Char Koay Teow King @ Damansara Uptown

It was my husband who alerted me to this new char koay teow (CKT)'s grand opening about two weeks ago. From the photos he sent me, it looked good.  My husband had actually visited the place (on his own) the week before and wanted to bring me there just to see what I thought about their CKT.

So, we decided to drop by the following week to Char Koay Teow King @ Damansara Uptown to give it a try.  They had been in operation for about a month when I visited.

Their signboard says Penang authentic char koay teow (frying since 1992 in Bukit Mertajam as per their Facebook page) though they go by the name Koay Teow King.  

The place is air-conditioned and clean, of course, since it's so new.  Once seated, you'll find a one-page laminated menu on the table with just 6 options...CKT with either chicken egg (RM12), duck egg (RM13), soft-boiled chicken egg (RM14), crab meat (RM16), roast pork (16) or mantis prawn (RM20).  I had a sense of deja vu looking at the menu but I shall get to that later.

You order at the cashier counter and once you've paid for your orders, you'd be given an electronic pager that will beep (with flashing lights) once your orders are ready.  You're then expected to collect your plates of CKT from the kitchen counter.  So, if you're expecting to be served, you're not gonna get it here where service is kept to a minimum.

Out of the six options on the menu, two weren't available yet (the roast pork and mantis prawn versions).  My husband was actually here the week before and they mentioned that the roast pork will be available the following week (which meant the week we visited) but it was still not available.

Our first order was for the CKT with Duck Egg @ RM14.  Oh, besides just the 6 items on the menu (4 when we were there), there's only koay teow when it comes to the noodles since Penang authentic CKT only comes in koay teow.  So, if you're one who prefers a mixture of koay teow and mee (like me) in their CKT...well, too bad! >_<

A plate of CKT here has the usual ingredients of see hum (cockles), lap cheong (dried Chinese sausage), nga choy (beansprouts), gao choy (Chinese chives) and freshly fried chee yau char (pork lard crisps...but you'll need to go on a 'treasure hunt' to find a few measly pieces).

It also came with 3 big prawns (though the menu, their Facebook page and in my husband's first visit, only two were given initially).  I'm not sure why they decided to give three instead of two prawns.  Perhaps they realised that their plate of CKT may be overpriced with only two prawns (or maybe it's two if they're larger and three if they're smaller in size).  That tells you how profit-minded they are...until they're not even willing to give you three if they happen to be slightly bigger! :P  The prawns I have no complaints as they were firm, fresh and sweet tasting.

Next, we went with a more decadent CKT with Crab Meat @ RM16 only to find out that this CKT is not fried with egg! O_o  The lady at the counter said the CKT comes with the usual ingredients of see hum and lap cheong...which got me scratching my head...isn't egg considered a usual ingredient in a CKT?  What CKT is not fried with egg (unless you specifically request it to be omitted)! >.<  In the end, I asked for a chicken egg (to be fried with the noodles) that cost an extra RM1 (additional RM2 for a duck egg).

Take note also that if you order the crab meat version, your CKT will not contain any prawns but you can have it as an add-on (RM7 for two prawns, the lady at the counter told me).  RM7 for just two prawns is expensive IMHO as I can get a prawn of that size (from the wet market) for about RM1 (but they can probably get it cheaper direct from their supplier due to the large quantity they buy).  So, 'no thank you' to adding on prawns as I can't imagine having to pay RM24 for a single plate of CKT! O_o

I wouldn't recommend this CKT version with crab meat as the crab meat plonked on top was served cold, not super cold, but you know it has been chilled and it hadn't been taken out long enough from the fridge for it to come down to room temperature.  Further compounding the cold crab meat was the fact that there were some shell fragments that weren't picked out completely.  It wasn't the nicest experience when you had to bite into shell fragments when taking a mouthful of the CKT with crab meat.  In some places, finding a shell fragment or fish bone left unpicked can even lead to the dish being sent back to the kitchen....haha! :D

I chose the CKT with Soft-Boiled Chicken Egg @ RM14 for our final choice as I wanted to showcase a different CKT.  I was stupid enough to order it and would soon regret my choice.

That's because breaking the runny yolk and mixing it with the noodles made the plate of CKT rather wet. Order this only if you like your CKT wet.  For me, I think it's a stupid option to offer (a soft-boiled egg has no place in a plate of CKT).  I'd much prefer the option of an add-on well-fried sunny side up egg instead (but I didn't see that option on the menu and they didn't tell me I could have it that way).  As this plate of CKT originally does come fried with a chicken egg, I needed to pay RM1 to change it to a duck egg.

Now that I've featured all three plates of CKT, let me tell you what I thought of it.  At first bite, the noodles were fairly tasty but the beansprouts weren't all that crunchy nor were they the fat, juicy type that I like. The koay teow itself didn't have any charred bits and was missing the much sought-after wok hei.  The addition of a fairly generous amount of lap cheong with the hardly noticeable chee yau char did add an element of a much-needed fragrance to the noodles but there was simply not enough chee yau char.

Contrary to what they 'advertise' in their FB of WYSIWYG, it wasn't the case...especially when it came to the see hum...what you see isn't what you get!!  The see hum weren't as generous (in amount) or as raw as shown in their FB.  The cockles were well cooked through in all 3 plates of CKT.  My family's portion of cockles all ended up on my plate (yay!) coz they don't eat cockles and I wasn't about to tell them to omit the cockles seeing that each plate cost us more than RM10.

If you're lucky, you might get one or two larger ones but most of the cockles were smallish in size.  That, unfortunately, is the fate (or should I say state) of our cockles stock these days.

All plates of CKT come with a free drink, a choice between pat poh (herbal) or nutmeg (not of the fresh kind, probably of the concentrate/syrup kind)...and, if neither pleases you, there's a plain water option. Didn't like the pat poh nor the nutmeg, the latter of which tasted like some kind of sweetish syrup water with barely a hint of nutmeg.

#Interesting Story

Coming back to my feelings of deja vu earlier, a number of similarities got me feeling this way.

1)  The use of the word 'king' in their shop name.

2)  The limited options (in their menu) and similar-type ingredients (in their dishes,

     especially mantis prawns and siew yuk) is something I've seen before.

3)  The use of similar black-coloured crockery.

4)  Just the overall decor/feel of the place.

5)  Plus I remember reading about a collaboration project on their FB.

So, to satisfy my curiosity, I checked their FB page upon my return...and, lo and behold, my hunch was right...they're by the same people (or at least the same guy who helms Prawn Noodle King)!  (1) and (2) above was a dead giveaway!  In future, if I come across a shop by the name of 'Beef Noodle King' (their other potential collaboration project), I'd be alerted to the fact that they might be related to Prawn Noodle King and Char Koay Teow King...hahaha! :D

P/S: On my way home, I noticed that there's a new Prawn Noodle King branch (their third) in Damansara Uptown at Jalan SS21/37 (joining their existing two outlets in OUG & USJ Taipan).  Looks like there are many fans of their prawn noodles since business is blooming.

My Personal Opinion

The taste of the noodles was decent by most standards, especially those who don't mind not having the necessary wok hei or aren't looking for the noodles to be charred.  For me, those two aspects are critical for a good plate of CKT.  Having said that, I did enjoy the fresh, large prawns and the lap cheong...but that's about it.

For a plate of CKT of that price, I expected more!  The taste has to be way better than that...and it wasn't. Perhaps, I'm a bit harsh with my judgement but I've had better CKT for less, that's why.

And now that I know the taste and quality of their siew yuk and mantis prawn (from my previous experience at Prawn Noodle King), I probably won't need to try those two options here.  Worst still, not only do you have to pay a premium price, they make you 'work' for it...you have to queue, order, pay and collect your CKT from the counter! O_o  Will I be back?  I think you know the answer to that already.

Char Koay Teow King
8G Jalan SS21/58
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 7731 9818