Chan Meng Kee Wantan Noodle & The Elusive Wild Boar Curry @ SS2
August 16, 2011 | 12,317 views
Char Siew Wanton Noodle – Beautiful combination of springy egg noodles (very thin strands, if you noticed) tossed in a medley of savoury sauces, caramelized barbecued pork with ample proportion of fats, pork dumplings (wanton) in soup and an acerbic crunch from the pickled green chillies.
Okay, here’s another noodle story. One that deserves a mention, nevertheless. Not quite in the league of the legendary Da Pu noodles of Pudu yet, but the 6-7 years in business should be honoured with a pat on the shoulder.
For about 3 years, Chan Meng Kee was operating in Section 17, before moving to SS2 about few years ago. This noodle house took over from another famous brand; Ho Weng Kee (read this post from KY Speaks written in 2008), which also had a strong following back then.
A pity some had lamented, since Ho Weng Kee’s famous for their beef brisket noodles that’s supposedly “flavourful, fork-tender and moist after long hours of cooking in slow fire”.
Did Chan Meng Kee live up to the hype generated by its predecessor?
Just like clockwork; precision and carefully delegated job scope lent the cooking and serving process a touch of professionalism. Everyone had a role to play here.
Again, it was this other Ipoh Mali whom had successfully converted me into a fan of Chan Meng Kee’s brilliant rendition of the flavourful, porky-infused wantan noodles.
Come here for breakfast-brunch-lunch only. Okay, stretch the limit and push your luck for a late lunch if you insist, but they close at 3pm. And they do not open for dinner, so plan ahead.
Wantan Roast Pork Noodle (Siew Yoke Meen) from RM5.00/USD1.70 onwards – Crunchy skin roasted to perfection, with succulent bites of marinated meat underneath. Oh, of course there should be some fats for the flavour to permeate through.
Dry Curry Pork Ribs Noodle (from RM6.00/USD2.00 onwards) – More bones than meat, this was not as stellar as the other porky options, but still a good choice if you prefer your noodles to be drenched in a moreish, mild curry.
Simply named Beef Noodle (RM6.00/USD2.00 onwards) on their menu, the stewed beef brisket and tripe came in very small, bite-sized portions but turned out to be of very tender texture and a flavourful touch not overwhelming the dark sauce coating the egg noodles.
The wanton (pork durmplings) were of passable nature, neither excelling in texture, flavour or portion. The soup was nicely infused with a touch of dried flounder powder, though we felt an incessant thirst after the meal on the second visit.
Highly recommended by the staff taking our orders, the crispy roasted chicken (RM10.00/USD3.30) came in a full thigh portion. The skin was crispy, topped with fried shallots and served with a piquant mix of homemade chili sauce with added zest from a squeeze of lime, and finely-chopped cili padi (bird’s eye chillies)
So what makes their wantan noodle special? The addition of crispy lard fritters hidden deep beneath the oodles of noodles, and plentiful of mustard greens and chopped scallions.
Thinner than the conventional mass-manufactured wriggly egg noodles, blanched to a toothsome crunch (QQ for those accustomed to this term), and coated in a glistening mix of sauces. No alkaline taste from lye water thankfully, else I would have left more than half of the portion unattended.
Do they make their own wantan noodles? No. But the factory makes the noodles according to Chan Meng Kee’s secret (I presumed) recipe.
So what connects Chan Meng Kee to Ho Weng Kee? A landlord-tenant relationship. That’s all. Surprise, surprise.
And why couldn’t we order the dry curry wild boar noodle on both visits? The boss ONLY allows good quality wild boar meat to be cooked and served. And unlike in Gerik or Lawan Kuda, where you can order the same dish everyday, supply of game meat is scarce here in comparison.
Understandable, since I doubt you can hunt for wild boars in the city.
Half expecting them to serve only leung sui (herbal tea) or barley, it was with sheer delight that I found coffee and tea on their menu! Brewed to a frothy finish too!
A clean premise with an airy ambience, I won’t mind coming here for my breakfast on a lazy weekend morning. But for lunch on a working day? Nah … I’ll skip that.
Go for the char siew (BBQ pork) or siew yoke (roast pork) noodle. They also serve rice to go along with the meats. Next in line? The white chic noodles. Seriously, that’s on the menu … but it’s noodles served with slices of poached chicken, of course. And I will cross my fingers in anticipation of a shot at their wild boar curry noodle.
Oh yes I will. It’s not like the first time that I am being this persistent.
CHAN MENG KEE NOODLE HOUSE (non-Halal)
32, Jalan SS2/66,
47300 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia.
Telephone : 6012-688 1972 (Chan Yoke Pui)
Opens from 8.30am – 3pm daily.
Closed on Mondays, unless it’s a public holiday.
Google Map to Chan Meng Kee
GPS Coordinates : 3.119224,101.620149
at ss2? didn’t know this existed.. or it’s just that I pass it everytime and not bothered exploring 😛
nice!
[Reply]
To think that I live so nearby & I havent been here!
ok, let me take a shot at that wild boar curry!
[Reply]
I just had wantan noodles for lunch! The roasted pork looked so GOOD and crispy! LOVE the thinner than usual noodle strands too! When are WE going ??
[Reply]
Yep yep, I would usually order their siew yuk noodles only, omit the wantons. Yay for lard! :p
[Reply]
Anything that serve with that bunch of crunchy lard, I am sold ……
[Reply]
Been here, tried the char siu, just average… I think I should come again for the siu yok & beef 🙂
[Reply]
Hi, your google map doesn’t seem to be working. Anyhow, I have put this location into our database:
http://www.savershub.com/my/en/business.php?lid=14381&lang=en&input3=Malaysia
[Reply]
Aaaaa, the wan ton noodles looks so good! I used to go to Ho Weng Kee a lot a number of years ago, but haven’t been there in years. Didn’t know they got taken over, will definitely give this one a try when we’re back in KL!
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
August 22nd, 2011 at 9:32 am
The previous operator wanted to rest, and just closed down the business, according to Chan Meng Kee’s owner.
[Reply]
Grossly Overrated! I went this morning. The kon-loh noodle was prep by a lady (indon? Myanmar?) and she didnt toss it enuff in the cold water. All those plates (wanton, beef brisket, chicky feet&mroom) we had, ended up soggy, lumpy and starchy! *cheh!* The siew yok is overly FAT! The char siew is also like 80% FAT and not like half fat, half lean (poon fei sau)! Will NOT go back again! cheh!
I’d say 1 thing thought. The pictures posted on this blog are really tempting & stunning!
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
September 6th, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Really that bad? But the noodles were all good on both occasions. Though in the 2nd visit, we felt the thirst creeping in maybe due to MSG added.
Thanks for the compliments on the pictures anyway.
[Reply]
oh I juz tried the char siew wanton mee today …. yummy yummy …. surprisingly, they charge at very reasonable price ! Moreover quality as good as many well-know restaurant like Oversea, Tai Thong, canton-i …. 2 thumbs up man !!! very good recommendation, i will sure recommend many friends to come here again …. Wanton mee- the local chinese food that grow up together with me … which reminds me of my childhood …. where my dad & mom brought me for wanton mee at the road side wanton mee. ^.^
[Reply]
J2Kfm Reply:
October 12th, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Glad you enjoyed the noodles there. Am sure the owners would be delighted to read this. Did you manage to try the curry wild boar then?
[Reply]
We just went there. The waiter suggested getting a plate of char siew and wan ton to share and plain noodles for each of us. The char siew was very fat and the layer of char siew at the bottom of the plate was mostly inedible as it was all fat. It was not very enjoyable at all, and in the end we just left about a third of it uneaten, can’t imagine anyone wanting to eat char siew that was all fat. The noodles were a bit too oily too. The wan ton filling was not seasoned enough.
We saw that the other customers ordered noodles and char siew and wan ton in a set. Maybe selling the plate of char siew a la carte was a ploy to sell off the otherwise inedible pieces of fat for a higher price. Needless to say, we will not go back and we would not recommend it to anyone else either.
[Reply]
The service was lousy and super slow! Waited more than hour for the noodles to be served. Char Siew taste so so only.
The wantan mee in Taman Sri Rampai in Setapak taste better and their Char Siew is more delicious.
[Reply]
[…] then, a hunt for a BEST wantan mee in Klang Valley continues. So far? we still adore Chan Meng Kee‘s version. What do we […]
Overall i feel only the char siew is nice but i don think i will ever EVER go to the shop again .. the price is getting pretty ridicilous ! My 1st visit , 2 small plate wan tan mee , 2 plate of siew yuk ( as the char siew has finish ) for 2 ppl but the portion in any siew yuk shop for a SINGLE portion is waaayyy more than this ! Plus 1 piece drums stick roast chicken , 2 hot chinese tea.. the price is RM 46 !! 2nd visit , 3 wan tan mee large, 1 ta pau char siew rice ( which only has 4 slices of char siew ) , 6 sui kow and 1 portion roast chickenn , 3 chinese tea.. the price was a whooping RM 67 !!! The pricing is totally high & i will NEVER ever pay for such food anymore . I hope the public realize that this is a cut throat pricing .. saw an TV interview once with Axian , the fat owner says that initially he has no customer , so now by raising his price in a ridicilous price is his means to recupe his losses initially ?
[Reply]
zab Reply:
September 3rd, 2014 at 3:11 pm
Hi, just saw the owner’s interview at asian food channel however the episode doesn’t have english subsub, i just googled it right away, im a Filipina trying to explore foods here in Malaysia. Any suggestions where to go to try authentic malay foods?. Thanks.
[Reply]