Restoran 168 Wantan Mee & Curry Mee @ Pudu

I've eaten at 168 Wantan Mee & Curry Mee @ Pudu a long time ago but didn't blog about it as I didn't think much about the food.  But someone from one of my chatgroups sang praises about the wantan mee recently which got me thinking maybe I was too hasty in jumping to a conclusion + after all these years, I can't really remember what the food tasted like.

So, I thought why not make a return visit to see if the food's any good the second time round.  Plus a little incident (which I thought was rather amusing) made me want to blog about it this time...lol!  If you want to eat here, you'll have to abandon comfort and cleanliness as they're not a proper shop but located on the five-foot walkway (kaki lima) so you could be seated next to the longkang (drain) that comes with all its refreshing smell...lol!

From their signboard, it was rather obvious they specialise in wantan mee and curry mee.  We had the former since the curry mee was not ready yet when we were there in the morning after church.  I had the Dry Wantan Mee (S) with Char Siu while my husband had his Dry Wantan Mee (M) with Siu Yuk.

If you're looking for a presentable plate of food, you're not going to get it here.  As you can see, the meat is chopped unevenly and thrown haphazardly onto the plate...not only that but there's also no standardisation in the use of a bowl or plate.  They just use anything they get their hands on, I guess...my wantan me came in a bowl while my husband's came on a plate.  The wantan mee was fairly decent...and between the two, the char siu was better tasting than the siu yuk for sure.

What I found good and tasty was actually the soup wantans.  You get two wantans and one sui kow (surprise, surprise coz I've not come across one where sui kow was the default, it always have to be ordered as an extra).

Even more surprising was that one of the wantans was filled with a whole prawn (the other was filled with minced meat).  The wantans were worth every cent, plump and generously filled.  I liked the soup too which felt like a homemade one boiled with lots of chicken carcass/bones and white carrot which gave it sweetness (unlike the ones we commonly get from other wantan mee stalls that use stock cubes/powder).  I enjoyed the soup so much that I was contemplating to order wantan mee soup on my next visit but, thankfully, I didn't coz the soup turned out to be very salty.

On our second visit, my husband had his wantan mee with char siu while I was lucky that the curry mee was ready this time.  I asked for chicken with my Curry Mee but the worker said there's no chicken option, so I went with char siu instead but when when it arrived, it was served with siu yuk.  When I enquired why I got siu yuk, the worker said that's the standard and if I want char siu, I've to add it as additional (what the heck, where got such a thing, I think it was just her excuse coz she fouled up my order).

There's a reason why I didn't want the siu yuk (after tasting it in my husband's wantan mee on an earlier visit) as the siu yuk was not tender at all, the fatty parts were very chewy and the taste was just not there (don't be fooled by the slab of hanging siu yuk that looked better than it tasted!).

Well, luckily I won't have to deal with that dilemma again as I doubt I'll be having it again since I found the curry, although quite thick, lacking the savoury flavours I seek.  The curry broth was light (even though I added a good spoonful of sambal) and it tasted like a cross between a Nyonya curry and a vegetable curry here.  There were brinjal, long beans, rehydrated pig skin (that needed to be cooked longer), fresh cockles and a garnishing of mint leaves.

What I don't remember having when I was here the very first time many years ago was the availability of yong tau foo.  They have quite a variety for you to choose from.

On our return (first) visit, I ordered 8 pcs of yong tau foo @ RM2.50 a piece for sharing...we had brinjal, chillies, fried fu chuk, fried sui kow, tau fu pok and fried wantans.  I actually thought the yong tau foo was the better tasting thing here than the noodles.  I enjoyed the fried wantan and fried sui kow particularly including the fish paste stuffed fried brinjal and chillies.

On my second visit, I ordered less...just one piece each of fish cake and fu chuk roll with two pcs of fried wantan.  That's because I wanted to tapau some for my lunch later.  I still asked for a packet of soup (coz the taste was still good) and added water to it when I got home to reduce the saltiness.  Both meals cost around RM35-45 for two (depending how many pieces of yong tau foo you order).

Coming back to the story I mentioned earlier, there was a couple (the lady actually) who couldn't stop taking selfies when eating here.  Let's just say she was overdressed for a roadside meal (clearly she's not from here, not sure if she was a foreign or local tourist).  I'm leaning towards a foreign tourist (she looks like a Chinese though) coz maybe eating by a longkang is rustic and a new experience for her....lol!  She kept taking selfies and even stood near the (messy-looking) stall to take more photos (I was choosing my yong tau foo then before realising she was next to me...hah..hah).

My Personal Opinion

The place offers a fairly decent wantan mee and curry mee with good wantans and dumplings (both fried & soup).  The highlight for me is their homemade yong tau foo. 

If you want to eat along this five-foot way/pedestrian walkway, you have to ditch cleanliness, comfort and (sometimes) you get added aroma from the drains (to add to your dining experience)...hah..hah!

Restaurant 168 Wantan Mee & Curry Mee

2-2 Jalan Brunei Utara

Pudu

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 016-256 2212

Restoran Station 8 (Penang Curry Mee) @ SS2 PJ

This will be my shortest blogpost ever! ;D  In fact, I wasn't planning to post this but thought I'd put my two cents in seeing how this Penang curry mee is the rave.  Restoran Station 8 used to be known as Restoran Okay which I've visited a few times before.  But that was before I read out about the existence of a good (and legendary) Penang curry mee here at Restoran Station 8 @ SS2 PJ (from reviews of prominent bloggers).  Since then, I've been wanting to try but by the time I get there (which is usually before 10 am), I find them already closed.

That was before I knew that the stall (photo courtesy of my husband) is reputed to sell out quickly...sometimes within an hour after opening or as early as 8+ am! >.<  So if I've any hope of eating this, it's to ask my husband to tapau (when he's in the vicinity) and he attempted to do that one morning only to find them sold out when he got there.  So, he tried again another day and made sure he got there even earlier.

And this time he was successful.  This is the bowl of Penang Curry Mee filled with all the essentials a good bowl of Penang curry mee should have and that's prawns, cuttlefish, sihum (clams), (the ever requisite) blood cubes, tofu pok (beancurd puffs) and beansprouts.  I'm not sure if this qualifies as Penang white curry mee (though a lot of people refer to it as such) as the broth was certainly not white when served/packed.

The prawns and sihum were fresh and of a decent size.  I've never cared much for the chewy, crunchy texture of the rather tasteless cuttlefish (the same ones as those you'd find in a dish of Cuttlefish/Sotong Kangkong) that has been pre-soaked in alkaline water nor the blood cubes which others swoon over.

For me, a bowl of good curry me has to pass the all-important broth test even if all the vitally essential ingredients are there (especially the blood cubes for some)...and for me, it was a real letdown! >_<  The broth was much too thin with the santan (coconut milk) barely detectable.  Even the tofu puffs were disappointing as they didn't seem to have soaked in the flavours of the broth...probably not submerged in the curry long enough.

Luckily, it was made better by the sambal (but unfortunately only slightly!) which looks more darkly coloured than those I've ever encountered before...signifying that this chilli paste has been cooked for a long time to achieve such dark caramelisation.  It was certainly one of the better sambals I've had.

This coffee shop is also known to house a reputable wantan mee and (James Bond) char kway teow, both of which I've tried before but thought nothing of it.  The one I ended up liking turned out to be the one that's flying under the radar (the one that no-one speaks of) and that's the unique fish ball noodles that comes with Hakka char yoke (stewed pork).

My Personal Opinion

The sambal, though very good (and different), wasn't enough to save this legendary Penang curry mee entirely in the end as the curry broth was much too thin and light (for my tastebuds)...to the point of being bland, if I've to be honest.  Perhaps authentic Penang curry mee is supposed to taste like that.  Hmmm.....but I've had the one in Jia Li Mian (also supposedly Penang curry mee) and it was the complete opposite...the curry broth was thick and creamy. ^_~

I'm not sure why people would be willing to get to the stall so early and wait so long only to be served a bowl of rather underwhelming curry mee....but, of course, that's just my opinion (and me not liking the taste). Now that I've tasted it, I know I wouldn't need to purposely wake up early to get it...and I can safely strike it off my list...but I'm sure some will beg to differ! ;)  People mention an elderly uncle manning the stall but (from the photo) that's clearly not an old uncle, so I'm not sure if the food standard is still the same.

Restoran Station 8

No 2 Jalan SS2/10

47300 Petaling Jaya

Selangor

Shang Kei Wantan Mee @ Ampang

Located directly opposite the Balai Bomba (fire station) is this old-styled coffee shop, Kedai Makanan Sun Sun @ Ampang which houses Shang Kei Wantan Mee that first caught my attention when I saw a video of their food posted by KL Foodie last year.

The coffee shop can be accessed from the front or back...and the wantan mee stall is situated right at the back but since we came in through the back, the stall will be the first stall you'll see when you enter (and there are just two other stalls here, one selling pan mee and the other pork noodles).  As you walk through the coffee shop to the front where the tables are, you'll pass by the drinks making section in the middle.  This set-up alone tells you just how old-school this coffee shop is.

The first time we drove past we saw lots of people waiting for tables.  So, we braced ourselves for the wait but managed to secure a seat within 5 minutes (by sharing a table).  I was glad we didn't have to wait too long for our food to arrive (it was about a 15-minutes wait and not 30 or more minutes that I read about). I ordered the Dry Wantan Mee with Char Siew, Siu Yuk & Fried Wantan so that I can taste both proteins in one sitting to see which I prefer more.

My son had his with just char siew.  I appreciated that the char siew were thickly cut with sticky-sweet (but not overly sweet) and savoury flavours like those you'd find serve in a plate of char siew rice (unlike the usually thinly cut slices served by most wantan mee sellers).  Do note that this char siew is roasted in a small electric oven and not those typical big stainless steel ovens (over gas or, even better, over charcoal) used by most shops selling roasted meats.  Still with a fairly well caramelised exterior though the smoky flavour may have to take a back seat.  Not quite among some of the excellent char siew I've had but certainly satisfactory enough for a wantan mee stall and they make up for it with their generous portions.

I also got the same order for my husband (except his was medium with one and a half mee).  I munched happily on the siu yuk pieces (again, thick cuts) which had very crispy skin (that even some roasted meat stalls are not able to replicate that level of crunchiness).

My husband (who is a fan of siu yuk more than char siew) was of the opinion that the meat itself didn't have enough flavour...and I do agree.  But he wouldn't mind having the siu yuk again purely based on (once again) the overly generous portion given for the price paid.  Between the two though, I thought the char siew was a bit more successful than the siu yuk.

I also requested for fried wantans instead of soup ones and was surprised to get more than 3 pcs (I think there were 6)...and, mind you, the wantans weren't those teeny-weeny ones either.  Nicely crispy with a pork mince filling, there's nothing to complaint about really.  You should see the humongous pile of fried wantans they fry up at their stall! O_o

Char siew, siu yuk and wantans aside, the wantan mee arrived looking very different from a typical plate of wantan mee with the noodles well tossed in black sauce.  Here, the noodles somehow get tossed in some kind of clear sauce with a squirt of dark soy...so, those who like their wantan mee well mixed with a dark sauce is not going to like this (like my son, for instance).  He went on further to say the noodles tasted vinegary.  I think he meant the kansui taste in the noodles (and yes, this one had a bit more than usual...or it could also be due to them not changing the water used to blanch the noodles often enough).  The lack of a proper black sauce probably highlighted the kansui taste even more.

The other peculiarity about this plate of wantan mee (besides it looking rather "white/pale") is the tray that the noodles is served in.  It's similar to those metal plates used to serve roti canai coz they need the different compartments to separate the fish curry, dhal and sambal.  I guess it's very convenient in terms of serving (and collecting finished plates too) as everything is on one plate but yet each component is nicely separated (even the pickled chillies).  The stall owner himself has also reiterated that he prefers to serve it this way as he wants each individual ingredient separated for the best taste.

Coming to the price, our 3 plates of wantan mee came up to only RM34 (two of which were medium)...and that's one heck of a price for the amount of meat and wantans we got on each plate.  No wonder the place is always crowded.  Looking around, I realised many had come for their old-school bread (steamed or toasted) and coffees too.  I can certainly vouch that their kopi-o kosong was very good.  Sharing a table with others, the steamed bread looked incredibly fluffy and soft with a generous amount of chilled butter and homemade kaya.

My Personal Opinion

This old-school coffee shop have many regulars coming for their old-school bread and coffees.  If they're not having that, they're probably having the wantan mee.  There's also curry mee on offer which I've not tried.

I thought it was a so-so wantan mee...purely for their price and large portions of char siew, siu yuk and fried wantans which make up for the lack of a dark sauce that's typical of a plate of wantan mee.  If you're fine with their non-saucy version, do make your way here if you're in the vicinity.

Having said that, I'm not sure if I'll be back seeing both my husband and son weren't thrilled with the taste. My husband is probably a bit more complaisant if I wish to eat this again...but not my son! :D

Shang Kei Wantan Mee

@ Kedai Makanan Sun Sun

96 Jalan Besar Ampang

Pekan Ampang

68000 Ampang

Selangor

(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

New Soon Soon Lai @ Taman Shamelin Perkasa

I was first alerted to this coffee shop, New Soon Soon Lai @ Taman Shamelin Perkasa, when we drove past and noticed the banner promoting Uncle Soon Fried Rice.  I've first heard about the ever popular Uncle Soon's Fried Rice presence in many coffee shops (mostly in PJ) since they were in Subang Square but most of their stalls are located far away from me...and it's not likely that I'd go all the way somewhere far just to eat a plate of fried rice.

So I was pretty pleased ecstatic to find that Uncle Soon (not sure if the name has anything to do with the shop's name) has finally opened a stall near me.  I now have the opportunity to try this much talked about fried rice.  They do a few varieties of fried rice and you can choose whether you want it with char siew, prawns, squid, la la or the simplest version with just egg (prices range from RM8 - RM12 depending on the protein you choose).

My first pick was the Fried Rice with Char Siew simply because it's my favourite "form" of fried rice as char siew provides a more fragrant, savoury note to the fried rice (even better than lap cheong can in my opinion)...and this one definitely did not disappoint.  The first thing that hit me when the plate of fried rice landed on the table was that I could actually smell the wok hei...and that is the very thing a good plate of fried rice needs.  Some have even compared this to Uncle Roger's fried rice...lol.  Since I've not tried Uncle Roger's (high-priced) fried rice (not sure if I want to try such a gimmicky fried rice), I reserve my judgement.

The Fried Rice with Squid featured tiny baby squids used in the fried rice and not a sizeable piece of sotong cut into smaller pieces like the ones we'd often eat.  As squid is usually bland (and these were probably the frozen kind) it didn't offer much taste to the fried rice.  Still, if I want a seafood option, I'd choose squid over prawns or la la.

Then, there's also the option of prawns or la la (of course, both will not add much taste to the fried rice with smallish morsels of prawn and la la or, you can get it in its most basic form, with just egg).  The rice is fried with nicely separated grains even though I witnessed them cooking a fresh pot of rice and scooping it into a tong during one of dine-in meals there.  So who says fried rice can only be cooked well with overnight rice...lol.

If there's one thing that's common in all plates of fried rice is the fried egg (with oozy egg yolk most of the time) which comes as default.  You'll also find a drizzle of sauce over the egg that's not just plain soy sauce (it has a slightly thicker consistency so I'm thinking it's possibly a housemade concoction of thick and thin soy mixed with a bit of oil or maybe it's kicap manis).  Do take note that this brand of fried rice will not be similarly executed in terms of wok hei and taste in all its branches as the fryers are obviously different.

The black char siew rice (from the Brother Fatty Black Char Siew stall) that my son enjoyed is another popular choice here.  It's obviously called black char siew for a reason judging from the well caramelised, almost blackened exterior.  So, I got into the action too and got myself the black char siew with roast chicken combo.

Good portions though the thick-cut char siew I got weren't as caramelised but still tender, just not melt-in-the-mouth tender.  It didn't taste as sweet probably because it was mixed with the roast chicken's soy sauce underneath.  Overall, just an edible char siew and chicken rice.  They're very popular for their sand ginger chicken rice (which came highly recommended) but I don't like sand ginger (I'll tell you why in another post).

The Fish Ball Noodles was recommended by the same person who recommended me the sand ginger chicken rice...and being a lover of fish ball mee, I had to try of course.  I had the soup version first and found the soup base a tad too light and it also wasn't quite the fish ball mee I was expecting.  This one didn't have any fish cake slices or flying saucers (aka fish skin wantans), somethings I would have preferred in my bowl of fish ball noodles.

Then the person who recommended it to me say I should have gotten the dry version (and specifically with lai fun)...and so I did on my next visit.  The dry noodles came topped with minced pork for a lot more flavour.

The thing I did enjoy though with my earlier bowl of fish ball mee were the fish balls themselves.  From the oddly shapped fish balls, it's obvious they're housemade (probably even handmade) fish balls.  They're denser with a more chewy bite and not the overly bouncy type of commercially produced fish balls.  While my allegiance lies elsewhere, I still consider this a darn good bowl of fish ball noodles because of the fish balls.

I also found the same Kai See (Prawn & Shredded Chicken) Hor Fun (the same brand that's found in many coffee shops everywhere in Klang Valley).  It even made it all the way to the city of kai see hor fun, Ipoh...lol.  The one here tasted much better (in terms of the flavour of the soup) than the one in my taman in Thong Kee.  So, even though it's the same brand, not all will taste the same just like Uncle Soon Fried Rice.

When a stall advertises its curry mee as Mom-in-Law Curry Mee (or Mom's curry mee), it always gives me the impression that it has to be something good since it's cooked by the generation before me..lol.  My late mother-in-law is actually very good at making a good curry.  I can remember how special her salted fish and pineapple curry was.  This curry mee, unfortunately, was a disappointment as it failed big time as the curry was just too thin and too light-flavoured.

When this Aglio Olio Spaghetti arrived, served with two minced pork patties (moo ping lookalikes), we were wondering where the heck is the chilli flakes....but take a bite and it had the most heat my son has tasted in an aglio olio.  They must have used cili padi in the mix (lol...Malaysianised aglio olio for our palette).

Whenever I see Prawn Mee offered in coffee shops, I'm always tempted to order as they're in short supply.  The reason is probably the work involved in peeling prawns and making the prawn stock.  This stall is run by two elderly ladies (I don't see any foreign helper) and I thought the prawn broth was pretty decent.  The prawns given (there were 4) were also sizeable though the texture was a bit too soft...not mushy as in not fresh but soft as in overcooked/overboiled I think.  The other negative would be the fried onions which are store-bought.

Another popular stall here is the Pork Noodles which certainly was of satisfactory standard.  I had yee mee with an extra add-on egg that was cooked perfectly with a runny yolk that was intact which I can scoop into a spoon and into my mouth.  I don't like the yolk pecah and interfering with the integrity of the broth...hehe.

My son has also tried the Char Kway Teow which he found very forgettable (you can pretty much guess from the looks already).  Haiya, no lap cheong in the mix (heck I can't even see the cockles) means it won't tickle my tastebuds.

I also found Steve's Nasi Lemak that has relocated here from my neighbourhood coffee shop.  This is a Chinese-style nasi lemak but their sambal is good.  I was disappointed to find them gone from my taman but luckily we got reunited here.  I was overly greedy (for not having it for a while) and got two proteins, their popular wild boar curry and sotong sambal (it was too much and the sotong sambal not quite up to standard).  It also comes with curried potatoes and a dry hai mai (dried prawns) sambal (both was good and spicy).

I found myself enjoying the Pan-Fried Dumplings too (not the most pretty looking I've to say) with a minced pork (and a bit of chives) filling that was accompanied by a rather spicy but pleasant tasting chilli/chilli oil/ginger dip.

There used to be a stall here selling Fried Carrot Cake which my son says it's one of the best he has eaten. The difference with this one is that instead of frying it in a square piece, they cut it up into cubes before frying.  This resulted in very crispy cubes of carrot cake.  I can see why my son loved this as he loves all things crispy.  I prefer it the usual way, in a much larger piece, so that the sides won't be overly crispy.  Still, I thought it was a good carrot cake (not sure why it closed) as the white carrot flavour was very distinct without too much flour in the mix.

My Personal Opinion

You can get decent food from this coffee shop which offers a variety of food at standard hawker affordable prices mostly in the range from RM9 - RM12 which makes it a desirable venue for all the office workers and housing residents in the vicinity.

Even though we find it jam-packed with people (especially during breakfast and lunch hours), competition is stiff due to the many choices available (some stalls have since shuttered) but the standouts for me (from what I've tasted so far) were definitely Uncle Soon's fried rice, fish ball noodles (the dry version) and kai see hor fun but the rest weren't too shabby either other than the char kway teow and curry mee.

This coffee shop has now become a regular haunt for us as we eat here frequently, at least once a week. There's something for everyone here...my husband goes for the kai see hor fun, my son likes the aglio olio spaghetti while I prefer the fish ball noodles.....but it goes without saying that we all unanimously enjoy Uncle Soon's fried rice! ^_~

Restoran New Soon Soon Lai 

18-20 Lorong 4/91

Taman Shamelin Perkasa

56100 Kuala Lumpur