Gourmet Garden

Simple but yet hard to master, it is one of the most common noodle dish in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc, and yet many have been disappointing. In this current times, almost all the noodles are bought from suppliers and they are not left to “aged” sufficiently, the soup base are not made as they were used to, the consistency of toppings and other ingredients are not controlled and most of all the passion and focus of the trade is no longer there.  Therefore good businesses that still hold strong on serving good food like the old days are hard to come by.

Of recent while preparing for this post on Chee Meng Cafe (志明茶室) there have been some articles published by the newsprint media and by a well known blog. We were delighted that this noodle business has attracted attention not only from us, but like many they have only managed to introduce the business and have neglected their uniqueness and specialty.  We can’t blame them because time is precious; it took us a few visits in a span of a few weeks to really grasp their uniqueness (精髓) and tried all that they have installed in their humble business through 4 decades of experience in manning their Wantan Noodle stall.

Hidden in row of old shop houses off Penang Road on Jalan Dato Koyah we found a business which only specializes only on Wantan Noodles.  Chee Meng Cafe houses the wantan noodle(云吞麵) stall that is run by Mr. and Mrs. Tan(陈). The used work their trade in a coffee shop, Tai Wah, at the junction of Jalan Agryll and Lebuh Clarke before they moved here sometime back last year. This jovial couple is always ready to chat and tell us about the good old days (in terms of food), and they too agree that food does not taste the way they used.

As stated in the price list below, the prices of their servings are considered reasonable as compared to the prices up held by similar businesses in and around town. Small serving is at RM2.50, medium at RM2.80, big at RM3.00 and special at RM3.30. Dumplings (水饺) are at RM0.60 per piece.

The norm for dry wantan noodles is the sweet caramel tasting dark soya sauce and fragrant lard. But these days many stalls have foregone the lard for a more healthy fragrant oil. At Chee Meng, the dry noodles are coated with fragrant roast pork oil and heavier tasting dark soya sauce with a dash of soup stock and white pepper. The uniqueness is the roast pork oil that is used in place of just plain old lard. The oil gives it a special smoky and porky flavour which is synonymous with roast pork.

Tips: Most of the time we would like our dry noodles extra without the dash soup stock. This way we can taste the flavours of the dressing.

While I like the dark soya sauce’s flavours and sweet caramel taste, I have been thought otherwise by Mrs Tan. She introduced us to their dry noodles without dark soya sauce and only laced with their fragrant roast pork oil. It is this version that kept us coming back for more. With just the roast pork oil, we could even taste the flavours from within the noodles and feel the texture of every strand of noodles.

The soupy version of the wantan noodles is average less the thirsty after feeling. The soup base is light with slight meaty sweetness and it goes very well with their meat dumpling or 水饺.

Tips:) Do remember that soupy versions must go with 3 to 4 day old noodles or else it would loose its springiness and firmness when immersed in the soup.

Another specialty that they have at their business is the availability of chicken spare parts. We have tried the chicken gizzards, egg sack, undeveloped eggs that are still in the sack and chicken intestines. The old hen chicken skin minus the fats is also one of the things that one should not miss, but the availability is limited. The skin is cut length wise to resemble the cooked jelly fish, and the texture also resembles the jelly fish but with more crunch. Toss in some oil, lightly seasoned and served with sprinkles of chopped scallions; it makes quite a delicious snaking item to have.

For more reading on Chee Meng Cafe you may drop by Kwang Wah Daily for their published article on them.

Overall rating for Chee Meng Cafe:

Taste & Texture: 4.0/5 (want more “aged” noodles)
Money Value: 4.0/5 (comparably reasonable with the prices in surrounding areas )
Service: 4.5/5 (jovial and friendly to all customers not only us!)
Cleanliness: 4.0/5 (well lit and clean plus newly renovated)
Atmosphere: 3.5/5 (slightly warm in the mid day or on sunny days)

They have moved back to:
Address: 20 Jalan Dato Koyah, Penang Near 48-102, Jalan Argyll, 10050 Georgetown. Penang (Opposite Caltex Petrol Station)

Business Hour: 7am till 12pm daily except Tuesday.

Chinse Version: http://www.gourmetgarden.com.my/2010/08/20/%E7%99%BD%E4%BA%91%E5%90%9E%E9%9D%A2/

Get to know Chee Meng Wantan Noodle latest update, pls visit http://www.gourmetgarden.com.my/2011/02/13/chee-meng-wantan-mee-is-back/

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