KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 — What a sight! The spread of our favourite roast meats — roast duck with delicately crispy skin, the salty crunch of siew yoke, the savoury-sweet candied nuggets of cha siu — promise a meal to remember.
We are at Sun Ming Kee Restaurant at Taman Connaught, Cheras for an early lunch. There are, of course, many shops in Cheras offering roast meats (or siu mei in Cantonese) but Sun Ming Kee stands out in that they only use charcoal for roasting.
There is just something about charcoal roasted meat that tastes different. Perhaps it’s the obvious tinge of smoky aroma that permeates the meat; perhaps the heat one gets from charcoal allows for more natural roasting, requiring greater skill from the cook.
Whichever it is, we know we are in for a treat, given the long queue of customers lining up not just for dining in but particularly for takeaway orders, making sure they have their usual portions of roast meats for lunch at home.
The restaurant itself stretches across two adjoining shoplots. We are given a table number in the second or corner unit.
In the rear are rows of ducks being air dried prior to being roasted, a hint of the desired crispy skin that is to come.
Soon our drinks arrived, both iced given the rising temperatures: a light herbal tea and a robust house brand Coffee Cincau. Refreshing.
There is a big tub of fiery red chilli sauce on every table, to be carefully spooned out into tiny plastic saucers.
Enough heat, this, but a little more acid would be lovely to help balance the grease of the fattier cuts of roast meats.
We can hear the chop!chop!chop! of the staff preparing the various orders of siu mei.
The speed of the cleaver, the practiced whisk of the cut pieces onto plates or takeaway containers, the stabbing action of grabbing a handful of sliced cucumbers or fresh cilantro leaves as accompaniments — it is all a dance seen at the front workspace of every formidable roast meats shop.
It is a dance, a ritual, designed to whet one’s appetites — and it works every time.
Our platter of roast duck arrives first, followed swiftly by our twin orders of their cha siu and siew yoke. Consider this our classic trinity of siu mei.
The crowning achievement of this roast duck has to be its crispy skin, courtesy of the air drying step. The meat beneath is moist, which makes for a winning combination.
My dining companion felt that the flavour of the duck could be a bit more gamey, more full on, but I suspect those that prefer a less intense taste wouldn’t mind or might even prefer this.
You can’t go wrong with the crunch of the siew yoke skin and juiciness of its thick cut pork fat.
Best to enjoy this without too much accompaniment; do not drench it in gravy or chilli sauce. A little goes a long way.
The real winner of the trio of siu mei, however, has to be the cha siu. Here the full smokiness of the charcoal fire is best represented, infusing the caramelised meat with its indelible perfume.
The glaze is sweet but not overpowering; we could eat slices of cha siu all day like candied barbecued pork.
In fact, our only regret of our visit to Sun Ming Kee was that we left feeling so full that we forgot to order another portion or two of the cha siu for takeaway.
An oversight we plan to rectify the next time we drop by, for sure.
Sun Ming Kee Restaurant
137, Jalan Sarjana, Taman Connaught, Cheras, KL
Open Wed-Mon 10am-4pm; Tue closed
Phone: 010-262 4992
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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