Liew Kee Chee Cheong Fun, Teluk Intan

After having read through quite a few reviews of "Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun", I was positively aghast at some that tries to pass off as the real thing. Those quote marks you see above are no accident...

The thing is, I have yet to come across any decent Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun (for the rest of the article referred to as TICCF) in Klang Valley. For some odd reason this is one of those things that rarely tastes right outside of its place of origin. For the very same reason, Penangites whine about the state of the laksas and char koay teow here compared to Penang.

Most people think of TICCF as simply your usual CCF with fillings in it. Be it dried prawns, pickled turnip (choi boh), spring onions. I have had some with one of the above, some with all of the above, some even with sweet CCF sauce (horrors)... And quite frankly, before I met my wife (whose hometown is Teluk Intan) I thought all those pretenders tasted okay, but really nothing extraordinary. Couldn't for the life of me understand what the fuss was about.

Then one night in 2002 enlightenment set in... From the CCF point of view anyway...

Arguably the most famous of the establishments that produces TICCF in Teluk Intan, Liew Kee is located in a wooden house somewhere near the town centre. Dont have the exact address, but any true blue TI-an would be able to tell you where it is. This place also goes by the name of Ah Lek, so if one name draws you blanks, use the other. Same thing.

Watching the workers is a treat itself. Here they make the TICCF from scratch, grinding grains of rice to make the rice paste. They take up a large rectangular aluminium tray, slop the rice paste over it, roll it around to spread the mixture, toss in some dried prawns, some choi boh, and feed it through the conveyor.

This conveyor thing moves the tray through a steamer. When it emerges from the other end another worker uses a spatula-like thing to scrape the solidified TICCF and roll it up, cut it into smaller sections, pack it in plastic sheets, toss in some pickled green chillies, and wrap it up with newspaper. Finally, it makes its way into your hands in exchange for RM2.50 a pack.

The taste? When you unwrap the newspaper and plastic packaging, the aroma of rice, and the fillings waft out in a combination of what I can only describe as heavenly. Open up a pack in front of me, and even if I have had a 8 course dinner beforehand, I'll still find room.

Use your chopstick (or fork, or hands if you're desperate) pick up a piece of the TICCF and the pickled chilli, pop it into your mouth. The texture of the thin rice paste is smooth and firm, the dried prawns add a bit of crunch, the choiboh adds a savoury element, and lastly the chili throws in a bit of fire and tanginess to the whole mouthful.

There are a few things you need to be aware of Liew Kee though. Firstly the best time to buy is at night, all the way till midnight (and later). Secondly, the lines get impossibly long during weekends and public holidays.

If all else fails, you can still get a pack in the morning from many coffee shops and stalls throughout Teluk Intan. Liew Kee's main business is after all, making and distributing the TICCF. Be warned though, once you've tasted the stuff you got from Liew Kee on a cool breezy night, these too will seem like shadows of the original...