Ahhh… Fish Head Noodles again! You’d think I’d be sick of it by now having cooked the same dish several times for the last couple of weeks just so I can share a good recipe with you. I don’t even remember the last time I’ve actually visited a “Kopitiam” for Fish Head Noodles, but when the invitation came for me to try out the brand new Moon Kee Fish Head Noodles at Section 19, I couldn’t resist the offer.

When I arrived at Jalan 19/3 (same row the old Nanking Vegetarian Restaurant, opposite the Kanna Curry House PJ), I was pleasantly surprised by the spacious and modern looking shop. Having operated for years at Section 17, it was time for them to set up a larger space for more customers, and I think that’s a pretty good idea!

The brand-spanking-new kitchen has a really good ventilation system by the way, as we don’t smell fish in the air walking into the shop. Look at all the shiny kitchenware! Reassuring for a hygiene freak like me. We were all starving at the time so the chef fired up and served us delicious looking bowls of soup noodles pretty quickly.

Fish Head Noodles enthusiasts in KL will tell you to go for the milky soup and Moon Kee serves theirs with either poached or fried fish head (RM12). And if you aren’t into digging bones out of your noodle soup, they also have fillet versions (poached or fried) which were what we had (RM9). The noodle soup was topped with the standard ingredients: tomatoes, pickled mustard green, ginger and coriander. It was fragrant with the aroma of Shao Xing wine with gingery note, balanced with light creaminess from the milk. I would prefer to have a bit more pickled mustard green for the piquancy to punch through and I think the salted plum might be missing. If you like a stronger soup, be sure to ask for more Shao Xing Wine!

Moon Kee serves only fresh fish (no frozen stuff!) and you can certainly tell the freshness even by this picture. The flesh of the garoupa has a bouncy texture and the distinct sweetness only from fresh fish. I will admit to having a few pieces of them. Though becareful, there are still bones there.

If you prefer to have the clear soup Moon Kee serves up pretty good Seaweed soup with many options of toppings. This one here was served with poached pomfret (a whole fish was served… head to tail!). The fish was silky as expected and the soup was surprisingly quite robust in flavour (I judge clear soup rather quickly, haha).

The fat fish cakes got the nods of approval from our table and vanished very quickly. It has a good bite and was seasoned well, great with their super strong sambal chili, which I love.

Where else can you have abalone for less than RM10? The abalone sure gives an extra briny note to the soup, and even though I’m not a fan of fish balls, their version was quite pleasant to my fussy palate.

I miss my grandma’s fish maw soup (not an easy ingredient to source nowadays), and this version is tasty enough, with spongy fish maw soaking up all that umaminess from the soup. Yum.

I can predict that this not-so-little shop will do quite well in the future with such hearty offerings with affordable prices. Zip over if you are in the area!

Moon Kee (Section 17) Fishhead & Seafood Noodles
48, Jalan 19/3, Section 19, Petaling Jaya
Opens 7 days a week from 8am to 8pm (2 rest days in a month, so do check their facebook page for updates)