PETALING JAYA, Dec 8 — Squeezed by a rental hike, Restoran Ang Kee moved from Jalan SS2/10 to Restoran Times Kopitiam & Cafe in Damansara Jaya this year.
By day, the coffee shop has Ah Pei Char Siu and a variety of stalls selling different food.
As evening falls, Ang Kee takes over offering a variety of fried noodles and some dishes like sweet and sour pork and Guinness pork ribs for dinner or supper.
The eatery’s origins are humble, starting back in the 1990s, when they operated a small shoplot in the basement of Pusat Bandar Damansara.
Amid a sea of Malay eateries, it was nice to find an eatery offering economy rice, chicken rice and siu chow dishes.
Around the 2000 era, they moved to SS2 and served the neighbourhood Hokkien mee, lala fried meehoon and their signature Tofu Egg, a combination of soft bean curd wrapped in fried egg and steamed in soy sauce and rice wine.
Their Signature La-La Fried Meehoon (RM15 for a single portion) is unlike that of others who tend to fry the shelled molluscs with just the noodles, resulting in a rather subtle flavour.
Ang Kee’s version isn’t a shy one, as the clams pack a piquant, spicy flavour with an abundance of garlic and green bird-eye’s chillies.
Mix it with the fried noodles cooked Hokkien style, for a satisfying meal.
The clams had not been available for some time due to the rainy season and it tends to finish quickly so call ahead to check on availability.
As the size of the clams matters a lot to give it more flavour, they only use bigger sized ones for their fried noodles.
Ang Kee Signature Hokkien Mee (one portion for RM13) is also a crowd favourite with the noodles coated in the slick, ebony sauce with a hint of sweetness and topped with a generous portion of lard fritters,
Go for a mix of noodles – smooth mee and thicker meehoon – for a contrast of textures.
Their version of Cantonese Style Noodles (one portion for RM13) isn’t the usual garden variety as it includes a few tweaks like kuey teow fried till each smooth strand has a smoky flavour, pairing well with that eggy sauce.
Even the fried meehoon had a shattering crispy bite, offering two textures in one dish, one smooth and another crunchy.
Braised Pork Belly Fried Meehoon is the classic pairing of canned braised pork belly slices cooked with noodles.
These noodles are available in larger portions (2 person portions for RM30), as they use a can type for the braised pork belly so pack home the other portion if you’re a solo diner.
Once refrigerated, it makes a quick, satisfying meal when heated up as the noodles would have soaked up the flavour from the braised pork belly.
Their menu for fried noodles is extensive and includes claypot lou shi fun, and even loh mee. There’s also fried rice with a choice of prawns or clams.
Ginger Fried Sea Grouper Meat (RM30) makes a nice side dish for extra protein too with the chunky pieces of the sea caught fish mingling with an abundance of spring onions and ginger. One can also order it with noodles too.
And of course, there’s the classic Sweet and Sour Pork (RM20) that perks up the palate with its sweet tomato based sauce and fried nuggets of pork.
The cooking for the pork tends to be a little inconsistent though as some nuggets can be hard rather than fluffy.
Dining here is pleasant and there was even a table of friends playing Chinese chess while drinking Chinese tea at the front of the coffee shop the last time we visited.
Most diners come over after work for an early dinner before they drive home.
SS2 Ang Kee @ Times Kopitiam & Cafe
42, Jalan SS22/25,
Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya.
Open: 5.30pm to 11.30pm. Closed on Thursday.
Tel: 016-3417812
Facebook: @ChefAngKee
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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