I have good friends who tip me off whenever they chanced upon good food finds - Thanks Chris. Then, I have buddies like Aaron who would taunt me with late night pictures like these char siew from Meng Kee in Kakilang Kopitiam (coffee shop) whenever he is in Johor Bahru. It's a great way to motivate me 😂
So, I got up early and was rewarded with the chance to see Ah Meng at work at the back of the coffee shop.
Ah Meng hails from Ipoh and had worked in a char siew shop in Kuala Lumpur for over a decade before coming down south to Johor Bahru.
Ah Meng's little kitchen is really hot - there was heat from the oven, from the large pot of boiling hot oil, and from Apollo - the morning sun beating down mercilessly.
Ah Meng roasts his char siew and siew yok (sio bak or roast pork) using charcoal in his trusty "Apollo" oven which is a form of tandoor.
Besides roast pork, Ah Meng also serves his popular deep fried chicken.
Ah Meng shuttles between his kitchen and his stall in front where he is assisted by three helpers. Business is brisk from opening at 11am till sold out (usually before 2pm).
Oh... those ropes of roast char siew dark with caramelised sauce and sugary coat, dripping in slow motion like sticky thick black honey.
Besides roasting and frying, Ah Meng does the cutting and chopping, so he is extremely busy.
For my first taste, I requested Ah Meng to give me the fattiest cut 😂 The char siew is served with aromatic chicken rice and flavoursome chicken soup.
The fatty cut is not for the faint hearted but I love it 😂 Ah Meng's sauce which enveloped the char siew like glazy dark cling wrap tasted savoury sweet, leaning more on the salty savoury side. If you are the type who find most KL style char siew too sweet, Ah Meng's rendition would suit your taste buds better. The savoury sweet taste was rather robust so it masked the pork's subtle natural flavours.
When the char siew was eaten with Ah Meng's aromatic sweet savoury chicken rice, each mouthful was filled with well balanced savoury sweet flavours - the rice's sweetness moderated the char siew's savouriness. I love it.
Done with the extreme fat version, I requested Ah Meng to cut me a "healthier choice" 半肥瘦 half fat portion 😜
Both "max fat" and "half fat" cuts tasted almost the same except for the different mouth feel between more juicy fat and more tenderly chewy lean meat. I enjoyed both. (The char siew with rice costs RM5.50 / without rice RM5. 2018 price.)
👉 If you are looking for KL style char siew in JB, you can get a nice version at Meng Kee HK Roasts at Kakilang Kopitiam. Meng Kee's siew yok and fried chicken are also very popular - I shall be back to try soon 😄
More good food for you to enjoy in Taman Maju Jaya, JB 👈 click
Restaurant name: Meng Kee Hong Kong Roasts 明记港式烧腊饭档
Address: Jalan Abiad 1, Taman Maju Jaya, Johor Bahru
Map: http://g.co/maps/hjzm5
GPS: 1.482528,103.767108 | 1°28'57.1"N 103°46'01.6"E
Hours: 11:00am to 2:00pm (alternate Fri off)
Non Halal
Date visited: 3 Jun 2018
Hi, thanks for the great find,how much does he sell the char siew per kg? Thanks
ReplyDeleteDelicious roast pork and char siew. The fried chicken tends to be a little undercooked.
ReplyDeleteI went past the coffeeshop last week and it renovating to another shop. Anyone knows where he moved to?
ReplyDelete