Kuala Lumpur - Claypot Loh Shee Fun from Yoke Heng Restaurant

[klyeoh]

Loh shee fun (老鼠粉) are spindle-shaped, spaetzle-like noodles very popular amongst KL-lites as a breakfast food. But Yoke Heng, an almost obscure restaurant, in Seri Kembangan seems to have brought this humble noodle dish up to the next level with its unique rendition of "sharksfin-style" claypot loh shee fun. For the environment-conscious amongst us CHs, not to worry - no sharksfin used here, the name merely referred to the cooking style which made the claypotful end-product look like a pot of braised sharksfin. Black vinegar is provided on the side if you need that extra spike of flavor. It was absolutely delicious - the thick stew-like gravy, laced with ribbons of eggwhite was astonishingly tasty, and I particularly liked the delicious mixture of crisp, minced dried shrimps & golden-fried lard (stir-fried with soy-sauce/flavorings) topping which added an extra taste/texture dimension to the whole dish.

The other signature dish - Cantonese-style braised venison with ginger & green shallots over crispy sahng mein (生麵) was too salty for my taste. Slight disappointment here.

For what I'd thought to be a relatively obscure restaurant in an anonymous suburb, I was quite astonished to see photos pasted on its walls of regional media celebrities actually having dined there, e.g. HK's Alan Tam (譚詠麟). I guess true foodies really know how to find great food, no matter where.

Restoran Yoke Heng
33, Jalan SR 8/4
Taman Putra Indah
Serdang Raya
43300 Seri Kembangan
Tel: [phone]

[klyeoh]

Return visit to Yoke Heng - still as good as when I first tried it.

Other side dishes we had:
- Stir-fried "siew pak choy" with garlic - light & delicious;
- Deep-fried seafood-flavored beancurd, served with a spicy sambal chilli dip; and
- Braised sweet-sour pork ribs, which were baked in an airtight aluminium foil bag. Served at the table, one cuts open thealuminium bag to reveal steaming, aromatic and very tasty pork-ribs.

[huiray]

Don't remember eating this kind of loh shee fun. Never was too fond of LSF but liked it with beef ball "soup" korn-lo style (soup + beef balls on the side, that dark-colored minced meat sauce + LSF in the bigger bowl)

The fish-flavored tofu - I presume it was actual bits of fish i.e. fish paste incorporated into the soy bean base used to make the tofu? Hmm, do folks there do it "agedashidofu style" (deep-fried with a flour or panko coating) with this fish-tofu?

BTW in your OP - interesting they do that noodle dish with *venison*. Which particular species, d'you know?

[klyeoh]

Very unique, huh? Kudos to Yoke Heng for their invention.

No, I'd not come across batter-fried fish bits/tofu hybrid morsels yet, huiray, but - who knows - that dish could already exist somewhere here in KL. You wouldn't *believe* the new kinds of foodstuff the inventive foodsellers (perhaps inspired by the Japanese and especially Taiwanese) offer in KL these days: tofu beancurd dessert served 40 ways, just to name one of my recent discoveries. Totally mind-boggling.

And, no, I didn't find out which species of Bambi we ate the last time - Malaysian "rusa"?

[klyeoh]

Tried another version of claypot loh shee fun today at Alison Food & Drink Centre in Sri Petaling, another busy, bustling KL industrial suburb - this one has a darker shade due to the additon of dark soy sauce, and studded with pork meatballs, topped with a whole raw egg which the diner can then stir into the bubbling hot loh shee fun. The claypot, which doubled up as a serving vessel, retained the heat from the cooking process for at least a further half hour on the table.

Tastewise, it lacked the complexity and subtlety in taste which sets Yoke Heng's version apart from all others. But Alison's version was representative of what constituted "claypot loh shee fun" which is popular throughout KL.

There's another stall within Alison which serves Chinese-style barbecued pork on hot dog/burger rolls, complete with fried egg, sauce & shredded salad vegies - it's been featured in Malaysia's "Ho Chak" food program. I didn't get to try it this time.

Address details:
=============
Kedai Makanan & Minuman Alison
Jalan Radin Anum 1
Sri Petaling
57000 Kuala Lumpur