Looking for supper in Pudu? Try some late-night ‘wantans’ and dumplings at Dayi Wantan

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 — There’s always something to eat along Jalan Pudu, whether you’re looking for a quick bite from the bustling stalls in the famed wai sek kai or a taste of traditional Cantonese at the historic Sek Yuen.

In and amongst these more established institutions are newer spots, many of which serve the lunch and dinner crowd that arrive in hordes from nearby offices.

Dayi Wantan, which opened in December last year, is one of the few that stays open till the wee hours of the morning.

Most diners will sit outside the front of the shop, especially at night. — Picture by Ethan Lau

From 9am to 3am, they serve freshly-made wantans and dumplings along with a few simple rice and noodle dishes.

Inside Dayi's single ground-level shop lot, most of the space is taken up by fridges and the wantan and dumpling prep area.

There are a few tables scattered inside, but most diners sit at the tables outside on the sidewalk.

‘Wantans’ and dumplings are made fresh every day at Dayi Wantan. — Picture by Ethan Lau

As the name suggests, wantan is the focus here, with a wide selection of fillings available.

After ordering, you can pick your choice of dips (soy sauce, pickled green chilli, black vinegar, chilli oil) from a self-service station by the front.

We ordered five bowls with six wantans each: the original (RM9) and chive (RM9) were my favourites, while the fresh prawn with fish roe (RM12), meat with fish roe (RM11) and mushroom (RM9) didn’t impress as much.

The skins on all the varieties were consistently great - thin and slick, yet just durable enough to resist breaking under their own weight.

The smooth skin was complemented by the bouncy, almost meatball-like texture of the pork-based filling.

The pork filling is super tasty, even on its own. — Picture by Ethan Lau

The original, with its all-pork filling, offered a perfect balance of sweet and savoury.

Chives added a fresh, garlicky edge to the pork, which made these two varieties stand out.

Chive and pork ‘wantan’ is another standout. — Picture by Ethan Lau

Fresh prawns and fish roe sounded good on paper, but the grainy texture of the roe didn’t work for me.

The same went for the meat with fish roe wantan, while the mushroom and pork combination lacked textural cohesion, with the wet mushroom bits dampening the bounciness of the pork.

The fried chives and cabbage dumplings (RM20) were far better.

The fried chives and cabbage dumplings are incredible. — Picture by Ethan Lau

These take around 15 minutes to pan-fry to order, but the wait is worth it.

A plate of 10 dumplings arrived, beautifully caramelised on one side. Half were filled with chives and pork, while the other half had cabbage and pork.

The cabbage variety was sweeter, but both were excellent with vinegar and sliced ginger.

The dumplings taste best with a helping of sliced ginger and vinegar. — Picture by Ethan Lau

These were simply excellent, and I could pop plates of them all night long.

Still feeling peckish, I decided to give the minced pork noodles (RM12) a try.

The minced pork noodles were underwhelming. — Picture by Ethan Lau

In hindsight, it wasn’t worth it.

Aside from the really high-quality Hakka-mee-style noodles, the minced pork topping and everything else was lacklustre.

You can find much better just down the road, at the Hakka mee stall in the wai sek kai, though it doesn’t stay open as late.

At Dayi, it’s wisest to stick to what they do best: classic wantans and dumplings, the latter of which was the real standout.

大一馄饨 Dayi Wantan

402-G, Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur

Open, 9am-3am. Closed on Thursday.

Tel: ?017-222 0995

Facebook:@DayiWantan

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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