Ipoh Chee Cheong Fun is Fun!

Ate out for dinner again today. Headed direct to Uptown Damansara for some Chee Cheong Fun from our favourite stall - Ah Keong Ipoh Chee Cheong Fun. There always is a small crowd in line waiting for their turn to pick goodies from his spread of delectables.

It amazes me that despite us KLites' propensity to rush and queue-jump, all of Ah Keong's customers turn over a new leaf and wait patiently.

The boss man is quite adept at his craft, quickly separating his customer's pickings. Giving them a plunge in boiling soup or his pot of hot oil to reheat them. Then it is given a quick treatment with his trusty cleaver and scissors before giving them a good slop of gravy.

There is something quite magical about Ah Keong's Black Bean sauce. In other places it would be darker and a whole lot heavier on the palate with salt, but his is something of a departure from that. His version is lighter on the mouth and significantly less salty without losing the identifying flavour and aroma of fermented black beans that defines this dish. Many will take the easier road by adding a scoopful of black bean paste to amp the Umami-punch.

Then there is his delicious Chilli Sauce. This I believe is what keeps us coming back for more. His Chilli sauce has a texture of watered down ground chilli paste but there is like so many layers in the mouth. It is spicy and sweet and pungent, no doubt due to the prawn paste that he added to it. Give them all a long simmer to cook out the rough edges of each ingredients and it blossoms.

Add to that their signature Special Chee Cheong Fun. A rolled masterpiece of silken flat rice noodle stuffed with fried shallots, soy-stewed pickled radish and crushed crispy dried shrimp. The contrast of smooth and soft against crispy is amazing when coated with the two sauces. Mmmmmmm......

See you next week Ah Keong!