KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — You might have heard of sang nyuk mee and wondered if that entails swishing pieces of raw meat in a simmering broth ala shabu-shabu, albeit with noodles included in the equation.
You’d be forgiven for the confusion since sang nyuk translates loosely as “raw meat” in Cantonese. The truth is far more enticing, I promise you.
We are at Sin Hing Long Sabah Pork Noodle in Taman Connaught, Cheras for a bowl of their sang nyuk mee. This iconic Sabahan noodle dish stands out from other pork noodle offerings as the shop only uses fresh meat — hence sang nyuk — rather than frozen.
The result is an exemplary bowl of pork noodles distinguished by the freshness of the sliced pork. A lighter pork bone broth has less funk but more subtle sweetness. Add some meatballs, liver and intestines, and you have something to slurp till the last drop.
Every bowl is made fresh to order, so to wet our throats while we waited for our food, we enjoyed the shop’s signature Hor Ka Sai and Pumpkin Barley. The latter is a beloved blend of pumpkin flesh and barley water, which I don’t see on beverage menus as often as I’d like.
What really drew our attention was the Hor Ka Sai which translates to “Tiger Bites Lion” in Hokkien. Purportedly one cup would keep tin miners back in the day energised for a long day of work.
Would the same beverage keep us caffeinated till our Sabah Sang Nyuk Mee arrives? We distinctively remembered having Hor Ka Sai during our last trip to Ipoh some time ago, but what was it?
Rather than Ipoh, Hor Ka Sai supposedly hails from Taiping, Perak where it is a staple drink at kopitiams. Made from equal parts local coffee (the sort that is brewed with a flannel filter and is very kaw) and malted hot chocolate, this is a robust cuppa.
Basically, it’s a strong cup of kopi O and Milo, though the intensity and aroma of each cup depends on how each kopitiam brews and mixes it. Just like the pumpkin barley, I would love to see this on more kopitiam menus everywhere.
Back to the star of the show, the Sabah Sang Nyuk Mee: One has a choice of five different types of noodles — mee (yellow noodles), meehoon (rice vermicelli), hor fun (flat rice noodles), loh shu fun (silver needle noodles) or Hakka noodles. For our order of the dry version of Sabah Sang Nyuk Mee, we opted for the homemade Hakka noodles.
This is a good decision as the “dry” style allows us to better enjoy the bouncy texture of the noodles, which are cooked perfectly. Nothing worse than overcooked, mushy noodles.
The level of saucing is just right too; the dark sauce clings to the strands of noodles rather than overwhelms them by flooding the bowl.
Pity about the amount of fried pork lard though. A more generous hand with these would have elevated the deceptively simple dish.
There is an option in the menu for extra pork lard as a side, to be fair. Perhaps the shop’s regulars prefer lighter-tasting bowls.
Ultimately this is a minor grouse, especially when we can savour tender morsels of sliced pork and liver. The flavours are very clean and delicate, every bite and slurp a true pleasure.
No surprise then why a continuous flow of diners flock to the restaurant for a quick breakfast or lunch. Service is quick, which we appreciated.
For those who eschew carbohydrates, there are noodle-free soup options available. One can try their pork tendon soup or pork kidney soup. A pure fish ball or pure meatball soup.
Most, we reckon, will still opt for their Pork Offal Soup (zhū zá tāng) where one gets a mixture of the most popular toppings to go with the light-tasting pork bone broth: fresh pork slices, liver, intestines, meatballs and vegetables.
We had wanted to try their Sabah Century Egg Dumplings (Shābā pídàn jiǎo) too — a huge draw for those curious about the filling of mixed pork, vegetables and century eggs — but alas, there were none left that day.
Instead we tried their Fried Meat Rolls (lǔ ròu juàn), which were basically logs of loh bak. The minced pork was well marinated with five-spice powder, making each sliced disc a moreish delight; it more than made up for the disappointment of the sold-out century egg dumplings.
Other snacks or side dishes to try on future visits include Fried Fuzhuk with Fish Paste (yú xiàn zhà fǔzhú) and Fried Sai Toh Fish Cake (zhà xī dāoyú bǐng). For this round, we had more than enough to eat already.
Which might be the entire point of shops like Sin Hing Long Sabah Pork Noodle. Fuss-free and honest, good food is served quickly and efficiently without sacrificing taste or hurting your wallet too badly. And you leave with a sated belly and your taste buds well satisfied.
Sin Hing Long Sabah Pork Noodle
26, Jalan Cerdik, Taman Connaught, Cheras, KL
Open daily 8am-4pm
Phone: 010-208 8309
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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