Wednesday 8 January 2014

Seeni Mee Sotong: Mee Goreng Master @ SS 15, Subang Jaya

Most KL'ites would be very familiar with Asia Cafe that is located in SS 15, Subang Jaya and this entry is about one particular stall in Asia Cafe that deserves a special mention. To give a little background on Asia Cafe, their very first outlet is this one in Subang Jaya which is located right opposite INTI University. They had opened another outlet in Kota Damansara some years ago but that had been closed down a few months back and is being relocated to some place in Puchong. 

Asia Cafe in SS 15, Subang Jaya

Interior of the cafe

Mostly closed in the mornings
Asia Cafe operates as a cluster of stalls that belong to various vendors and the management of Asia Cafe sub-lets these outlets to them. The drinks however, remain with Asia Cafe and it is only them that are permitted to sell drinks to customers. Here you can find a variety of different cuisines from Malay, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and many more. Most of the stalls operate during the evenings till the wee hours of the night but some of them cater for all day long business starting at around 7 am and a handful specifically for lunch. Some stalls are Halal and some are not and it is best to ask them before placing your orders. Generally, this place operates from around 7 am to 4 am daily with it's peak hours being from 5pm to 4 am when most of the stalls are open.

Local Coffee @ RM 1.40
Most of the staffs of Asia Cafe are Burmese. They are very fond of sitting in groups and chatting and it takes some effort to get these guys to come over and take your orders. Without an exception, that was the case too this morning and after about 15 minutes of trying to catch the waiters attention, he finally took my drinks order and it was delivered in another 10 minutes. I ordered the above local coffee and for a small cup, it was priced at RM 1.40 which is slightly on the high side. The coffee however, was quite decent and I would rate it at 6.5/10 .

Seeni's Mee Goreng Stall

Stall No. 6

Various Newspaper Clippings
The reason I came here this morning was to try out this particular stall (Stall No. 6) which specialises in Mee Goreng. Seeni has won numerous national level awards and he has been the National Champion for the Mee Goreng category for a number of consecutive years now. This competition is held annually in Penang which is Seeni's hometown. He told me that he is the third generation involved in the Mee Goreng business and their specialty is the Mee Goreng Sotong which has been a family secret. He had a stall in Penang for more than a decade and then he decided to move his business to Kuala Lumpur. He was previously located in Asia Cafe Kota Damansara and was there for three years. In that three years, he had become very famous and there were many loyal customers that had come looking for him. Since the closure of that outlet, he had been forced to move his business to Subang Jaya and has been here for the past 8 months. Having moved without proper notice, his business had been on the downside for a while now but I am certain that his loyal fans would be able to track him fairly soon and his business would be good again. Despite having had a great reputation for his Mee Goreng, Seeni is definitely a very humble man in nature and I enjoyed chatting with him.

Mee Goreng Sotong @ RM 5.00
You could opt to try just his plain Mee Goreng which is priced at RM 4 per plate or the Mee Goreng Sotong which is priced at RM 5 per plate. I would definitely recommend the latter.

Closer Look At The Mee Goreng
His Mee Goreng was definitely excellent and prepared in the Penang Mamak Style which has some peanut taste in it. It was also served with a number of other ingredients like fish paste, bean sprouts and a decent amount of eggs. The flavour was definitely very good and well balanced and not on the spicy side. 

Closer Look At The Sotong
The Sotong comes in a mild gravy. Eaten on it's own, it just seemed very average to me but when eaten with the Mee Goreng, the combination brings about a magical taste which I have not tasted elsewhere. I would strongly recommend this dish and would rate it at 9/10 . Definitely worth a try if you are in this area.

Overall, it is definitely a must try dish for Mee Goreng lovers. I would recommend that you head there early in the morning as Seeni starts his business from 7 am to 11 pm daily. He makes a limited amount of Sotong each day and it can get sold rather quickly if you happen to be there late. Best would be to go during breakfast or lunch when the crowd has not set in. 

Address: Stall No. 6, Asia Cafe Subang Jaya Outlet,
                2, Jalan SS 15/8, 47500 Subang Jaya, 
                Selangor, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0700 - 2300 Daily

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