Back to ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ผ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ป for dinner this evening - my first time here ever since the COVID lockdowns in 2020.
The ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ (โLanky Guyโ) ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ผ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ป stall was one of the mainstays at the now-defunct Yi Garden coffeeshop on the junction of MacAlister Road and Lorong Selamat.
Founded in the 1930s, ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ผ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ป was one of the most famous proponents of this Cantonese dish in Penang, alongside Foo Heong on Cintra Street and Seng Kee on Datoโ Keramat Road.
The Thum family has been running the business from generation to generation since the 1930s. The current owner-chef is 60-something year-old Mr Thum Soon Choong, whoโd been frying โsar hor funโ and โyee fu meeโ, since taking over from his uncle over 40 years ago at Lorong Selamat.
This evening, we ordered:
- Sar hor fun - a Cantonese dish named after its wide, thick noodles originating from the โSar Horโ district in Guangdong. The noodle is called โtua pan koay teowโ in Penang.
Nowadays, Hokkien-speaking Penangites have bastardized the name of the dish, calling it โchar hor funโ, a hybrid term - โcharโ meaning โfriedโ in the Hokkien dialect and โhor funโ, the Cantonese term for flat, rice noodles.
- Oh mee or oyster noodles - stir-fried and braised yellow Hokkien noodles with pork, pigโs liver, shrimp & plump oysters. This particular noodle dish originates from Huiโan County in Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province, China.
- Tai loke mien - dark-coloured Hokkien fried noodles. Penangโs Cantonese folks use the same term as Ipohโs Cantonese. KLโs Cantonese call this dish โFukien mienโ.
This noodle dish does not exist in Fujian, as it was invented by Ong Kim Lian, founder of Kim Lian Kee in 1927, one of KLโs oldest and most recognizable food brand-name. The old story went that Mr Ong started off selling Hokkien prawn noodle soup in the streets of Chinatown at the time, but was requested by some of his regular Cantonese customers to offer a fried or braised version of the noodles.
Mr Ong experimented with the use of different condiments and ingredients before coming up with the version which made Kim Lian Kee into a household name today. The noodles are flavored with dried flounder (first toasted over an open-fire till fragrant, then pounded into powder form), pork, pigโs liver, shrimps, squid, cabbage & liberal helpings of crisp, golden lard, garlic, shallots, oyster sauce and vinegar are added during the frying process. Thick, dark soy sauce are then added to give the noodle dish its dark-as-night appearance.
Weโd wanted to order โee-fu mienโ, but it was already sold out at dinner-time. Weโll have to come back for that soon.
