Monday, November 24, 2008

Sang Har Wantan Mee @ Restaurant Fun Kee, Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur


freshwater prawns tops deep fried wantan noodles (RM21 for a single portion)


I was eager to try this place out when I picked up a recently published guidebook that proclaimed it to be one of the best wantan mee stalls around. Hence one day, I drove around the busy stretch of Sungai Besi (which is now a highway) to look for this coffeeshop. While most regular patrons parked in front of the shophouses (next to the shop is an abandoned car showroom), I chose the safer way and went for the side road next to it.


char siu wantan mee


It is amazing I never spotted this place considering I have driven past this road/highway a thousand times. The place is very old school - white ceilings with whirling fans, old marble tables with wooden chairs and from what I gathered from a framed Chinese newspaper extract, they started in 1969! Two signs head the shophouse - an old black wooden one calling it Feun Kee and a larger one calling it Fun Kee. There is even an old California car plate with Fun Kee on one of the front shelves.


wantans with a hint of dried sole powder (chor hau yee)

The place seems to have their own set of regulars - workmen parking their lorries in front, people arriving on luxury vehicles complete with a driver or office workers from nearby looking for a quick lunch.


yummy dumplings filled with water chesnuts, wood ear fungus, prawns and coriander

Here you can order wantan mee with various toppings - the old school char siu slices tinged red, braised chicken feet with mushrooms, braised pork ribs, poached chicken, stewed beef and fried chicken only on Thursdays. They also deep fry the wantan noodles till crisp and top it with freshwater prawns or use it to make Cantonese style noodles and etc. One day, I saw this other table ask for the deep fried wantan noodles topped with just small prawns and vegetables. Looked crunchy and yummy.


I really like the deep fried wantan noodles - crunchy and delicious especially after it has soaked the sweet prawny gravy. While the gravy here is not as eggy as Pan Heong in Batu Caves, I like the fresh taste minus any MSG. The regular char siu wantan mee was average tasting probably because I don't like the old style red coloured char siu slices. Even though it was tender, I kinda crave the sticky black version. I liked the wantans they served the noodles with as it has a slight aroma from dried sole powder used. The dumplings are also delicious - not super crunchy but filled with water chesnuts, carrots, wood ear fungus and prawns.

This place may not qualify for the best wantan mee place in town but I reckon it will remain a favourite for me whenever I hanker for crunchy deep fried wantan mee.

Restaurant Fun Kee
No. 174-5, Jln Sg Besi
Kuala Lumpur

Tel No: 03-9221 1267/1246

(Non Halal. Open from 9am to 9.30pm. Closed on Sundays. The shop is at the same row as CIMB Bank and opposite the Perodua showroom. If you are coming from KL and driving down Sungai Besi, it is on your left hand side and before the old Nichi showroom which has been torn down for new development.)

*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.

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17 comments:

fatboybakes said...

oooh, i've seen this place also many times. the sang har meen looks nice.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

fav place for sang har mee and beef kuey teow when i was a kid..i think the parking car bit is a turn off..but yeah smells and screams OLD...this place has been like there forever..

Ciki said...

looks promising!

minchow said...

Those dumplings look like they're about to burst from goodness! Sg Besi is really a hidden wantan mee trove - there must be at least a dozen of decent places serving wantan mee in the vicinity!

Babe_KL said...

wow must keep this in mind!

boo_licious said...

happy birthday fbb - u shld go eat this. I like the deep fried version with sinful freshwater prawns.

Cool stuff Joe. I didn't know abt the beef noodles, must give that a try. Yeah parking is definitely a problem here but I found parking easily at the side road.

cumi & ciki - hee hee, hope you like it. I like the old school feel here combined with the heavy heavy traffic!

550ml - I wanted to name this "the other wantan mee place in Sg besi" since it is just down the road from the mechanic one opened at nite but decided not to since I like their fried version instead.

babe - ah, somewhere to stop by on the way home rite?

Tummythoz said...

Been passing & wondering about this place. Now I know. TQ.

Precious Pea said...

The sui kow has got such homey feel!!!

Julian Si said...

Mmmmmh I have fond memories of the late night post-7ate9-post-Zeta-post-everyclubintown "mechanic" one, hic hic :-)

Unknown said...

hello there, the deep fried wanton mee cost RM21 for a single portion? thats quite on the high side? even though there's huge prawns. haha

cheers
ladyironchef

kim_me said...

have to agree that the sang har mee is really yummy!!! crunchy wan tan noodle!! *sllluuuurrrppp*... now i cant wait to go back to KL to enjoy this.... *put in my eating list*

Tom said...

i have had tried the signature dish sang har mee. *Two thumbs up* =)
Btw, there are ample parking spaces at the side and behind CIMB Bank where you can also use the back lane access to the shop rear entrance.

CPO Trader said...

folks:
Try also the special fried chicken drumstick as it is only available on Thursday. You can either ask for wantan mee with the fried chicken or plain rice with fried chicken. I myself will be there every thursday (unless I am not in KL) as I really enjoy their wantan mee (without wantan and char siow)mix up with fried chicken.

Cheers!

CPO Trader said...

Yes, just wanna remind you guys. Please do not park your car at the Shell station although there are plenty of carparks inside. I once park there and my car was scratched all over with beautiful scars. So, it's either parking along Jalan satu/ tiga or park in front of Fun Kee (which I used to do so, lol!).

Mohd Najmie said...

omG this is a super blog! just found it
but i hv a tiny bit of suggestion
can you also put a picture of the entrance of each outlet you visited?
that way it'll be easier for me to find the place!
(and lastly, i'm a muslim, so i really appreciate the 'halal', 'non-halal' and 'pork-free' tags ^^)

boo_licious said...

tummythoz - hee hee, reason for you to stop and makan.

precious pea - so are u making some at home for us?

Julian - yeah, that one is ever famous. Something abt satisfying those hunger pangs late at nite.

brad - yeah, it is kinda pricey (around RM7 per prawn). The one at Pan Heong gives better value at the end of the day as they are bigger and nicer.

kim_me - am sure you have a long list of places to try...

Thxs Tom for that vote of confidence on the sang har meen. Ah the info on parking is also well needed since that place really lacks it.

CPO Trader - I wanted to try it on Thursday but I was too late! Sold out by the time I arrived. Drats. Must go again, as I heard it is their specialty. Thxs for the tip on the Shell station.

Mohd Najmie - glad you found the blog useful. I tend not to take pixs of the shops, since I usually do the reviews as quietly and as annoymously as possible...sorry! kinda gives it away if I stand in front and snap a pix of their shop, they might think I am from IRB, here to audit them! If you have problems locating places, drop me an email and I will try and route you by instructions or by Google Map.

Molly said...

hie there...the deep fried sang har meen looks like my favorite 'gong nam meen'...there's one place which is really good...in seri gombak...it's called Restoran Lum Chye...the gravy is super nice..but..must request lum chye cook for u...and most my parents' friends say that going there to eat with us the food taste better..hahaha..
i ate the food cooked by lum chye even b4 i was born...lolz

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