Where do you go for varieties of street food early in the morning when you are around the Jalan Klang Lama area? Well, many if not all will direct you to Restoran Leong Wei, or simply the coffee shop below the huge tree, but If you’re one with an adamant stand on not eating at non-air conditioned outlets that might make you sweat buckets, your elbow knocking into a stranger seated next to you, or even breathing in cigarette smokes from them…. then this should be the end of story. Thank you.
This place totally comes alive early in the morning with loads of food stalls providing western meals (minus the ambience and hefty price tag), economy noodle, Hakka Lui Cha, pork noodles, char kuey tiew etc. Many are overwhelmed by the choice of local food they can get here.
Teh Si @ RM 1.90 ~ My usual order which is mediocre compared to those at the OUG wet market.
Lum Mee (淋面) @ RM 4.50 ~ The beauty of Lum Mee lies in its contrasting textures; the sticky, gooey, thickened dark soy braising gravy and the crunchy fried bits that come together in this dish. It’s not easy to get so many textures and tastes perfectly balanced in a dish. Toppings typically include braised pork, shrimps, boiled egg and a plate of sambal belachan which goes hand in hand with this plate of starchy noodle.
Spicy Pan Mee (辣椒板面) @ RM 5.00 ~ The Pan Mee was served with pretty much the standard stuffs like wood ears, minced meat, chop scallions and the crispy fried anchovies. Below the strands of flat strip noodles lies the star of the dish, the chili mix. Nothing special honestly, and not as fiery as claimed. In fact, it tastes a little sweet to my liking. I reckoned most of the stalls that sells this spicy pan mee get their chili paste from the same source as it tastes all the same.
Cantonese Fried Yin Yang (滑蛋阴阳) @ RM 5.50 ~ This dish is the hor fun mixed with crispy mee hoon fry together with a starchy sauce. I like the deep fried mee hon for its crispy texture, and combined with the silky hor fun, it makes a nice combo. There were slices of pork, prawns and some veggies in this dish. Their assembly with a smooth, sufficiently gelatinous egg-starch topping sealed the deal for me.
Char Koay Teow (炒粿条) @ RM 4.50 ~ Granted, it is nowhere as good as Nelson’s or Ah Di’s, it is of little surprise that this stall is a crowd favourite in this restaurant. My only gripe was the lack of ‘Wok Hei’ or charred taste resulting from frying the noodle under intense heat which is an important aspect in conjuring a good plate of Char Kuey Teow. And while a good plate of Char Kuey Teow should not be overly dry as in this case, the noodles were skewing on the soggy side which could have easily been avoided if the fire was more intense during the frying process. Still, it is value for money considering a large plate of Char Kuey Teow with 4 mid-sized deep fried prawns costs less than RM 5.00.
Hakka Noodle (客家面) @ RM 4.50 ~ This is a far-cry from the famous Tow Kee in Seremban. The egg noodles were dry and the minced meat is all but bland. The way the server deliver my noodle with her palm all over my bowl of hot soup is enough to turn me off. Enough said..
Pepper Pig Stomach Soup (胡椒猪肚汤) @ RM 6.00 ~ Boiling a pot of Pig’s Stomach soup is easy. But the part where you need to clean the Pig’s Stomach is tricky. If you are not familiar with cleaning pig’s stomach, you will end up with a smelly soup. Here they got it all right except the soup does not qualify for greatness since it lacks the peppery fury I like from loads of white pepper, but it was still pretty decent tasting and keeps you warm on a chilly morning.
Szechuan Pork Chop Noodle (四川排骨王面) @ RM 5.00 ~ I was kinda expecting some fiery stuff judging by the name Szechuan but when it arrived, it was different altogether. Pork chop is tough and I can taste nothing else besides the five spice powder. Only saving grace would be the smooth egg-noodles and the broth which was decently good.
Curry Laksa (咖喱面) @ RM 4.50 ~ The broth is rich and a bit sweet; it’s definitely not for calorie counters. Each bowl has at least a few of the following: poached chicken, “pig skin“, tofu puffs, and some fresh bloody cockles. Garnished with a spoonful of peppery sambal paste and half a piece of key lime, curry mee is, at its best!
Pork Innards Porridge (猪杂粥)@ RM 4.50 ~ A very simple dish which uses the most basic of ingredients but when it really hits the spot and can be quite addictive. This bowl of goodness comes with deep fried pork innards, plenty of shredded ginger, some spring onion, and a good shake of white pepper with porridge cooked to perfection. Most customers go for the fried intestines as they are crunchy. Some even go the extent of ordering an extra serving of this popular item. When soaked in the porridge, the fried intestines get softer and this adds more flavour to the porridge itself…just heavenly.
Claypot Yee Mee (瓦煲伊面) @ RM 4.50 ~ The E–Fu noodles or Yee Mien (伊麵) as it is more popularly known in Malaysia. Cooked in claypot, the distinctive flavour creates a fragrant broth from boiling the noodles. The texture of the noodles is soft but chewy and is served alongside with pork slices, meatball, vegetables and garnished with some chopped scallions. There’s crabsticks too but I normally have them omitted. There’s also an option of having a cracked egg onto the boiling hot soup for those who enjoy it.
This is the all time favorite stall (啤律釀豆腐) where you’ll see a lot of customers willing to brave the queue which can be really long at times. Rules : Just pick up the plates and clipper and start selecting your Yong Tau Foo. Then the fastidious and ever grumpy looking uncle will asked you what portion you prefer on your cheong fun . Basically, large or small. (RM 1.50/2.00) Finally you get to choose between the sweet sauce with chili or curry. When all is done, just move your ass back to your table and their servers will bring your order to you.
The Yong Tau Foo (釀豆腐) were priced at RM1.10 per piece, slightly more expensive than others but it’s worth it, since they are quite generous with the fish paste stuffing. Best of all, they are made fresh and deep fried when you order.
The Cheong Fun (腸粉) is really soft, smooth and slippery and as expected, served with typical diluted curry with curry leaves in it. I realized the diluted curry is pretty inconsistent. It can be tad salty and extremely strong of curry powder at times. Nevertheless, it was tasty all the same.
I personally like this deep fried bean curd skin roll (油炸腐竹卷) (which is also the crowd pleaser) stuffed with generous amount of fish paste. Crispy with bouncy textures from the fillings.
Penang Prawn Noodle (槟城虾面) @ RM 4.50 ~ The soup base is the dark, savoury and sweet but you don’t get that extra prawny oomph like the Penang version which uses those wonderful prawn shells and all that sweet stuffs in the head which in return gives you that wonderful flavour to hit all those umami receptors on your tongue. The prawn mee here is still aromatic though but heavily ladened with MSG. After effect is very very effective!
The morning scene at Leong Wei.
Restoran Leong Wei (良威茶餐室)
Jalan 3/116B, Kuchai Entrepreneurs’ Park,
Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.
Business hours – 0700-1500
Closed – Fortnightly on Mondays
GPS Coordinates
N03°05.370 E101°41.493
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