Lim Chai Chen and her mother-in-law, have between them 100 years of making the iconic smooth rice noodle Chee Cheong Fun in Ipoh.
Chai Chen’s mother-in-law who is now in her 80s started making chee cheong fun when she was 10 years old and living in Taiping, Perak. While children her age would be in school, this 10-year-old was busy washing the rice and grinding it for steaming.
During that time, a plate of chee cheong fun would cost a meagre 5 cents. And because the process of making the noodles was so labour intensive, the family stall could sell much.
“There is a skill in grinding the rice. You have to keep adding ice to the rice otherwise the heat generated from the stone grinder would cause the ground rice to go bad,” explained Chai Chen.
Thirty years ago Chai Chen took over the modest stall at the Kampung Simee market to sell Ipoh’s signature chee cheong fun with mushroom sauce. Chai Chen who was also from Taiping came to Ipoh when she was 13.
Looking back, she remembers how she first started the stall after the birth of her first child. It was after a stint working overseas as it was a recession and it was hard to get jobs locally.
“When I started the stall I didn’t have to produce the noodles from scratch because it would not be cost-effective as we would not have enough to sell. A relative bought a machine from Taiwan and he helped us to produce the noodle.
“Why is my chee cheong fun special?” Chai Chen asked with a smile, “When bite into the noodles even without the sauce, it’s like taking a mouth of warm fragrant steamed rice.”
Many vendors, she said, had resorted to using rice flour out of convenience. And one can tell the difference by its chewy texture and the lack of fragrance from fresh rice.
Revenue from the stall has been a substantial source of income to help her care for her family of six daughters. Today, they are between 32 and 26 years old and have established careers.
“None of my daughters have expressed interest in taking over this business and growing it but I am contemplating growing it by opening a shop instead of remaining in this stall,” said this 61-year-old who is far from hanging up her chopping board.
The business did not appeal to her daughters because it was hard work and “you need to be fast and have a good memory,’’ revealing some behind-the-chopping-board information.
“As you chop away fast on the rice noodles you have to remember all the different orders with different sauces and who to serve first. It is very different from selling fishball noodles,” a fact that perhaps only Chai Chen can discern.
Her stall opens 6 days a week and the day starts at 5.30 am with her preparing the sauces and filling for the stuffed chee cheong fun before heading to the market by 7 am.
While claiming that making good chee cheong fun is a time-honoured skill, Chai Chen also insists that the ingredient responsible for the smoothness and taste is the “Ipoh water” and is not a myth.
It is popularly circulated that the mineral-rich ground with high alkali content is responsible for the smoothness of rice noodles, fat beansprouts and smooth beancurd dessert Tau fu fah.
Chai Chen’s customers come from near and far. “Some of the local ones come 3 to 4 times a week to buy chee cheong fun. There are various versions, besides the mushroom slurry sauce, such as just oil with fried shallots and soy sauce, curry sauce or just chilli sauce and red sweet sauce.
“I have customers from outstation who would buy 10 or 20 packets to bring home to their family and friends or store them in the refrigerator.” – JE Tan
