By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Oct 6: When you’re craving kolo mee, you should pay Sin Lian Shin along Green Road a visit as it is often among the top choices for kolo mee in the city.
Situated within the bustling Green Road commercial area, the Chee family has been serving kolo mee to hungry Kuchingnites for 60 years.
The café operator, 58-year-old Chee Wui Fatt, said his father, Chee Pak Fong, started making kolo mee in 1963 after his grandfather phased out selling meat steamed buns.
Wui Fatt shared with DayakDaily that in the early days, his father, now 84, saw that the area was developing into a residential neighbourhood, and more people were moving in and setting up businesses.
“It was the right time to sell kolo mee as people want a more hefty meal for their breakfast. It was when Green Road was also a focal point as it was bustling. Our café served such dishes in those days,” he said.
Wui Fatt said he began helping his father when he was 16 years old and that he would do it after school and on weekends.
“I was making beverages for our customers. When my father took his coffee break, I helped him and made the kolo mee. That is how my culinary journey began, and when he retired some twenty years ago, I took over,” he recalled.
“I guess I have been behind the sweltering spot for 40 years or so. It felt like a sauna, but it is for certain hours only,” he chuckled.
Wui Fatt, who is modest about his family’s well-known kolo mee, said they had been making the same noodles using close-guarded family ingredients.
“We made our very own ingredients. It’s my father’s recipe, and I learned to make it from him. We make our char siew, but the noodles come from our supplier.”
He added that with the same ingredients, they also served ‘kway teow’, ‘bihoon’, and ‘wanton’, which is also well-liked by their customers.
“We offer a variety of dishes, as my father did before. But of course, every kolo mee stall does this.”
He also revealed that his siblings are also in the business of selling kolo mee, and at the same café, his younger sister is helping to make the same noodles.
“We would not be able to cope at the café without having these two noodle stalls serving our customers,” he said.
Wui Fatt said although he is a second-generation noodle maker, he is not sure whether his three children will follow in his footsteps.
“Certainly not my wife, who is a teacher and doubted whether my three children would do the same. My youngest son is helping out. But the two girls are occupied with their own lives. I gave them the options,” he said.
After years of operating the kolo mee stall, Wui Fatt said he had gotten used to the tasks of preparing the noodles and taking orders from his assistants.
“Coordination is very important; otherwise, you will get the order wrong. But after so many years of making the noodles, it is routine. I apologise if we take a bit longer (to prepare your order), but I appreciate customers being patient. It’s all the same at any busy café in the city,” he added.
He also thanked netizens for praising and promoting his shop, which brought in many new customers.
“I must admit they have done a great job, and these are tributes to my father and his kolo mee over the years.”
Wui Fatt said he also missed his cycling days and had many fun rides, but now his focus is on the café.
“That is where I put my energy, and once the shop closes for the day, I relax and spend some time with my family. I will be up again by four on most mornings before we start the day,” he said.
Sin Lian Shin operates daily from 6.30am to 1pm except for Tuesdays. For more information, call 012 880 3995. — DayakDaily
