Cheung fun
肠粉 / 腸粉 · coeng2 fan2 (jyutping)
Cantonese steamed rice noodle rolls, a thin rice sheet wrapped around shrimp, beef or char siu and served with sweetened soy sauce, usually as dim sum.
What it means
Cheung fun (肠粉 / 腸粉) is a Cantonese dish of thin steamed rice noodle sheets rolled around a filling or left plain. Wikipedia says the sheet is made from rice flour with tapioca or glutinous rice flour and water, steamed thin, then folded or rolled, and finished with warm sweetened soy sauce.
The name means intestine noodle, after the rolled shape. Wikipedia gives the plain version its own names, jyu cheung fun or chee cheong fun (豬腸粉), literally pork intestine noodle, and says Guangzhou cooks also call it laai cheung, pull intestines, because the roll is pulled by hand.
Fillings are usually shrimp, beef or char siu, with vegetables in some versions. Wikipedia says the rolls are commonly served in dim sum, often in multiples of three, and that Chaoshan versions use a thicker sheet and lean harder on sauce and toppings.
A common mix-up
Cheung fun is a steamed rice noodle roll, not a wheat noodle or a dumpling, even though it shares a dim sum table with both.
Questions people ask
Why is cheung fun called intestine noodle?
The name describes the shape. Wikipedia gives the literal meaning of 腸粉 as intestine noodle, and says the plain roll is also called 豬腸粉, pork intestine noodle, for its resemblance to a pig's intestine.
Is cheung fun always served with a filling?
No. Wikipedia describes plain rolls dressed with sweetened soy sauce and sometimes hoisin, alongside versions filled with shrimp, beef, char siu, dried shrimp or vegetables.
Sources & further reading
Background and preparation references. Our descriptions are editorial summaries, not restaurant reviews.