KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — It’s been feast after feast throughout Chinese New Year so I have been craving something simple, like wantan mee.
This particular wantan mee in Setapak fit the bill perfectly. It’s operated by the friendly Vincent Lim who came up with his own recipe for the noodles and roasted meats. He has been in the business for more than 10 years.
With wantan mee, it’s often hard to get all the elements executed well but this place definitely knocks it out of the park.
The star here is the springy noodles. Lim tells me he gets a factory to make it according to his recipe.
It’s got just the right bite without being too thin. Eating it was such a pleasure. The strands are tossed in a dark soy sauce with lard that gives it that boost of flavour.
If you prefer, you can also get the noodles with crunchy roast pork.
The plump ‘wantans’ have smooth and thin skins.
What I also liked was how it was served in a bowl rather than a plate. Lim uses old school rooster porcelain bowls so the sauce pools at the bottom. This allows you to easily toss the strands in the sauce. Hence there’s no fear it’ll stain that white shirt you’re wearing.
During peak times, you will see bowls of noodles all laid out on a table. Lim explained to me that they are pre-blanched already so the wait time for hungry diners is reduced. All he needs to do is refresh the noodles quickly in hot water.
The default order is char siu with the noodles. You can, of course, opt for roast pork too. Their char siu is dark and sticky with a melt in the mouth texture. Even the leaner cuts are still tender but go for the fatty ones as those have a more luscious bite. For RM7, the small portion is just nice for a light eater.
Alternatively, try the roast pork with a crisp thin skin and layer of fat with meat. It’s RM10 for a small portion.
The noodles are made in a factory following a recipe concocted by owner Vincent Lim.
You will notice bowls with noodles on a table as they prepare these for peak times to cut down the waiting time for hungry diners.
The piece de resistance are the crunchy lard croutons or chu yau char which I often leave till the end to savour just before I finish the bowl of noodles.
Even the wantans are good. These are plump with a pork filling. What I also liked was how smooth and thin the wantan skins were. You get two plump wantans with your noodles but I ordered more. Just pay RM3 for 5 wantans.
The sticky dark ‘char siu’ is luscious with fat and tender meat.
There are various stalls inside the coffeeshop too serving seafood noodles and pork noodles.
The stall also offers rice with chicken or the other BBQ meats. There is also Penang pork noodles and a seafood stall plus yong tau foo and an array of snacks too at the coffee shop.
Restoran Shuang Ling, 34, Medan Makmur, Off Jalan Usahawan 9/23A, Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. Open: 7.30am to 3pm. Closed on Tuesday. Tel: +019-3147836.
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Dine outside the eatery for a more breezy ambience.
