KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — If you're within the vicinity of Cheras, give this wantan mee stall run by Tony and his wife a try. Their forte is egg noodles served with various toppings that buck the usual trend.
You do have char siu but when you also have a selection of braised chicken feet with mushrooms, Hakka char yoke, curry chicken and ginger duck, go for the unusual.
The couple has been in the F&B business for about 30 years. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, they operated a restaurant called TS Law that served various cooked dishes. With business being affected by the lockdown, they decided to shut the restaurant. Instead, they scaled back and revived themselves to offer wantan mee.
You can find them in this quiet no signboard coffee shop. There's only two stalls here but people still stop by for a taste of this wantan mee. I was introduced to them by a friend who is a regular here.
The noodles are the eggy type with straight strands and none of the artificial bounce. Rather than use lard, they switched to shallot oil as most of their customers who are Indian prefer that.
The crowd favourite is their braised chicken feet with mushrooms as it was already sold out by the time I got there. So I selected items I like.
What blew me away was the Hakka char yoke wantan mee. You get a generous topping of tender pork belly braised in a savoury sauce. There's also crunchy wood ear fungus that gives a nice contrast of textures. It's not easy to get a version where the meat is tender but this version cooked by Tony's wife was perfect for me.
That sauce with fermented bean curd or nam yee worked in symphony with the egg noodles tossed in soy sauce and shallot oil. I really relished every delicious strand of those noodles. As the flavours for this topping is stronger, it stands up better with the noodles.
While the curry chicken was tasty on its own with a mild creaminess, the soy sauce tossed with the noodles tends to overpower the light curry taste. The chicken was cooked perfectly with juicy, smooth meat and you also have fluffy potatoes.
For the ginger duck, I decided to take it away for later. The duck meat is infused with the ginger making it nice on its own. Here the meat tends to be slightly firmer but the sauce is too mild tasting. This version is more for those who are seeking for something new to try.
The noodles with toppings are RM9. You are served with a bowl of clear broth and instead of pickled green chillies, they offer bird-eye chillies in soy sauce to amp up the heat. They don't serve any wantans here.
Tony's Wantan Mee, Onn Lock Restaurant, 1, Jalan Emas 3, Taman Emas, Ninth Mile, Cheras, Selangor. Open: 7am to 2pm. Closed every second Sunday of the month. The next off day will be March 19.
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