In addition, shahe fen is often synonymously called kway teow (粿條), literally "ricecake strips", transliteration based on Minnan Chinese, POJ: kóe-tiâu) or in Mandarin, guotiao (Mandarin pinyin: guǒtiáo), as in the name of a dish called char kway teow.

Guotiao/kway teow has a different origin from shahe fen , from Northeast instead of Central China, and is a modification of the guo/kway (rice cake) production process, and originated as the ancient preservation of rice as a starch-filled cake patty (of which Korean rice strips are yet another descendant, as it was brought as a recipe from China to Choseon dynasty when the Emperor of China during the Ming dynasty took the Korean princess as one of his concubines, and this recipe was gifted to the people of Choseon as a betrothal gift to the Korean people).

[citation needed] In Hokkien (Fujian) of China, this version of guotiao/kway teow was then influenced by the Cantonese shahe fen from the neighboring province of Guangdong.

Original ricecakes and its strips (i.e. authentic guotiao/kway teow) are stiff in texture, even after cooking, often making them less popular with modern consumers.

Another similar noodle is the mee tai mak (米苔目) which is like the hor fun and the bee hoon combined with Milanese pasta.

While chao fen is a transliteration of Mandarin, chow fun, from Cantonese, is the name to which this dish is most often referred in Chinese restaurants in North America.