KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 — Many were devastated to learn late last year that their favourite melt-in-the-mouth char siu stall at Restoran Uncle Meng had closed.

The patriarch of the stall had decided to retire.

The stall has family links to Meng Kee, originally from Tengkat Tong Shin and now in Glenmarie, Shah Alam.

Probably the closest one can get to sample something similar to that melt-in-the-mouth char siu would be at Char Siew Boy in Pandan Perdana.

This stall is operated by Pang Wai Kean, a former apprentice of Uncle Meng Char Siew.

My roast chicken leg and ‘char siu’ with the fragrant rice and chilli sauce was a super satisfying meal — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
My roast chicken leg and ‘char siu’ with the fragrant rice and chilli sauce was a super satisfying meal — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

Pang trained there for four years, learning BBQ skills for char siu and roast chicken from his godfather.

Last year, his master told him it was time for him to set out on his own.

He first started out at home, then he opened in Imbi’s Mei Sin Kopitiam. Last August, he moved to Pandan Perdana, near Shamelin Perkasa.

Here, he offers char siu, roast chicken, poached chicken and siew yoke.

The soup served with your meal is one that tastes like it is made at home, where it’s boiled for a few hours — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
The soup served with your meal is one that tastes like it is made at home, where it’s boiled for a few hours — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

The texture of the char siu isn’t exactly the same but it has that alluring mix of sweet, sticky charness followed by melt-in-the-mouth fat.

As his regulars prefer more bite to their meat, his approach here marries both textures, making it less rich.

For my order of half char siu (RM26), I got varying textures since I wanted pun fei sau. Some pieces had more lean but tender meat while the other parts were fattier.

It’s a taste I prefer as I used to feel the meat at Uncle Meng Char Siew was a little too soft for my own liking.

Pang Wai Kean apprenticed with Uncle Meng Char Siew for four years before striking out on his own — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Pang Wai Kean apprenticed with Uncle Meng Char Siew for four years before striking out on his own — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

You will also notice that he uses shorter pieces of the pork belly too, probably because he isn’t making vast quantities like they did at the previous stall.

What I enjoyed was the overall experience here, from the cleaner dining environment to what was served on the plate.

The rice served with the char siu and roast chicken leg (RM13) was fragrant with a distinct chicken flavour.

Even the chilli sauce was good with a balanced spicy sour taste, making the whole plate enjoyable.

You can spot Char Siew Boy’s stall in front of the restaurant which is located near to the morning market and 7-Chai Ipoh Hor Fun — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
You can spot Char Siew Boy’s stall in front of the restaurant which is located near to the morning market and 7-Chai Ipoh Hor Fun — Picture by Lee Khang Yi

And to top it off, the soup they offered didn’t have the typical clear, insipid look but it had a golden brown hue, signalling long hours taken to eke the sweet flavours out from the mix of chicken and root vegetables.

The soup changes daily but the radish soup I had that day was sweet from the use of white radish, carrots and red dates.

Char Siew Boy, Restoran Hou Wan Loi,

40, Jalan Perdana 4/8,

Pandan Perdana, Kuala Lumpur.

Open: 10.30am to 2pm.

Closed every first and third Monday of the month.

The last time they closed was on January 6.

Tel: 012-2050062. Facebook: @charsiewboy

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

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