This restaurant in my neighbourhood, San May King @ Pandan Indah, I found out (recently) is related to the well known one in Pudu by the name of May King (though it's not a branch of the latter). It's just that the owner of the Pandan Indah one is a relative of the owner of May King (it seems). I've always suspected some kind of relationship as their menu (as well as their shop name) is almost identical.
The original May King is famous for their curry noodles and "lum mee" (reportedly to be the best lum mee in Pudu since 1969). I remember eating there many, many years ago and still remember vividly the 'unfriendly' attitude of the owner. As we couldn't tolerate his bad attitude, we never went back there again.
This Kway Teow Curry @ RM6 comes with curry chicken, dehydrated pig skin ("chee pei") and bean sprouts. This version of curry is more heavy on the curry powder taste but with very little "santan" (coconut milk) flavour. If you like Ipoh curries (where the curry powder taste is even 'heavier'), then this will suit you (for me, I prefer it to have more santan flavour).
Their speciality "lum mee" @ RM6 is made with thick yellow Hokkien noodles (which I replaced with meehoon), cooked in a starchy brown broth and thickened with egg, with accompaniments such as shredded chicken, slices of fresh prawns and crunchy bean sprouts went well with the not-very-spicy and fresh chilli sambal. The broth was thick but not disgustingly gooey.
You can also order a variety of Hakka "yong tau foo" @ RM1.10 - RM1.20/pc to eat with your curry noodles or lum mee (although the owners call it Ipoh Yong Tau Foo since they hail from Ipoh).
The fried items sold here consist of:
Stuffed "yau char kwai" (Chinese crullers) and "tau fu pok" (bean curd puffs)
Fried "siu kow" (dumpling) and speciality "fu chuk" (bean curd) rolls
Ladies fingers, chillies, bitter gourd and even four angle beans among others.
The good thing is they will re-fry all the yong tau foo (that you have selected) rendering them to crispy perfection before serving them to you.
My favourite item is their speciality fu chuk roll which is filled with a pork/fish paste and chopped "saa kot" (Chinese turnip) which provided some crunch to the fu chuk roll...nice!
Here's our plate of speciality fu chuk roll, fried sui kow, stuffed brinjals and fried bean curd sheets.
You can also have your yong tau foo like stuffed bitter gourd and fish balls served in a soup. The fish ball is made from a combination of fish and pork with bits of fragrant dried cuttlefish for added flavour. [#Tip: Again, their fish/meat ball can't quite compare to the original one in Pudu, which I bought in quantities of 100 (fresh, uncooked ones) to take home to Ipoh during Chinese New Year. It costs only RM0.50/pc then but it's more than double the price now.]
My Personal Opinion
Although San May King may sell identical stuff with the original May King, unfortunately they are worlds apart in the taste department.
The curry noodles and lum mee did not even come near to the ones I ate at Pudu (especially the curry noodles, although it has been a long while, but I can still remember the taste). The lum mee, however, fared much better than the curry noodles. The yong tau foo was, at least, moderately good and I especially liked the specialty fu chuk roll!
So, for some reasonably palatable Hakka yong tau foo in my neighbourhood, this is my best option. Plus, I don't particularly fancy lum mee anyway!
Restoran San May King
11G Jalan Pandan Indah 1/23D
Pandan Indah
55100 Kuala Lumpur
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