Mee sua/suah, literally translated as string or thread noodles, is our traditional local Foochow longevity noodles, a must-eat on one’s birthday for a life that is as long as the noodles. In my younger days, I did hear people saying that one must slurp everything down and not bite the noodles lest one would end up shortening one’s life but of course, nobody bothers about this age-old superstition anymore.
These days, I am the only one in the house eating it as it is made from wheat flour and is thus, not gluten-free. That is why on birthdays and other special occasions, my girl would have to settle for hung ngang (big bihun)…
…instead but with the same traditional red wine chicken soup.
For some people, buying the noodles is not as easy as it seems – there are those who will only buy the head (mee sua thow) or the tail (mee sua boi) – I cannot, for the dear life of me, remember which the more coveted part is. It seems that they prefer the finer, thinner part which they would insist is nicer but I am not really particular – to me, head or tail, as long as it is mee sua, it is nice.
Well, the other day, I ran out of my stock of the noodles so I went to one of the shops round the corner from my house to buy some more. I’ve bought this…
…before – one big bag for RM10.00 and it looks like the price has gone up to RM11.50 now. Ah well! What hasn’t? Of course I did not buy that – there will be too much in that one bag and I would probably take ages to finish all that is in it.
I’ve also bought this brand…
…before and yes, it was good enough for me but there did not seem as much in one packet (RM3.90) as this brand (RM4.30)…
…so in the end, I bought the latter.
I cooked some of the traditional red wine chicken soup…
…that day with ginger and lots of red wine and I added some wolfberries and dried dates (cut to let the sweetness come out) and some dried shitake mushroom.
Needless to say, the mee sua…
…eaten with the rich, flavourful and very nutritious soup, was so so good.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
I never knew there is head and tail for mee sua. I doubt is there any difference in price. My bro-in-law is a Foochow from Bintangor and my sis would have this mee sua everyday during her confinement time. When I visited her, I got to enjoy it too and that was how I grow to love it till this very day.
I don’t know if there is a difference in price as I never bother buying – see my reply to zmun2 above. Oh? You’ve a sister in Bintangor or your bro-in-law is from there? Never visited them lately? Can hop over to Sibu, very near – half an hour only, nice road…usually.
Nope, they are no more living in Bintangor. All have moved to Kuching.
Happens all the time, everyone has moved to Kuching – lots of Foochows there now, not like when I was there in the 70’s.
I had the mee suah (pic of green plastic bag) before and now finish, I used the one from Sarikei. Oh God. Not nice. I like the one made in Sibu!
The Sarikei type was big and have a smell to it. What should I do?? Sun dry them??
I dunno if it is too late for that but you can try drying them in the sun. The smell may be because they did not dry the mee sua completely before packing…and it may turn moldy. If properly and completely dried, mee sua can be kept in airtight tins for a long time. I have not seen any Sarikei ones around here and yes, there is a lot in that big green plastic bag – will take forever to finish as I am the only one in the house eating it.
This is the first time I read about head or tail of mee suah. I never know such thing exist! Haha. I just eat whatever is served to me. I eat lots of it during my confinement month.
I’ve had mee suah made in Melaka, sold in red boxes – not bad too and all the same, no head or tail but I’ve never seen people selling it fresh like at the wet market here. Maybe factory machine made, all the same – you will only get head or tail with the handmade ones, hand-pulled.