‘Gastronomy and I: My Favourite Dish’ Consolation Winner (Adult) — Paula Chung Zie Hung

Ah Mu cooking Kampua at her stall in Moi Soung Cafe. Photo by Paula Chung Zie Hung

Ah Mu’s Kampua

The best kind of food is the kind that awakens the soul, that plants a warmth in the stomach and leaves the heart longing for more.

Growing up in the small town of Sibu, my favourite dish was “Ah Mu’s Kampua”.

Generally, “Kampua” is a plate of springy handmade egg noodles tossed with lard, shallot oil and seasoning topped with a sprinkle of thinly sliced meat, fried shallots and spring onions.

While it seems like a simple dish with humble ingredients, the key to a good plate of Kampua is all in the technique, and no one did it better than “Ah Mu”, a fierce and fiery old lady who helmed her noodle stall at Moi Soung Cafe, a little quaint coffee shop situated at the junction of Island Road and Channel Road.

During the early 2000s, Moi Soung Cafe was the rendezvous point for wharf labourers, traders and old folks, all whom were regulars of Ah Mu’s Kampua.

Despite the chaos and crowd, Ah Mu cooked her Kampua with a fiery passion while putting on her trademark resting grouchy face.

Ah Mu’s Kampua was always perfectly al-dente tossed with her secret ingredient of braised meat gravy served with a piping hot bowl of pork soup with a drizzle of Chinese red rice wine.

Before helping our father at his shop a block away, my sister and I would often swing by the coffee shop to get our breakfast.

Despite how daunting it was for two girls to get a table at the mostly male-dominated coffee shop, we were willing to brace ourselves and fight for a table amidst the rowdy crowd for the sake of getting our hands on Ah Mu’s Kampua.

Upon getting a table, we would discreetly signed Ah Mu the number two with our hands, to indicate two plates of Kampua and Ah Mu would give us a slight nod.

Shortly thereafter, our order would arrive to our delight and the chagrin of our neighboring table whom have not gotten their order in spite of being ahead of us in waiting time.

In response to the impatient patrons looking at us, Ah Mu would suddenly slam her half-metre-long chopsticks down loudly on the counter mid-tossing her noodles, give them the stink eye and say, “The girls need to eat to get back to work at the shop. Since you do not, shut up and sit down!”

Two decades later, Ah Mu hung up her apron and Moi Soung Cafe is no more. Over time, countless Kampua stalls have popped up and a good plate of Kampua noodles can be found in every nook and cranny about town.

However, there was just something about Ah Mu’s Kampua that stood out the most for me.

Perhaps it was the camaraderie of being in a typical old school coffee shop with the typical Sibu folks, or maybe it was the enigmatic nature of Ah Mu that gave the Kampua that charming appeal. — DayakDaily

Paula Chung Zie Hung is the Consolation Winner (Adult Category) in the ‘Gastronomy and I: My Favourite Dish’ writing competition organised by DayakDaily and supported by the Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, and Imperial Hotel Kuching.

A plate of Sibu Kampua. Photo by Paula Chung Zie Hung