Mei Sin Kopitiam @ Imbi, K.L
Basically, I will be at Imbi area once a month for my facial treatment. There are many eateries in this bustling district of Imbi, included Restoran Win Heng Seng (famous for Sam Kan Chong), Soo Kee’s Son (famous for Beef Wat Dan Hor & Sang Har Mee) & Restoran Oversea (Hai Wai Tian Chinese restaurant 海外天). But my sharing today is none of the aforementioned but another noteworthy restaurant – Mei Sin Kopitiam, which used to house the renowned Keong Kee Fried Nian Gao (I’m not sure their new location, anyone can enlighten me?) and EWEW‘s favourite curry mee (relocated to Malaysia Boleh! food court @ Shoppes at Four Seasons Place).
Hubby drove me for my recent facial appointment and as usual he would Google the food around that area and this was what he found – Mei Sin Kopitam, to be precise, Shredded Chicken Hor Fun in this old Kopitiam.
The typical setting of conventional Kopitiam and if I had to tell the “unusual” part, it would be the food posters that displayed on the walls. There are plenty of them, showcases the wide variety of dishes available here, such as assorted buns, toasts, croissants and their special drinks (eg: salted coffee).
Barley Drink (RM5.00)
This is one of their signature drink (judging from the poster on the wall) and I was surprised when it was served to me. It had a thick consistency (if compared with the usual watery Barley drink), which more like the Ginko Nuts Barley Sweet Soup and it’s indeed the Tong Sui that we accustomed to. The drink wasn’t too sweet, packed with generous amount of soft barley grains and Ginko nuts.
Dry Shredded Chicken Hor Fun (RM8.00)
Ok, back to the main attraction for our visit to Mei Sin. It’s simple noodle dish with Hor Fun (flat rice noodles) and bean sprout tossed with soy sauce mixture, served with steamed chicken and fried minced garlic. It’s a delightful noodles to be enjoyed but didn’t impress as much as I thought it would be as there are quite some commendable reviews on Google Review. My beautician told me it used to be tasted better when the food was prepared by the owner but now the stall is manned by foreign workers.
Verdict: It’s an affordable comfort food that’s can be enjoyed anytime. If you’re in the area, you may stop by Mei Sin Kopitiam and give this a try.
Mei Sin Kopitiam 美新茶餐室
14, 16, Jalan Melati, Medan, Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-2858 4153
Operation hours: 7.00am to 3.30pm, daily
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meisinimbi?mibextid=LQQJ4d&locale=ms_MY
Yes, this used to be a regular haunt of mine for breakfast (after Sunday service) but I’ve not visited for more than 5 years since most of the (famous) stalls either left or relocated (curry mee/wantan mee/char kway teow/pork noodles/fried nian gao). This particular shredded chicken hor fun (dry style but quite soupy) was the first I encountered done this way (recently I found another rather good one, post coming up soon). Yes, I ate it when the owner was manning the stall (I heard that he has sold it to his foreign workers and they now run the show) but even then I didn’t find it all that good (even when the reviews from yesteryears were commendable). Wow, what time were you there? The place looks empty. It used to be super crowded during the heydays and you have to wait for a table. P/S: The Imbi fried nian gao (didn’t know they’re known as Keong Kee since name only written in Chinese) has moved to ICC-Pudu.
The renowned Keong Kee Fried Nian Gao shifted to ICC Pudu.
Ryan, I saw a fried Nian Gao stall but with different name, Kuan Ji, if not mistaken.
I used to go there quite a bit when my office was at another location, love that kuih teow and there’s also fried nian gao too!
One of the diminishing old school coffee shops around. Many have been badly affected by the few rounds of mco. Mei Sin kopitiam still serve a varieties of good old food. Definitely worth trying out for that nostalgic 80s feel. Prices are reasonable as most of the stalls are still being run by locals.
Marcus, this was my first time here, not bad for a quick breakfast. The noodle stall was manned by foreign workers when I was there though.