(New) Uncle Meng @ Taman Shamelin

We've been patronising Restoran Uncle Meng (you can check out my previous posts here, here and here) regularly for years, even before I started writing this food blog, for its melt-in-the-mouth char siew rice that I thought was among some of the best char siew I've eaten (the seller is reportedly one of the siblings of the famous Meng Kee Char Siew).  Yes, their char siew is on the sweet side as with most excellently caramelised char siew (you need sugar for that dark caramelisation).  Some months back, we found them closed for renovations and thought they had moved elsewhere.  But after the refurbishment, they reopened with the same name (I shall call it the (New) Uncle Meng @ Taman Shamelin) which we were happy to see thinking the same char siew rice seller will still be there.

But alas, we were disappointed to find out when we visited that the char siew rice stall was no longer there). We found out from an adjacent stall that the patriach of the char siew rice stall has retired.  Although the son was already running the stall (long before the renovations), I didn't know that it was still his father making the char siew...and that his son didn't pick up the skill or learn the recipe (or he simply didn't want to) as he knew he wasn't going to continue his legacy.  The operator of the coffee shop is still the same with a few (old) stalls remaining (like the wantan mee and char kway teow stalls) while the rest of the stalls (about 15) are new.

A new stall selling (traditional) roast chicken rice with char siew, siu yuk and roast duck had taken over from the previous seller.  The new one didn't look very promising to me because of just how scarce the meats were hanging at their stall but my son took a gamble and ordered the Char Siew Rice @ RM9.  He said it was just an average tasting char siew (but he won't mind eating again based on the price and portion) but of course no where near the standard of the previous Uncle Meng's char siew lah.

The (Nanyang) Sand Ginger Chicken Rice @ RM9 was the first thing I tried at this coffee shop.  I saw that they had a lot of poached chickens hanging at the stall...must be doing good business, I assumed (judging that the stall was also manned by the stall owner + 4 workers).  I'm not what sure what sand ginger chicken is but it looks like regular poached chicken with minced ginger and spring onions spooned over the top.

But looks can be deceiving coz everything was not right with this plate of chicken rice.  The soy + oil sauce wasn't fragrant (just tasted of soy), the chicken tender but not juicy nor smooth, the rice and soup bland and the ginger dip (more so since this was marketed as sand ginger chicken rice) was unpalatable (the chilli dip was the only ok component).  I found out later that the ginger is not the same as the (fresh) ginger dip we're more accustomed to at other chicken rice stalls.  A different kind of ginger is used (hence the name sand ginger) and not everyone will like this kind of ginger apparently (I guess I'm one of them).  The ginger dip tasted really different and weird...this sand ginger is my first and my last! >.<

One of the first noodles I wanted to try was the Curry Mee @ RM10.  You can have it with char siew or poached chicken...or have both if you can't decide.  I opted for both so that I'll know which one is better...and the tender poached chicken was definitely the winner though the char siew isn't half bad...not as tender but at least not as lean and uncaramalised as some can be.  I was happy with the very good-sized cockles as well as the softened eggplant and long beans with tofu puffs, rehydrated pig skin and beansprouts completing the ensemble.  Good with a dollop of sambal that packs some heat.

I usually don't expect much from a curry mee at coffee shops since I've been disappointed regularly but was totally surprised by the flavours and how decently thick and creamy the curry was.  Finally, a very decent bowl of curry mee near me that I would return for since I can't find any good ones in my neighbourhood coffee shops.  But when I did return for my second bowl, I wasn't as bowled over! >_<  The broth was a lot thinner this time and the flavours a bit subdued (and wonder if it's because I had it at lunch time instead of breakfast).  It would still make for a satisfactory bowl of curry mee if you can't find better ones around here.

Next on the to-try list was this La La Wine Noodles @ RM12.  I actually wanted a combo of la la and prawns (which would have cost RM15) but they ran out of prawns at lunch time.  Lucky that I didn't have to spend more to get the prawns since the la la noodles didn't turn out great though the la la was of a decent size (there was one la la which was full of sand...urgh), luckily I opened it in a spoon and could discard it easily otherwise it would have contaminated the soup).

You do get that whiff of rice wine as soon as the noodles arrive but that was about it.  There's only the taste of wine in the soup but nothing else really in the soup base.

You're also able to smell the rice wine in the Fish Head Noodles @ RM10.90 but the difference with this one is that the soup base was more successful.  You have an option of song fish head or patin slices (for those who don't want to deal with bones).

I chose song fish head, of course, coz the flesh tastes a lot sweeter than patin.  You can have it fresh or fried...I chose a mixture of both.  I thought the fried version fared better as I could still detect a slight hint of that muddy taste with the fresh pieces (made worse by me getting a piece of fatty blubber...urgh).  Take note that it won't be as fresh tasting as steamed song fish head as that one is usually served with a blanket of ginger paste over it to mask any fishiness.  So, the fried version works better in this case.

Seeing that I enjoyed the earlier bowl of fish head noodles, I returned to try the one with patin fish @ RM10.90 (I don't think I've had patin fish in fish head noodles before this).  This one comes only in the fried version and theirs is very lightly fried as can be seen from the colour.  I found myself liking this even more than the earlier song fish head version.  I guess not having to deal with bones had a lot going in its favour. These days you can buy already sliced up frozen patin but some can taste really fishy (which I've had the misfortune of tasting at chap fan stalls as well as buying for cooking at home).  The ones here weren't fishy but very palatable.

But what was also good were these prawn paste balls I added on.  Absolutely fresh with a beautiful soft texture to it.  It couldn't be just pure prawn paste since it costs only RM2 for 3 pcs (on checking, I was told it's a mixture of prawn paste and pork mince).

It was served with an unusual but excellent green chilli paste (it's usually a red chilli dip similar to those served with pan mee).  So good that I asked for seconds...and the uncle generously obliged.

The char kway teow (along with the wantan mee) are two stalls that have remained from the previous Uncle Meng shop which we continue to eat...me the Char Kway Teow @ RM9 and my son the wantan mee.

The Bak Kwa + Chicken Floss + Egg Bun @ RM6.50 from this stall (which also sells waffles) turned out as expected as a bak kwa bun should be with ready-bought bakwa and chicken floss, fried omelette, thinly sliced cucumber and squirts of mayo and chilli sauce.

Not quite as good as some of the ones I get from a roadside truck near a market which grills its bread and reheat its long yoke over a charcoal fire but convenient to tapau as a light lunch for later.

My Personal Opinion

A newly renovated coffee shop that's a great addition to the coffee shops in the area (coz of the many factories and offices around here) with about 15 stalls offering many kinds of noodles and rice.  Sadly though, the best thing in the old coffee shop (the incredibly sought-after, luscious, caramelised char siew) no longer features in the new coffee shop (as the owner/cook has called it a day due to old age/retirement).

We've tried about half the stalls here including the western food and chicken chop rice.  Others we've not tried include kai see hor fun, pan mee, pork noodles, yong tau foo/chee cheong fun & nasi lemak (Steve's nasi lemak is rumoured to have moved here from New Soon Soon Lai)...but the standout for me was the fish head noodles (patin to be exact which I've returned for) with the curry mee and char kway teow being the other possible choices here.

Restoran Uncle Meng

Lorong 1/91

Taman Shamelin Perkasa

Cheras

56100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 012-377 7323