PUCHONG, May 12 — This bowl of fish ball noodles has a serious fan club.
Many make a pilgrimage of sorts to Puchong just to score a bowl or two from Hong Kee Handmade Fishball, preferably early in the morning to not be disappointed, otherwise it’ll be a very sad journey home.
Most people associate it with Restoran Ma Bo, its home for many years but they have moved so reroute your Waze to Restoran Puchong Meet You instead where they opened for business on May 9.
You will be greeted with a comfy, clean space with ample parking, just around the corner from Lotus’s hypermarket.
Glorious nuggets of minced pork and pork lard croutons top your choice of noodles for the dry version — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Fervent fans can even catch them making their fish balls from scratch—mixing the all important fish paste—using a spoon to squeeze the fish paste to form round shapes.
Fish balls are made fresh every day, minus any of those nasty boric acid and preservatives, using the owner’s wife’s family recipe passed down for three generations, where yellowtail fish and sea eel are combined.
It’s the best combination with those soft fish balls made with sea eel and yellowtail fish, pork ball, ‘fuchuk’ and fish cake — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
The fish ball is exceptional with a soft texture and just a slight elasticity.
Purists can go for the soup version, where noodles swim in a clear soup, as four fish balls and a solo pork ball bob on top of the surface, with a piece of fuchuk and slices of supple fried fish cake.
The dry noodles have my heart though, simply for that super crazy good minced pork and lard topping.
This version puts others to shame, as those big nuggets of minced pork have more bite, using a ratio of 80:20 of meat and fat, slowly cooked for 2 hours to infuse it with extra oomph!
Even the lard is exceptional. Think chunky, dark golden pieces with a fluffy bite that releases all of the fragrant oil, an important component to drive flavour into the noodles.
Combine the dark sauce with the topping and your noodles for a super satisfying bowl to kickstart your morning — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
And, unlike other places, they’re generous with the lard too, mingling with the minced pork.
One can easily pack home the fishball noodles in soup that can be heated up and combined with the toppings — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
You may get one less fish ball with the dry version but it’s worth that awesome topping that enhances the noodles perfectly, where all of the sauce is coating each strand of your noodles.
Expect to fork out RM10 for a small portion and RM11 for a big bowl of happiness.
As they have just reopened after a hiatus, there’s no off days fixed yet and they will be open today on Vesak Day.
A lot of work goes into forming the fish balls by hand with a scoop to maintain consistency in the portion — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Hong Kee Handmade Fishball, Restoran Puchong Meet You, 38, Jalan Bandar 15, Pusat Bandar Puchong, Puchong.
Open: 6am to 2pm or until sold out (Monday to Friday), 6.30am to 2pm or until sold out (Saturday, Sunday and public holiday).
Tel:018-8722277.
Facebook: @HongKee
*This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
*Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
Look for the stall (left) at the back of the restaurant that faces the greenery where outdoor seats (right) are also available — Pictures by Lee Khang Yi
