Tong Shin Char Kuey Teow

I was introduced to this stall by my boss who said this was one of the best char kuey teow in KL. I thought it was good too until my recent visit. This stall is in a lean-to by the side of a row of shops in Tengkat Tong Shin in Kuala Lumpur. They specialise in char kuey teow but also sell fried rice, fried mee, popiah, prawn mee and fishball noodles/soup.

The kuey teow is fried by an oldish couple who each have their own wok. I was told that the taste differs but maybe I don't have the tongue of a char kuey teow connoiseur for I cannot tell the difference between the two.


We start our meal with a glass of the leung char which is usually tung kua longan (dried longan and candied wintermelon strips). It costs about RM1.30 and comes in a large beer mug. Its sufficiently thick and tastes homemade but can be a tad sweet. We usually ask for the hot version so its not adulterated with ice, and then ask for ice later to cool the drink down. Sneaky? Yes! :D


This is the Char Kuey Teow which is the speciality here.


Its usually well-fried and tasty. It comes with a pretty generous serving of prawns and cockles and tauge. Unlike many places the dried sausage is fried separately and then sprinkled on top. That day when I went, the noodle was rather bland and not aromatic. I was disappointed but noticed that if you go during peak hours of lunch time when there are many customers to serve, the standard does tend to drop a little. However, in the evenings, or when there are fewer customers, you get a much better fried noodle. The small serving is RM4 and the large RM4.50. We have found that the large serving can serve 2 so we save money by ordering a large one and a side dish.

The side dish of the day was fishball soup, as that was what I was craving.

You get 10 fishballs for RM3.50. I was told they get the fishballs from the other corner shop down the road which purportedly serves the best fishballs in town. However, having tasted both stalls I prefer the texture of this one. Maybe it has to do with the way its cooked but I find them more springy and tastier. I'm not the first one to realise this.

I do still like the char kuey teow here, but I'll make sure I go only during off-peak hours for nothing tastes worse than bland char kuey teow.

Guest-blogged by tuktoyaktuk