Famished For Fishballs

FOOD TRAIL
By SAM CHEONG


DO you know that there is a makan place that specialises in fishball noodles in USJ 9, Subang Jaya?

I came to find out about this some time back. And, occasionally, my wife and I would dine at the outlet. Called Ah Koong, this place is located just a few rows away from the neighbourhood nasi kandar restaurant.


Enticing: Fishballs, fish cake and seaweed in a soupy broth.

I would say that the fookchow yuen (Fookchow fishballs with meat filling) is one of the star attractions here.

A couple of these will set in your stomach like cement and even seasoned fishball lovers are rarely known to order more than a pair of the delicacies at a time.

With fishballs so good, the price is at a premium but I think it’s well worth it.

What’s interesting about this eatery is that you can actually pick what you want to go with your bowl of noodles The standard fare for a single person at Ah Koong’s costs about RM6.


Fried delight: The fish cake is a perfect accompaniment to a bowl of noodles.

For those who would like some variety, there is a vast selection of Teo Chew dishes from to choose. One of my favourites is the Teo Chew fish roll.

Basically, its a slice of fish cake with a piece of lobak (turnip), celery and red chilli rolled together. I understand that a piece of this delicacy costs about 80sen or more.

For me, I have the appetite of a dinosaur. So, I will fill up my bowl with a selection of fishballs, fishcake and yong tau foo, yong choy (stuffed beancurd and vegetables) and foo chuk (beancurd sheets).


Tasty find: Ah Koong’s noodle shop on USJ 9, Subang Jaya.

To add more zing to the noodles, you can also add fresh hor chien or oysters, which are an essential part of the Teo Chew style of preparing soup noodles.

With the whole works thrown in, a bowl of noodles can easily come up to RM12 a bowl, a bit pricey but considering the quality and variety, still affordable.

In fact, it’s a small price to pay if a horror story I once heard turns out to be true. Apparently, there was a patron who was charged RM80 for a bowl of fishball noodles with the works thrown in.

The patron had ordered a bowl of fishball noodles with everything thrown in. So, the noodle seller added in a piece of abalone, a few pieces of canned razor clams and some oysters.


Raw ingredient: Tasty find: Ah Koong’s noodle shop on USJ 9, Subang Jaya. A quick look at the fish cake before it is cooked.

Little did the customer know that such exotic add-ons were costly right from the get-go. For me, the best way to savour Ah Koong’s fishball noodles is to order a bowl of kwon lou meen (dry gravy).

Highly recommended is the spinach noodles (green in colour) and what made my experience complete is the fact that chee yau char (pork crackling) is added as a garnish.

As far as taste is concerned, Ah Koong lives up to my expectations. And for the extras like a clean dining area and air conditioning, you cannot ask for more.

For the soup lover, you can expect this to be a hearty meal. The dish is prepared with minced pork, seaweed and preserved vegetables.

And the fookchow yuen makes the soup noodles a complete meal. For those who wanted to tah pau (takeaway), the fookchow fishballs are also available as a frozen item.

This means, you can have your own instant noodles with an added oomph!. Internet savvy readers can check out www.ahkoong.com for more details such as their branches and full address including phone numbers.