Malaysian noodles: a family business

Jie Fatt Noodle is a family company in Malaysia. It's continuing a long tradition, making mee-suah noodles by hand.

The family business is over 100 years old. It continues to make these noodles by hand.

Ding Jhun Jie would like to protect this part of his family history.

Ding Jhun Jie: "This is part of our Chinese traditions, if it were to be lost it would be a real pity, it was passed down by our ancestors after all."

The ingredients are mixed by a machine, but the majority of the work is done by hand. Ding Jhun Jie plans to teach his children this skill. He's afraid the tradition will die.

Ding Jhun Jie: "Yes, I would worry that this noodle making profession would disappear, because it's a lot of work and it's very hard work. Not many young people nowadays would choose such a difficult job. If possible, I would teach my kids how to continue this work. It doesn't matter if they don't want to do the job. But at least, they would learn the skill, so it won't disappear."

Mee-suah noodles look like rice noodles but they're made from wheat. They're a symbol of long life and usually eaten at birthdays with eggs, mushrooms, meat or fish.

Mee-suah noodles are also called 'peace noodles'. Eating them can bring future success. People serve them to pregnant women and people returning from abroad. These traditions have made mee-suah noodles popular.

View Less