Teow Chew Meng @ SS2 PJ

I was invited to join a family lunch by my sister-in-law at this place, Teow Chew Meng @ SS2 PJ, which I've not eaten at before, so I (of course) answered in the affirmative.  My sister-in-law said that we have to get there early as the place fills up quickly during peak hours, so we got there before 12 noon.

From the name of the shop, it's quite obvious that the place specialises in Teochew food.  Just like most Chinese tai chow kind of restaurants, it has a no-frills interior but is, at least, air-conditioned for a more comfortable dining experience.

Their signature dish is the Mee Sua Tow @ RM14.50 per pax (this pot was a 2-pax portion) which contains mee sua (a type of very thin wheat vermicelli) served in a viciously starchy seafood broth with seafood gems like prawns, scallops, fish meat and processed crabstick (the seafood items are clearly not visible) before finishing with a good sprinkling of fried garlic bits and chopped spring onions.

I think I managed to fish out just about all the available types of seafood into my bowl (so that you can see)...lol.  Of these, I enjoyed the fresh, flaky fish meat the most.  The very starchy consistency of the noodle broth (however) will thin out as you eat and end up more like a soup.

On its own, the mee sua tow tasted very bland even for someone like me who likes subtle flavours.  The key is to add a dollop of black vinegar to lift up the flavours...but since I'm not fond of black vinegar, I didn't put any in.  It's similar to what you would do to sharksfin soup...which I never did unless someone adds it into the pot (like during wedding dinners or such) but these days people are more aware that it isn't to everyone's liking, so it's best left to the individual to add on their own).  That's probably why it tasted bland to me as it needed the black vinegar (I added soy sauce instead!). >_<

Some will even add a bit of the chilli paste available tableside to perk up the flavours (which I found out later when I read the reviews).  My sister-in-law clued me in on the Chinese words on the chilli condiment container (on the left) which says "lat sei lei" (which literally translates to "spicy die you").  There were also English words "super spicy chilli sauce" on the container to warn you just in case you don't read Chinese.  I tasted just a tiny speck of it...and my tongue was sent into spicy overdrive (they really mean what they say)! >.<  P/S: I'm assuming the other container of sambal is for the noodles.

No wonder it tasted bland on its own without the addition of vinegar and chilli though my sister-in-law seemed to enjoy it just the way it was.  Apart from the overly starchy consistency which I can't say I'm a fan of, I'll refrain from saying if it's any good since I didn't eat it the right way...so you be the judge when you try this.

The Oyster Mee @ RM17.80 was some kind of braised noodles in dark sauce with oysters, (small) prawns, fish cake slices and Chinese dried mushrooms.  This was probably a one-pax protion.

Unfortunately I didn't get any oysters (I think there were very few), so I can't vouch if they were fresh and juicy but the noodle texture (which looked like handmade noodles) was great and I enjoyed it with the pleasantly satisfying sauce.

The third noodle dish ordered was the Fried Lye Fun @ RM13.80 again filled with almost the same ingredients as before.  The noodle used in this dish was lai fun which is the type of noodle often served with assam laksa.

The noodle has a very soft, lightly starchy and chewy consistency...and it's not a noodle that's easy to fry but this was done very well.  It was fried with some curry leaves which gives off that wonderful perfumy fragrance to flavour the noodles.  Out of the three noodles we had, I thought this was the best of the three.

If there is one thing I wish to highlight, it's the rather crunchy texture of the prawns utilised in all the noodle dishes that showed signs that they were probably chemically processed frozen prawns as they didn't have that innate sweetness of fresh, good quality prawns that I know.  Seeing the prices of the noodles are all under RM20 per portion, I guess I shouldn't expect too much since seafood ingredients are pretty expensive these days.  I notice this has been the trend (using frozen prawns) since the pandemic.  Many hawker stalls use them in their fried noodles these days and the reason is obviously the cost.  I still wish that they would use smaller fresh prawns (and actually don't mind getting less prawns) as they taste so much better.

We ordered a couple of side dishes to complement our noodles meal starting with the Seafood Roll @ RM15 (small is 10 pcs, an eager beaver got to one...lol).  This seafood roll resembles a dish of Penang Lobak except (I believe) the filling is a paste made from seafood.  The chilli dip served with it tasted like those sweet Thai chilli sauce.

First, I must commend the excellent frying of the roll where the fried-to-order beancurd sheet came out piping hot and super crispy.  But, alas, the filling was underseasoned (another sister-in-law was in agreement) otherwise it would have been a better tasting dish.

Next was the very appetising Apple Beancurd @ RM15.  This was a simple-to-execute dish of fried tofu topped with slivers of shredded apple and dried prawns before finishing with a good drizzle of chilli sauce (over the fried tofu) that tasted similar to the earlier Thai sweet chilli sauce served with the seafood roll.

The apple shreds that have been pickled beforehand (with bits of torch ginger or bunga kantan, I believe) were crunchy and mildly tangy resulting in a very refreshing bite together with the crispy tofu and fragrant dried shrimps (but need loads more to impart some shrimpy seafood flavour into the dish!).  The kind of dried shrimps used in this dish are those widely used in Thai food especially in Thai salads.  Starting with this very refreshing dish will certainly open up your appetite for more.

The Teochew Oyster Omelette (or Orh Luak) @ RM15 (small) arrived true to its description...in omelette form and cut into 6 slices (like a pizza) and topped with lots of coriander (yin sai) and a drizzle of that sweet Thai chilli sauce again.

There were very few oysters in the omelette.  I only encountered one on my slice (not sure if there was more than one on the other slices).  Certainly this style of oyster omelette is quite different from the usual fried oyster omelette or oh chien that I know where you'd get lots of juicy, fresh oysters fried with a crispy and lightly chewy batter of sweet potato starch (or tapioca starch) and eggs.  That said, the Teochew oyster omelette had good flavours and a nice crisp apart from the miserly oysters (I'm just comparing this to the abundance of oysters I get from Ah Koong for RM10)! ;P

When I saw Steamed Octopus @ RM30 on the menu, I immediately knew I wanted it as I've been dying to try this delicacy I've seen mainly offered in Penang and Ipoh, not so common here in KL.  The steamed (or poached) baby octopus was served with some cucumbers and a special sweet chilli sauce with crushed peanuts and fried garlic.

Trying it for the first time, it didn't disappoint.  The octopus pieces were fresh, cooked just right, had great texture and were lightly chewy but crunchy to the bite.  However, the chilli dip for this dish turned out to be the same ones that were used in the earlier dishes even though they tried to disguise this one with added crushed peanuts and crispy garlic! :D  Nevertheless, this still ended up to be my favourite side dish from here (don't know how this compares to others since this was my first time eating steamed octopus but I think a more fresh, tangy and spicy dip would have been a better accompaniment for the octopus rather than a sweet one).

I feel I must make mention of the same chilli sauce served with the 3 dishes of seafood roll, oyster omelette and steamed octopus.  It didn't feel like it was housemade and (in fact) tasted rather similar to a Thai sweet chilli sauce (perhaps it even came out of a bottle!).  I personally felt that a spicier and more tangy sauce would have been a better fit for the side dishes.  The only dish that I thought the sweet chilli sauce worked well was in the apple beancurd which (incidentally) already had the sweet sauce drizzled over.

We finished with a plate of greens of Steamed Lettuce (regular) @ RM18 sitting on top of soy sauce (much like a dish of blanched lettuce you get at tai chow places) with some crispy silver fish, fried garlic bits and fragrant (Thai) dried shrimps.

Dessert was Orh Nee (or Teochew Yam Paste) @ RM6, a warm yam-based dessert made wth pureed yam and pork lard and topped with a few gingko nuts.  Again, since I was trying this for the first time (and have nothing to compare this with), take what I say with a pinch of salt.  It was good that the yam paste wasn't too sweet but I felt it wasn't too smooth either + it had a bit of that raw flour taste and something else (maybe the lard oil).  I'd say this orh nee is an acquired taste...and I can't say I'm a fan of this rich dessert.

I would have preferred something more refreshing to end our meal.  Luckily our pleasingly fresh drinks of Kedondong (Ambarella or Umbra) + Sour Plum Juice and Cucumber + Sour Plum Juice all @ RM6 did just that.

My Personal Opinion

If you come here thinking you'd find dishes commonly associated with Teochew food like braised duck (lor ark or lou ngap), braised pork belly (lou bak), Teochew porridge, kuey chap or Teochew steamed fish (just to name a few), then you may be slightly disappointed as their menu doesn't exactly showcase authentic Teochew cuisine.  It has a mix of Thai-influenced dishes like their apple beancurd and kerabu mango (mango salad) as well as local Penang-inspired dishes of lobak/seafood roll and steamed octopus.

But there are still a couple of pleasant tasting dishes you can enjoy here (even though the menu isn't very extensive) like the fried lye fun, oyster mee (for the texture of the handmade noodles), apple beancurd (for the refreshing and crunchy pickled apple) and steamed octopus (for the fresh octopus, not so much the chilli dip).  So, if you're looking for something different from your usual eats or something slightly more unique than what is offered by standard tai chow restaurants, this is worth a try if you're in the area. ^_~

Restoran Teow Chew Meng

33 Jalan SS2/30

47300 Petaling Jaya

Selangor

Tel: 03-7877 9298