How Song Kee Fishball Noodle’s Herh Keow Is Made

On their reopening day next week, the brothers plan to use over 40kg worth of fish, and will adjust the amount according to demand. About 800 to 1,000 herh keows will be made daily.

Fillets of Malaysian yellow-tail fish are minced to a fine paste in this machine.

The fish paste is then manipulated into a super thin sheet by slapping and stretching it with a rolling pin on a wooden board liberally dusted with tapioca flour, which acts as a binding agent for the pure fish meat. This rolling process takes up to 15 minutes as the rolling pin can only be rolled in one direction, using a hard, smacking action to release the fish's sticky juices.

Once the fish and flour are flattened into a beautifully even sheet resembling a giant, wafer thin layer of lasagne, Seng Poh slices it up into neat strips, then squares, all without the use of a ruler. One sheet makes approximately 80 herh keows.

Each square of fish skin is then deftly dolloped with an aromatic mix of minced pork, fried flat fish bits, fried garlic and shallots.

It is then folded into fat, crescent-like nuggets reminiscent of Asian ravioli.

Freshly made herh keows. The entire process of whipping up a batch of 80 dumplings takes almost 50 minutes. So now you know why servings are very limited and every extra piece you desire will cost you 80 cents. That's cheap for such perfection.

Slippery-skinned herh keow with a gorgeously sticky mouthfeel. You're rewarded with a rich burst of juices from the fish, pork and garlic with every bite. Bliss. Watch the video of how it's made here.