you’re seeking larger bites, however, noodles are the way to go. Ten Hup offers wantan mee as well as homemade noodles in a variety of ways, from curry chicken and Hakka zha yuk (braised pork belly) for the former to a tomyam soup and dry spicy version for the latter.
Yet the one noodle dish most tables would order is usually their very old-school Claypot Yee Mee. There is something magical about a hot claypot arriving at your table, wreathed in aluminium foil, that would wow even the most jaded of palates.
Claypot ‘Yee Mee’. — Picture by CK Lim
The nest of fried noodles soaking up the hot broth, snatches of coarsely chopped leafy greens, fishballs and nuggets of minced pork, fresh prawns and to finish the dish, a single egg in the centre, its golden yolk still liquid and glistening.
How could you resist this?
We certainly couldn’t. The only recommendation left would be the most obvious: Dig in while the food is hot!
Dig in while the food is hot! — Pictures by CK Lim
Ten Hup Chee Cheong Fun 天合香港豬腸粉
145F, Jalan Bukit,
Bandar Kajang, Selangor
Open Mon-Wed 8am-3:30pm; Fri-Sun 8am-4:30pm (Thu closed)
Phone: 018-668 8393
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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