Sunday, October 25, 2015

Ho Seng Kee Wantan Noodles.

Ho Seng Kee Wantan Mee (Lot J6-07, Level 6, Johor Bahru City Square, No. 108, Jalan Wong Ah Fook), undoubtedly the best wantan mee in my books. Mee is what Malaysians and Singaporeans in general call our noodles, and wantan, to the best of my understanding is derived from yun tun in Mandarin Chinese, which when translated roughly carries the meaning of 'swallowing clouds', possibly referring to the texture of the wantan, likened to clouds. That's the beauty of the Chinese language, especially with the euphemisms we use to describe what we love the most, FOOD!

When anyone asks me for food recommendations in Johor Bahru, the first thing that comes to mind: Ho Seng Kee wantan mee, definitely one of the top three in my must-try list. Having grown up with this unique wantan mee, it's practically what I regard as the Holy Grail of wantan mee! Although there are many other stalls offering their signature wantan mee (and trust me, I've tried so many wantan mee stalls in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru that I can't really keep track of the numbers anymore), this is still the taste I've never gotten sick of since I took my first bite till now. From that iconic stall in one of Jalan Meldrum's kopitiam to their own premise in Century Garden, I've been an avid supporter, and I've continued to have my weekly fix (or more!) of Ho Seng Kee even after they shifted their operations to City Square Johor Bahru, which frankly is not as accessible as when compared to where they were operating at before the shift.

XXL Noodle Original

XXL Noodle Spicy

Medium Noodle Spicy

The broth that comes with your bowl of noodles, flavourful!

Some have said their noodles are exactly like the infamous SabX2 Pratunam Wantan Noodles in Thailand, but there's still a flavour in Ho Seng Kee's version that cannot be reproduced elsewhere. Although the texture of the noodles at Ho Seng Kee today pales in comparison to what was served by their pioneers, you can still be assured it's one of the best tasting bowl of wantan noodles you can find in Johor Bahru. The current owner did tell me that he is grateful for his customers' support throughout these years, but he too hopes customers can give the new generation of cooks a chance to accumulate experience towards serving up that perfect bowl of wantan mee in the near future.

By the way, for bargain hunters: they are now running a promotion where you only pay RM 9.00 nett for a bowl of medium-sized wantan mee and a glass of barley water, running from Monday to Friday, 10am-3pm. Fret not if you miss that timing, from 3pm-9pm daily, you could also have the option to simply add another RM 1.00 in exchange for a glass of barley water, coffee, tea or soft drinks, applicable to an order of wantan mee in any of the two sizes offered in their menu. I am not sure to when would this promotion end, so my advice would be to go as often as you can to make the best out of it!

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