PETALING JAYA, Aug 14 — My unceasing, all-consuming love affair with curry mee is well documented: I eat it, and write about it with the same undiminished joy.

And if the many bowls I’ve slurped down have taught me anything — some good, some great, some a crime against curry mee — it’s that good curry mee can come from anywhere.

Sometimes it’s from a place you least expect. When I visited Tian MiMi Secret in Ara Damansara earlier this year, I drove past Asia Curry Noodle Cafe on my way out.

The prospect of curry mee piqued my interest, but my reverse-snobbery bias kicked in at the shop’s decor and modern setting.

I tend to grow suspicious when hawker food gets repackaged into a zhuzhed-up environment; it’s not fair, and I’ve had plenty of great meals in these sorts of places, but it’s a bias I’ve noticed in myself all the same — call it PappaRich syndrome, or nowadays, Oriental Kopitiam syndrome.

Curiosity won out over snobbery, as it usually does — especially once something on a bunting caught my eye.

Written in Mandarin: “coconut-shell roast pork,” next to a picture of a whole roasted pig.

I usually only get to eat off a whole roasted pig on festive occasions — Chinese New Year, weddings — never as a matter of course, and certainly never in a bowl of curry mee.

And of course, the real selling point is the coconut shells. An old-school fuel for roasting, it has become increasingly rare as gas and electric ovens have replaced charcoal-fired pits dug into the ground.

A few traditionalists still roast whole pigs this way; fewer still do it with coconut shells. I only know of one, based in Hulu Langat.

The menu is vast: roast pork, char siu, roast duck, chicken, wantan mee, even roast pork porridge made from the bones of the rest of the pig.

But I came in focused, in the mood for the Rich and Hearty Curry Bamboo Mee (RM19.80) — a sizable bowl loaded with roast pork, char siu, poached chicken, pig skin, fried beancurd skin, long beans, and half a boiled egg.

To my annoyance, it arrived piping hot in a clay pot, meaning I had to wait for the fiery broth to cool.

Of all the soup-y noodles in the Malaysian repertoire, curry mee is surely the last one that needs to be served piping hot.

The broth maintains a good balance between spice and savouriness, sweetness and richness from santan — all nuances that only come through when the broth isn’t too hot.

It isn’t the most decadent bowl of curry mee, but that works in its favour.

The roast pork is soft, fatty, and heavy on the salt; the char siu is tender and sweet; the poached chicken is just ordinary.

Together, all three take on different roles when swished around in the curry. The roast pork, with its paper-thin crackling, retains its glass-shattering crispiness while giving an intense bite of savouriness — a welcome tonic for the spice.

The sweet char siu has a similar effect, albeit richer. The chicken is the least impressive of the three, barely noticeable.

Is it the best bowl of curry mee I’ve had? It's up for debate. The roast pork is the star, though — that alone is worth the trip.

And it’s good enough that my scepticism at the door, decor and all, feels a little silly in hindsight.

Asia Curry Noodle Cafe

F-G-2, Jalan PJU 1A/3N,

Taipan 1, Ara Damansara,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Open daily, 7am-9pm

Tel: 013-596 3193

Facebook: Asia Curry Noodle Cafe

Instagram: @asiacurrynoodlecafe

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.

* Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more curry mee confessionals.