The so called Ipoh style chee cheong fun, which is common too in Kuala Lumpur, has its reputation because of two simple ingredients used - their spring water and the quality of the rice flour they use there, something not commonly found here. It comes thinner with a translucent sheen and they serve it with curry, yong tau foo, hae ko (prawn paste) or plain. It’s a mile off the usual Cantonese versions we have here which comes firmer and doused with a cloying tau cheo (sweet bean sauce), which I detest, and a simple si yau sok yau (oil and soy sauce), which I adore.

So when I zipped by a sign that said “Anson Chee Cheong Fun”, you bet - I was piqued. Could they replicate the texture and flavour I enjoyed each time I flew up to Ipoh to photograph the Ipoh turf club races for my ex-employers, The Straits Times, way back then? Is it anything similar to the Madras Lane chee cheong fun chappie in KL’s Petaling Street? Who are these folks?

Ms. Serlina Lee, formerly a beautician, decides to set up shop selling the Ipoh style chee cheong fun after being egged on by her friends.

“Our family originally operated a stall in Anson (a city next to Ipoh in Perak, Malaysia) over 50 years ago before we sold the business there and set up shop in Johor Bahru. Each time I came back over to Singapore and dabao for friends, they would egg us on to open up here.”, so owner Ms Selina Lee thought a while and decided to “just do it”, seven months ago. This, despite the fact that the two key ingredients are hard to come by here. “So, we grind our own rice flour from broken grains and there’s not much we can do about the water supply.”, this former beautician who has been living in Singapore for 20 years, admits. But somehow, the bite feel is distinctly smooth and soft, very similar to the Ipoh version and the key skill, I realised, is the precision in adding the water for the batter texture. Peer into her open glassed kitchen at the back of the stall and you’ll be staring at a 12 foot long conveyor belt steamer. A staff spreads a thin layer of the batter on steel trays and sprinkles ingredients over as it enters the covered contraption. 45 seconds and twelve feet later, out comes a tray of succulently soft, smooth and steaming hot chee cheong fun. Another cook, scrapes, roll and cut, and it’s ready to serve.

They have a few versions. I am now officially hooked to the original “Anson” chee cheong fun - done dry with bits of hae bi (dried shrimps) and turnips with crispy shallots embedded in. It’s sauceless, very smooth and soft due to the thin layer of shallot oil smeared upon. Best part, you eat it with a refreshingly different spicy condiment - pickled red and green chilli, to foil the savoury and heaviness (if you over-eat). It also comes plain, with sesame seeds and si yau sok yau, with a button mushroom sauce and a spicy curry version which can come with chicken or pig skin with long beans.

The first time I had it, some 2 months back, I merely popped into the shop, dabao two versions and zipped off in my double parked car and devoured it 30 minutes later in the office. It was still smooth, light and did not collapse. “Better if you dabao paper wrap style than the more commonly asked for plastic boxes. The steamed trapped in the box further softens it and can be a bit mushy later. The paper version has “vents” which steam can escape.” Selina advises.

It only takes 45seconds to produce a tray of succulently soft, smooth and steaming hot chee cheong fun.

The simplicity in the Anson version is what irritates me - which is why I like it. Plain and dry looking, spotted with bits of dark things embedded inside, smooth, soft, shiny and topped with spring onion and shallots. It’s like calling for a sauce or to be drowned in some thick soup or something. But bite into it the first time as I did, and it is an explosion of flavours. The lightly flavoured batter spars with the dried shrimp bits with hints of julienne turnips, all polished with a light sheen of shallot oil and textured with the greens and the pickled chillies. My vote for first runner up goes to the plain version with sesame seeds and si yau sok yau.

They open at a ridiculous hour of 2.30am (not ridiculous for the insomniac feeders and clubbers) because they have to supply to a couple of outlets in the east and north area, but this is where they make it fresh ala minute (45 seconds to be exact).