SUBANG JAYA, May 6 — When it comes to your local neighbourhood coffee shop, it always pays to have a familiar face who eats there almost every week to guide you on where you should place your bets.

Away from the commercial Taipan area, these two rows of shophouses were once a desert for eateries but that has changed now, with loads of places where you can choose to sit down for a meal.

Opened since last year, Restoran Yum Cha has an impressive line-up of goodies, including kolo mee, pan mee, wantan mee, char kway teow, curry mee, chicken rice and even Chinese zhajiangmian and dumplings.

With its corner lot, the coffee shop offers an airy environment for dine-in customers. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

My friend picked two evergreen family favourites: tom yum fish head noodles and Thai braised pork leg noodles.

The fish head noodle stall offers the usual repertoire, ranging from fresh fish slices, deep fried fish and fish paste.

Customise your bowl with various broths: plain, milky, rice wine infused or the refreshing Thai tom yum.

The Tomyum Milky Fried Fish Noodles (RM15) beats all the others with its mouth watering spiciness and tanginess, making it incredibly drinkable to the last drop.

This stall uses mangrove snapper, which has moist flesh that flakes easily, in its fish head noodle. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

While the plain and milky broths are decent, even when accentuated with a liberal dose of rice wine from the plastic bottle, they lack the natural sweetness I crave in a fish head noodle bowl.

Their fish is exceptional because they take the trouble to source the freshest ingredients all the way from Klang.

Usually it’s mangrove snapper (kakap) or siakap, but occasionally it could be just the fresh catch of the day.

The mangrove snapper I tried had what I love in a good fish: smooth, moist flesh and thin skin.

Just for that, I would travel all the way here to savour the exceptional texture.

Each bowl is cooked only upon order with your choice of broth. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

Even when fried, their fish retains a flaky texture that pairs well with the funky tom yum broth.

Complete your Thai adventure at the Yaowarat Khao Kha Moo stall, which sells braised pork leg with rice or noodles (RM13) plus kway chap with offal.

This stall is said to be a casual offshoot of the Royal Siam restaurant located in USJ9.

Inside the bowl, find a Thai braised pork leg with hard boiled eggs and Thai rice noodles. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

The usual pairing for this Thai favourite is rice, but try it with Thai noodles, where the rice flour strands have a slightly chewier texture.

Mix the chilli sauces on the side into your broth for an appetising tangy, spicy touch that gets your tastebuds salivating,

The braised pork hock has a soft, tender texture from long hours of cooking in a broth infused with herbs and spices.

'Char kway teow' is a popular order here and it’s moist with softer strands. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

Many have talked about this place’s char kway teow too so I had to sample it for myself.

This version appeals to those who like their noodles soft just on the brink of turning mushy, resulting in a moister bite rather than one packed with wok hei.

Leave some room for dessert at Amachi’s Palagaram which is now located a few doors away from the coffeeshop where a crispy brown appam with jaggery and fragrant masala tea is the perfect after-meal chaser.

Tables and chairs are arranged in rows in this corner coffee shop. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

Note that the fish head noodle and Khao Kha Moo stall is open for breakfast and lunch, while the restaurant continues till night time with a siu chow stall.

Restoran Yum Cha

2, Jalan USJ11/3J,

USJ11, Subang Jaya.

Tel: 011-35059827

Open: 6.30am to 10pm. Days off are not fixed.

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.

A reception, memorial and burial ceremony for the martyrs will be held at the Nghi Loc Martyrs’ Cemetery in Dong Loc commune on May 20.

Australia is rich in minerals, metals, sun and wind. Iron ore, copper and critical minerals are all mined here and largely exported overseas to be turned into products such as steel, fertiliser, fuel and infrastructure. Mining and heavy industries create jobs and wealth. But their emissions are some of the hardest to cut.

This is changing. Steel can now be made without coal. Hydrogen can be made using water and renewable power rather than from gas.

The Australian government wants to create greener export industries. It hasn’t been easy. Green hydrogen is proving difficult to finance and scale, while the development of green iron is moving slowly. Interest has grown in green fuels such as biodiesel during this year’s energy crisis, but progress remains slow.

But hard doesn’t mean impossible. To make new exports competitive, policymakers should create green hubs close to renewables and where resources can be shared.

Precincts, not projects

To make enough green iron, green ammonia and green fuels to export, Australia will need large renewable energy zones, energy storage, hydrogen production, water supply and port infrastructure. Much of this already exists or is being scaled up. The problem is coordination.

If every company builds its own separate systems for power, water and transport, costs rise and land use expands. It’s cheaper and more effective to plan regional hubs where industries can share infrastructure, use renewable energy more efficiently and reduce environmental impact.

This isn’t new. Australia’s large, high-tech mining industry relies on hubs. Queensland’s port city of Gladstone is a hub for coal and gas exports, aluminium smelting and chemical manufacturing. These heavy industries use shared infrastructure such as ports, roads and power.

Countries such as China, Germany and the Netherlands are using this hub method as they rapidly scale up green exports.

The cost of green iron and steel depends not just on the technology used in furnaces, but on how well integrated the facility is. A waste stream from one plant can become an input for another. The intense heat produced by making green ammonia or clean fuels can be used for other processes such as preheating iron ore for ironmaking.

Our modelling shows integrating renewables, hydrogen and green iron at a proposed hub in South Australia can cut power costs 20–30% compared to standalone projects by avoiding overbuilding of electricity infrastructure. More cheap renewable power is used, less gas is required and emissions fall more rapidly.

Modelling of a separate hub in New South Wales shows similar benefits.

Future green hubs should be centred around a nature-positive philosophy, where industry and nature restoration sit side by side. Instead of approving projects one by one, planning happens across whole landscapes. Sensitive areas are protected from the start. Infrastructure is concentrated into shared corridors. Natural restoration is part of the plan.

Iron ore – or green iron?

Australia has long been a major iron ore exporter, but makes little iron or steel here.

If Australia moves rapidly, it could take more market share as buyers shift to clean options. German and Australian researchers are working to green the steelmaking process. One option is for Australia to make and export green iron as a precursor to steel.

This would be a surprisingly effective climate measure. Studies suggest Australia could singlehandedly reduce global emissions 4% if it turned its iron ore into green iron.

Is it possible?

Turning this vision into reality is not straightforward. Coordinated industrial hubs are difficult to deliver in Australia.

Fragmented regulations across agencies slow progress. Environmental approvals are typically done project by project rather than at a system level. Government-business collaboration is limited. Business models focus on individual projects rather than collaboration. Where technical solutions exist, institutional and commercial barriers can slow progress.

Here’s how to begin.

First, policymakers should identify optimal hub locations able to co-host mining, processing, green fuel production and renewable energy.

Second, plan the hubs at scale so environmental impacts can be managed and restoration work undertaken nearby.

Third, give the hubs clear, measurable emissions and nature goals. Set targets for emissions reductions, renewable and hydrogen use, water recycling, and ecosystem restoration at a regional scale. Track them over time.

Clear roles for government and industry

Governments have a key role in setting the direction of travel. This means selecting hub locations, coordinating land use and infrastructure planning, aligning approvals to allow system-level assessments rather than individual and investing in shared infrastructure.

They can also reduce risk by supporting early projects and broker agreements between companies. Long-term policy certainty will help unlock private investment.

Industry must respond by collaborating. This includes sharing infrastructure where it makes sense, coordinating across value chains, designing projects around environmental outcomes and working with communities as genuine partners.

Australia can punch well above its weight on green industry. If we succeed, our clean product exports will be a model for the future.

Changlong Wang receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the South Australian Government (Department of Energy and Mining).

Rahman Daiyan receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, NSW Government and RACE CRC.