Five places for good wantan noodles

Wah Cheong wantan mee is tasty with a springy texture and comes with delicious char siew.

WANTAN mee is a popular Malaysian hawker dish.

This noodle treat, tossed up in black soy sauce is easily found in any food court or kopitiam throughout the country.

The simple meal features egg noodles and wontons tossed together in aromatic black soya sauce with lard. To complete the presentation, pieces of char siew or siew yoke are placed on top.

What is interesting about this Cantonese dish is that its preparation varies depending on the state you are in.

In some places, the soupy version is preferred while in other places the dry-style in black or white (without or without soya sauce) gets the thumbs up.

The original serving of this dish calls for the use of Chinese kale or kailan but this is also a rare find if you happen to stumble upon a trader selling it this way.

These days kailan has been replaced with the cheaper choy sum.

The crowd at Kong Kee wantan mee in Taman Usahawan Kepong.

The secret behind a tasty wantan noodle serving lies in two factors — preparation of the black sauce and dumplings, which are must-haves for this dish.

This week, StarMetro takes a look at five eateries in the Klang Valley that are worth visiting.

Wah Cheong Wantan Mee

Kedai Kopi Wah Cheong

Jalan 17/38, Section 17, Petaling Jaya

Located at a corner shoplot, next to the Section 17 wet market in Petaling Jaya, the stall stands out among others in the kopitiam for its tasty wantan mee.

The eatery, operated by a couple, offers one of the tastiest wantan mee in the area.

Restoran K Intan‘s wantan mee is free of boric acid.

There are several varieties of wantan noodles here – char siew, mushroom chicken feet, sui kow (moon-shaped dumplings) and curry white chicken.

The egg noodle is good and springy and goes well with char siew.

The operator also serves the noodles with sui kow soup.

Both are rich in flavour and come with sweet soup made from anchovy stock. The sui kow, a must-try, is soft but crunchy on the inside.

Restoran K Intan

616, Jalan 17/10, Happy Garden

Petaling Jaya.

What makes the wantan noodles here different from the rest is that it is made in-house, and has no preservatives.

Noodles are freshly kneaded daily behind the shop.

(Far left) Wah Cheong wantan mee is tasty with a springy texture and comes with savoury and tasty char siew. (Left) The spicy wildboar curry at Wantan Mee Sungai Besi. It goes well with wantan noodles.

The noodles are tender, springy and fragrant without the smell of boric acid. One should not miss its scrumptious sui kow filled with meat and prawns.

The homemade siew yoke is also worth trying. It is tasty and does not have much fat.

My advise is to go early before the lunch crowd arrives.

Finding a parking spot can be a real nightmare here.

Kong Kee Wantan Mee

D-G-01, Jalan Metro Perdana 2,

Taman Usahawan Kepong,

Kuala Lumpur.

This is an old stall which is managed by the family’s third generation.

It serves springy noodles with fragrant black sauce mixed with lard.

The wantan mee is complemented by a balanced sweet and savoury taste.

In my many visits here, the eatery has always been consistent with the quality of its food.

The homemade barbecue pork is also succulent. I like the smokey sweet crust on the meat.

Wantan Mee Sungai Besi

No. 190H, Jalan 2 1/2 Miles, off Jalan Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur.

If you are in the Sungai Besi area in the evening, do not give this stall a miss.

It is a well-known eatery and has been in business for almost two decades.

Aside from wantan mee, there are a variety of side dishes — wild boar curry, vinegared pork trotters and ginger duck stew — to go with the noodles.

It serves noodle with aromatic black sauce, which goes well with the side dishes.

I like the spicy wildboar curry, one of the popular dishes at this stall with the noodles.

The curry can be addictive. The meat in the curry is also tender and fresh and has no gamey taste.

The stall opens at 7pm and closes between 2.30am and 3am. It caters mainly for supper or late night crowd.

Restoran Chan Meng Kee

44 Jalan SS 2/66, SS2,

Petaling Jaya.

This place serves tasty noodles that come with either char siew or siew yoke.

The noodles have good springy texture.

What is good about the wantan mee is the accompanying tasty caramelised char siew.

The barbecue pork is tender and has less fat. It goes side-by-side with the noodle that is tossed in fragrant black sauce.

The wanton is also something to look forward to.