Rats Tail Noodles Anyone?

Loh Shi Fun is a Chinese dish which literally translates to “rats tail noodles". Don’t be afraid of its name for it is only given purely because the noodles resemble a rat’s tail. There are many ways of preparing Loh Shi Fun with the most popular one being the Claypot Loh Shi Fun.

This dish has been made famous by a hawker stall in Chinatown (Petaling Street). This hawker stall bears no name and is opened by the roadside. It sits opposite Furama Hotel along Jalan Sultan and only opens at night. The beauty of it is that it opens till the wee hours of the morning. Claypots filled with Loh Shi Fun is still available at 3am and sometimes lasts all the way to 4am.

Claypot Loh Shi Fun basically consists of noodles cooked in light and dark brown soy sauce.

Cooking it in a claypot isn’t much of a difference compared to cooking it in an ordinary pot but the claypot is traditionally used as a steam oven. The claypot is usually submerged in water for 15 minutes so that the water can be absorbed before cooking. When it is placed in the oven, the pot will warm up and the water is released as steam. In current times, the oven has been replaced with a burner.

This version of the Loh Shi Fun is a dry version and other than being cooked in light and dark brown soy sauce, it is filled with many ingredients that are typically found in Chinese cuisine. Minced pork, prawns, egg and pork liver amongst other things, are mixed together to create a somewhat slimy yet delicious bowl of noodles.

Besides ordering Claypot Loh Shi Fun, there are other dishes available and amongst one of the notable ones is the Siu Yoke Mee, or roast pork noodles as it is called in English. Thin noodles are cooked in brown soy sauce and served with roast pork. The locals adore the roast pork and most of them would order a separate order of roast pork cause there’s never enough to go with the noodles. The Salad Prawns is another addition that is good to go with the claypot and roast pork noodles. There is also a wide selection of Yong Tau Foo available that is worth a try.

So if you’re out and about during the wee hours of the morning and you’re in the mood for some hawker food, head on down to Chinatown. Not only will you be able to get a taste of local food at its best, you’ll also be experiencing what Kuala Lumpur night life is all about.