The word kóe-tiâu (literally meaning "ricecake strips") generally refers to flat rice noodles, which are the usual ingredient in Singapore and West Malaysia.

Char kway teow (sometimes also spelled as char kuey teow, Chinese: 炒粿條; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhá-kóe-tiâu) is a food made with stir-fried noodles made from rice. It comes from Southeast Asia. The dish is of southern Chinese origin. In Hokkien and Teochew, char means 'stir-fried' and kway teow refers to flat rice noodles.

Shahe fen (沙河粉), or simply he fen (河粉), is a type of wide Chinese noodle made from rice. Its Minnan Chinese name 粿條 (pronounced guǒtiáo in Mandarin), is adapted into alternate names which are widely encountered in Southeast Asia, such as kway teow, kwetiau, and kuetiau.

Colloquially known as char kway teow (pronounced 'cha-gway tee-ow'), this wok-fried noodle dish has roots in Teochew culture. The culture originates from the region of Chaozhou, in China's Guangdong province.