The best wantan mee in Malaysia, according to chefs

Five leading chefs clue us in on their favourite plates of the Malaysian favourite

Wantan mee is a simple yet heartwarming noodle dish that originated in Guangzhou and eventually made its way around Asia. Now a staple dish in Southern China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and, of course, Malaysia, wantan mee has since taken on different forms and variations, all of which are centred around the egg noodles and wontons.

In Malaysia, wantan mee is typically served as a bowl of soup noodles with wontons or dry, tossed in an oyster sauce mixture. To guide you to the best plates of wantan mee around, we chatted with five chefs to find out where they go for their fix.

Jun Wong, Yellow Fin Horse

Jun Wong recently opened her new restaurant, Yellow Fin Horse (Photo: Courtesy of Else Hotel)

Above Jun Wong (Photo: Courtesy of Else Hotel)

Above Chulia Street wantan mee (Photo: Google Reviews/adrian_97s)

“My favourite is from a wantan mee stall on Chulia Street in Penang! It’s just a stall that only opens at night and serves the standard plate of wantan mee–it doesn’t cater to variations! The noodle texture is what sets it apart from the rest. A tip for your trip there: don’t repeat your orders to them, they heard you the first time.”

Chulia Street wantan mee stall, 275, Chulia St, Georgetown, 10200 George Town, Friday-Monday, 6pm-12am

Eddie Ng, Ed.ju Omakase and Okaju

Eddie Ng leads the teams at Ed.ju Omakase and Okaju (Photo: Instagram/@okaju_)

Above Eddie Ng (Photo: Instagram/@okaju_)

Above Mak's Chee Authentic Wonton noodles (Photo: Instagram/@mymakschee)

“If I had to pick one place, it would be Mak’s Chee Authentic Wonton. My go to branch is the one in 1 Utama and I usually order the dry wantan noodles with dried prawn roe sprinkled on top.

The noodles are relatively thinner than the usual ones out there. The dried prawn roe coats the noodles perfectly and each slurp is packed with umami–it just hits the spot. If I just had only the noodles and dried prawn roe, I’d be content.”

Mak’s Chee Authentic Wonton, Lot LG 311D, One Utama, Bandar Utama, 47800 Petaling Jaya, +603 7722 2788, @mymakschee on Instagram, Monday-Sunday, 11am-10pm

Aaron Khor, Fifty Tales

Aaron Khor is known for his work at Fifty Tales (Photo: Courtesy of Aaron Khor)

Above Aaron Khor (Photo: Courtesy of Aaron Khor)

Above Restoran Jie Mee's signature white wantan mee (Photo: Instagram/@melanie.sylim)

“My favourite wantan mee is from Restoran Jie Mee. I used to visit every day during my college years. I like the wantan mee there because it doesn’t have a strong kan sui (alkaline) taste, which is hard to come by. With that being said, the doneness on the noodles is also just nice, especially on the curry laksa wantan mee, which is my favourite style.

I usually order the curry laksa wantan mee with a side of century egg dumpling soup. I love it because the curry is more of a Penang-style white curry, rather than the usual heavily-spiced KL-style curry. What makes it even better than a usual curry mee is that the noodles are the wantan mee egg noodles and you can’t find a combination like that anywhere else.”

Restoran Jie Mee, 20, Jalan Sri Hartamas 8, Sri Hartamad 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday-Sunday, 7:30am-2:30pm

Pavi Krishnan, Pablo'$

Pavi Krishnan is one third of the team behind Pablo'$ (Photo: Courtesy of Pavi Krishnan)

Above Pavi Krishnan (Photo: Courtesy of Pavi Krishnan)

Above White wantan mee (Photo: Google Reviews/Jack Chook)

“My favourite wantan mee is from BM Town White Wantan Mee in Bukit Mertajam. It only serves one style of wantan mee, which is the white wantan mee. It has more of a unique taste compared to the normal dark wantan mee and is similar to a Hakka mee. I’ve been coming to this place since I was a kid and I think it is best paired with kopi peng.”

BM Famous White Wantan Mee, Jalan Pasar, 14000 Bukit Mertajam, Monday-Saturday, 6am-10am

Don't miss: The best dim sum in Malaysia, according to chefs

Jordan Yap, Zen by Mel

Jordan Yap is at the helm of Zen by Mel in Bukit Jalil (Photo: Instagram/@zenbymel)

Above Jordan Yap (Photo: Instagram/@zenbymel)

Above Wantan mee and Hakka mee from Famous Seremban Favourites Restaurant (Photo: Instagram/@cecilia_choongz)

“The place with the best wantan mee for me would be Famous Seremban Favourites Restaurant located in Sunway Mas Commercial Centre by Aman Suria. This place is helmed by Mr. Bill, who I call Uncle Bill because I've been going there since I was about 11 years old. It is famous for its wantan mee, housemade char siew, and Hakka mee.

I’ve had a lot of wantan mee in my life, but Uncle Bill's wantan mee is the one that gets me all fired up. The smooth and silky duck egg noodles are blended perfectly with the sauce and topped with the slow-cooked, melt-in-your-mouth char siew. Uncle Bill’s pure dedication to constantly improve his food is what sets the restaurant apart and to me, the food has only gotten better with time.”

Famous Seremban Favourites Restaurant, 78, Jalan PJU 1/3b, Sunway Mas Commercial Center, 47301 Petaling Jaya, +6017 279 8582, Wednesday-Monday, 8am-4pm

NOW READ

The best roti canai in Malaysia, according to chefs

Attention to detail is at the forefront of Sushi Taka’s operations

A food lover’s guide to Fukuoka, Japan

Topics

Wantan Mee