Post by Chiefeater Luke Soon

We’ve been going to MJ Wang for their famed Kai See Hor Fun for years. But thanks to the Chiefeater community, I got wind that one of the brothers (3rd to be exact) of the 4 Hakka brothers that operated beef and pork organ soup stalls at Peel Road had split. He had setup his stall in PJ, Yang Ki Beef Noodles at MJ Wang. My parents took me to Peel Road, the row of stalls outside Queens Hotel - 40 years ago. It was a weekly affair. Our favs was the beef noodles (and in Hakka ‘sang nyuk’- literally ‘raw meat’ carpaccio style beef slices in soup).

The bouncy ping pong beef balls were a must too. We always ordered from both Peel Road stalls - beef noodles and pork rice. I’m glad to report that whilst the brothers have split up, they’re all still operating their own stalls. I read with glee that the pork soup bro is still operating at Peel Road. I find that I need to revisit all the old stalls from my childhood memories, and Peel Road is definitely my next destination when I’m back in KL.

Back to beef noodles. Yang Ki at MJ Wang did not disappoint - they’re the ‘anchor’ tenant (biggest stall with highest traffic). The firmness of the noodles (Hakka noodles are similar to wantan mee but firmer to the bite and whiter in colour) are still to what my memory serves. The minced beef sprinkled on top packed requisite explosive flavours .

Then the real test - the balls and sang nyuk (slices of meat). Just blanched for a few seconds- the raw slices were so tender they almost ‘melt’ in your mouth.

History goes; when my mother’s side relatives made beef (tendon) balls, they had to pound the slabs of flesh to ‘break’ the tendons - resulting in the bounciness (see Stephen Chow’s movie which featured Ping Pong fish balls).

Yang Ki’s beef slices and balls were still as good! What a relief!

I am worried for the hawker culture from our childhood memories. To me it’s a legacy to be passed on, and we need more Yang Kis in the world. Kudos to MJ Wang for assembling All Stars like Yang Ki Beef Noodles and the Kai See Hor Fun (both definitely Top 10, Top 5 even) in Klang Valley. I will make this a definite stop in KL. Oh, not that it matters, but speaking Hakka to the Yang Ki boss helps.

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