One of the highlights of our 8-day Pan Borneo Highway self drive holiday from Kuching to Sibu was witnessing noodle master 陳增仙 Ting Cheng Sieng of Ah Sieng Mee Sua in Sibu make Hock Chew longevity noodle the centuries old way.
Self drive holidays allow us to tailor our itinerary exactly to our interests and schedule. Opportunities to observe and experience ancient vanishing crafts is one of the top priorities on our agenda. Hence, we planned a stop at Master 陳增仙's Ah Sieng Mee Sua making operation in Sibu.
Mee sua is not only a staple but the slender long strands also represent longevity in Chinese culture. It is eaten during birthdays for blessings of a long and healthy life.
I am so glad to have the opportunity to witness this ancient technique of making noodles that stood the test of time but this may not be for much longer as Master 陳增仙 is already in his mid-70s. Master 陳增仙's operation is one of the last few hand made mee sua in Sibu, if not the world.
(Factories and machines can make mee sua in greater quantities, quicker and much cheaper than old hand made methods.)
Mee sua is made with just three ingredients - wheat flour, salt and water. No yeast, no eggs, no lye (alkaline) water 枧水.
No complicated machinery is used - just simple tools but lots of human effort and skill, ingenuity, dedication as well as time. (I should add a lot of good sunny weather as well.)
The process starts with hand kneading 和面 wheat flour, salt and water into dough which is allowed to rest for at least an hour.
The rested dough is then flatten and cut into thick flat strips 切面.
The thick strips of dough are then hand rolled 槎面 into fat "ropes" of dough and coiled into a basin 盘面.
The rolled coil of noodle is then strung onto a wooden frame 串面.
The noodles are allowed to hang, stretch and rest 拉条醒面 in a wooden box.
Inside the box, the noodles hung and stretched by gravity.
Next, the stretched noodles are hung on wooden frames outdoors....
.... and hand pulled 拉面.
Noodle pulling is repeated a few times till the strands are of the required length and thickness (or, should I say thinness) without breaking.
Master 陳增仙 can pull the mee sua to up to 10 feet long - hence, mee sua is also known as longevity noodle.
The pulled noodles, now thin and long to the required thickness and length are kept separate (to prevent tangling) with a wooden stick 分面.
The angel hair noodles are air and sun dried 晒面.
When sufficiently dried, the long strands are bundled into coils of noodles and further sun dried 晒面干 before packing 包装.
The whole process from kneading flour to packing the dried mee sua takes at least 9 hours and highly reliant on good sunny weather. Even a fleeting, light drizzle can ruin an entire day's work.
The dried mee sua is rehydrated and can be stir fried 炒面线, blanched and tossed in sesame oil 麻油面线, served in starchy savoury sauce 面线糊, or made into soup noodles.
One of the iconic mee sua dishes is 福州红酒鸡汤面线 Mee Sua in Chicken Soup and Rice Wine. The birthday longevity noodle version comes with mee sua, egg, and chicken in a soup with red wine 生日版面线.
Witnessing the ancient way of making mee sua and personally experiencing the whole process from flour dough to mee sua dish on the table is one of the lasting memories of our 8-day Pan Borneo Highway self drive holiday.
Ah Sieng Mee Sua 陳增仙师傅手工福州面线
Address: Lot 376, Jalan Oya Lama, Pekan Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia
Tel: +6011 5635 6631
Written by Tony Boey on 12 Oct 2026
Making mee sua in Fuzhou, China
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