January 2011
Apart from a regular – read: daily – dose of noodles, the singular thing that makes a noodle lover most delirious with joy is the discovery of noodles that are imbued with a texture that has all the perkiness and bounce of a cheerleader on a sugar high. Even better when the noodles are freshly made and untainted by the addition of colour or artificial flavours.
Which will go some way towards explaining my excitement about Fun Kee. Egg noodle makers par excellence since 1969, Fun Kee somehow slipped my generally astute radar, but that was swiftly rectified recently, and boy did my belly thank me for it.
Fun Kee’s bamboo egg noodles – or jook sing mein if you’re a stickler for authenticity — have been enjoyed by Chinese noodle lovers in Ghuang Zhou since the Qing dynasty in the 19th century. When you put a chopstickful in your mouth, their appeal becomes amply evident. Texture isn’t the only thing going for these noodles; the flavour from the eggs (and plenty of eggs were used) is a delicious byproduct of a rigorous production process that includes kneading the dough by hand before pressing it with a bamboo pole to attain its distinctive springy texture.
In the kitchen, Fun Kee’s chefs use the noodles for such dishes as the signature wantan mee (the noodles were the best bit, alas, as the pork slices were dry and stringy), stewed pork rib noodles (flaky, tender, fabulous), beef hor fun (flavoursome and voluptuous) and the house special fried noodles (an unusual but not unappealing taste). The other house speciality – the sang har meen – was a terrible disappointment: the sauce had separated with a resulting runny, watered down taste that did little to flatter the admittedly fresh and fairly sizeable prawns. A big surprise was the fried rice: perfectly fried, the rice was al dente, fragrant and worryingly moreish, and testament that the chefs can do more than just noodles well.
A must-visit for all self-respecting noodle lovers, Fun Kee makes a persuasive argument why we should all boycott factory manufactured noodles. Respect! Fay Khoo