Telling Fifty Tales on you

Fifty Tales. 3 friends. 1 goal. Great noodles, but it is NOT RAMEN, they insist. Noodle bar Fifty Tales now has its new home in Sea Park and gathering a PJ fan base after making waves in Bandar Sri Damansara and REXKL.

Having started at Bandar Sri Damansara, then to Chu by Fifty Tales at REXKL, the partners Aaron Khor, Aaron Phua and Bimmy Soh have a good feeling about the old neighbourhood and hope to help diners reimagine how dai chow can be different but still a family meal.

For lunch, it is mostly a noodle and rice menu. Among others, there’s Beer-braised pork with OG noodles – pork lard with dry noodles, pickled cucumber, Chinese wine and marinated egg. Ruby Dragon noodles with taucu chilli sambal, meatballs. Emerald Dragon noodles with spring onion pesto, braised ham choy and beer braised pork. Steamed beef slices. Nyonya Laksa created without any hebi (dried shrimps) or belacan.

Such are the noodle creations at Fifty tales, with novel elements such as cekur and palm sugar, among others, to elevate taste notes. The signature noodles, made from scratch, come as al dente as true blue Italian pasta, except that this is wholly made and conceived by Malaysians. Which can take getting used to coz real Italian pasta sit on the fine line of cooked and uncooked, and it is the same too with these. Some customers might feel this is not Chinese noodles as they know it, but for Aaron K, this is how he remembers it to be when his mother made it.

People talk about the OG noodles like how they remember it at REXKL, akin to an institution, and the PJ version apparently falls short. I’ve never tried them before so based on this version, I would say, it’s a pretty decent, albeit not mind-blowing rendition. My personal fav was the Ruby with its slightly spicy take and deep umami flavour. Would have been nice of the pork slices were thicker but then again, pork don’t come cheap these days.

The Salted Olive Rice, marinated overnight with Shaoxing wine and soy sauce, was a bit on the salty side, but it just means you are encouraged to add more rice!

There’s a different menu available at night – Cincai Dinner they call it, with not so simple dishes, and definitely nothing cincai about the prices. I’ve yet to try that. I hear the signature corn-fed aged chicken is something else, tho not cheap. 

The Fifty Tales premises boast an old Chinese home feel with contemporary strappings. The three young partners strive to enliven a sleepy old neighbourhood. I applaud them for trying to reinvent old school Chinese cuisine, making it more accessible and appealing for the next generation. May not be for everyone, but in my books, it’s always a good thing to have variety.

Add: 19, Jalan 21/11b, Sea Park, Petaling Jaya. hp: 012-249 2697