COCONUTS HOT SPOT — Ipoh Hor Fun with Chicken or better known as “kai si hor fun”, is a popular noodle dish in Ipoh.
It’s basically flat rice noodles (known as “hor fun”) cooked with a rich chicken broth, garnished with sliced poached chicken and prawns. The kick in this dish lies in the slippery smooth-textured “hor fun”, which is made exclusively Ipoh.
When I was a kid, eating “kai si hor fun” was a treat.; my father used to take us to the noodle stalls in Ipoh town for supper, either at the famous ‘under the tree’ stall along Cowan Street or at Lou Wong’s stall on Yau Tet Shin Street.
Back then, Lou Wong was just a single stall, run by two squabbling brothers. We hardly went to Thean Chun kopitiam in Ipoh Old Town because my father was never free to bring us there in the mornings.
Anyway, fast forward many years; Lou Wong is now a huge commercial enterprise. That little stall under the tree has expanded into a big eatery along the same Cowan Street and, Thean Chun is a “must-go” place for every visitor to Ipoh.
One of the main draws of Thean Chun is, of course, its “kai si or fun” – silky smooth rice noodles in a sweet prawn broth topped with poached chicken slices and fresh prawns.
Beansprouts and chives add some crunch to the bowl of ‘slurpworthy’ hor fun.
There are many eateries in the Klang Valley that claim to be selling Ipoh Hor Fun, but no one has come close to the real thing.
Born and raised in Ipoh, we “Ipoh Mali” people are quite picky about our food, especially food that represents our ‘kampung’.
This particular stall — operated by a 4th generation family member of the founding operator, Mr Neoh in Thean Chun Ipoh. — in Restoran Goodwill, Puchong sells good “kai si hor fun”.
You have to be early at this place and make your order just as quickly. I observed that the majority of those diners were also waiting for the same kai si hor fun.
About half an hour later, my bowl of steaming kai si hor fun was finally served.
There was the trademark ring of bright orangey-red “prawn oil” floating on the soup. Tasting this soup triggered a sense of deja vu from my childhood in Ipoh.
RESTORAN GOODWILL
41-43 Jalan Kenari 17C
Bandar Puchong Jaya
Puchong
Opened from 7.30am till about 11.00am
Closed on alternate Wednesdays
