KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 – We are after beef noodles today. Which is why we are at Lai Foong Beef Noodle Shop in Taman Taynton View, Cheras.
If the name sounds familiar, the original stall has been operating at the iconic Kedai Kopi Lai Foong at the intersection of Jalan Tun HS Lee and Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock since 1956. A family business in its third generation, the Cheras shop is their second outlet (they have another branch in Puchong too).
Finding parking at the Chinatown location can be a challenge, so we prefer the Taman Taynton View shop for convenience.
Beyond its address, the menu is basically the same and customers can opt from a wide variety of cuts of meat to go with their soup or dry beef noodles.
Purists might argue that a holy trinity of tripe, brisket and lean meat is the only way to go. Others might prefer beef shank, intestines or tongue.
The lesson here is that there is no one right way to enjoy your beef noodles.
What matters is that each personal mix comes with the same tender meat and clear yet deeply flavourful broth made from beef bone stock (and purportedly 10 different types of herbs from a secret recipe passed down from generation to generation).
For me, the perfect pairing is half beef balls and half beef tendons, with kuey teow (flat rice noodles). Dry beef noodles rather than soup noodles as I enjoy my soup and my noodles separately (there’s an added benefit to this we will get into later).
Texture is always on top of my mind when the taste is already assured (see above). Here, the bounciness of the beef balls and the “QQ” chewiness of the tender beef tendons are an ideal match.
Alternate every bite with a sip from the savoury beef soup, seasoned further with a touch of kiam chai (pickled mustard greens). Salty, sour and 100 per cent delicious.
Choosing dry beef noodles means I can order an extra side of crunchy pork lard to liven up the oil and soy sauce slicked noodles. Sip, slurp, chew. Heavenly.
The shop gets packed close to lunchtime so the owners have streamlined the ordering system: a server comes to your table to take your order, passes you the menu chit with your choices ticked off and you go to the counter to pay first.
This meant we got our drinks speedily, unlike at some other shops: more texture with the refreshing tofu drink. Again: sip, slurp, chew.
Beyond the wide array of beef noodle options, the real surprise lies in the second half of the shop’s menu.
There are soothing bowls of chicken hor fun soup and plates of beef fried rice with plenty of wok hei. Those who prefer smaller bites might appreciate Lai Foong’s fried carrot cake; plenty of aromatic char here.
For us, however, the unexpected hit is the shop’s pale-looking but splendid char kway teow.
The former is easily forgiven; while the dark soy sauce employed by most char kway teow stalls adds some caramelisation and plenty of colour, it doesn’t offer much in terms of deep flavour. So who needs it, really?
What’s more crucial is the aforementioned wok hei that permeates the fried rice and fried carrot cake; lovely in those dishes, it’s sublime in a plate of char kway teow worthy of a five-starred review.
Do ignore the diminutiveness of blood cockles and prawns; this is not the sort of char kway teow where you rave about the generous size of the seehum.. That wok’s kiss on each strand of flash fried flat rice noodle is what ought to stick in your memory.
In fact, for days when you don’t fancy beef noodles or if you have dining companions who prefer non-beef dishes, it does merit a trip here just for the char kway teow alone.
After all, why follow the crowd? You do you, and your taste buds will thank you all the more for it.
Lai Foong Beef Noodle Shop
71-G, Jalan Dato Haji Harun, Taman Taynton View, Cheras, KL
Open Wed-Sun 8am-3:30pm
Phone: 012-213 3321
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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