With the opening of Mak’s Chee at 1 Utama Shopping Centre, you no longer need to fly to Hong Kong to enjoy a bowl of authentic Cantonese wonton noodle. The brand new restaurant serves the signature Mak’s Chee wonton noodle, prepared by Michelin Chef Johnny Yu who is also the grandchild-in-law of Mak Woon Chee.
For the uninitiated, Mak Woon Chee is Guangzhou’s King of Wonton Noodle and his 100 years old authentic prawn wonton noodle recipe is world famous and a favourite among many famous personalities and celebrities.
I am glad to know that the noodles and prawns used are made and sourced locally. Chef Johnny Yu was serious when he mentioned that the ingredients he found in Malaysia are of better quality than what they had in Hong Kong.
He is especially referring to our prawns, which are sea fresh unlike those frozen ones used by the others in HK due to the significantly lower cost.
The restaurant features an open kitchen where customers get to see all the action taking place in front of them. In an effort to emulate the similar kitchen environment of the past, Mak’s Chee maintains all traditional food preparation procedures, cooking methods and tools used to ensure the quality of their food. This also means that Mak’s Chee is a non-halal establishment.
The signature Sea Prawn Wonton Noodle Soup, or known as ‘Sai Yong’ @ RM12.90 is served with a savoury rich broth prepared from dried sole and pork bones. Hidden underneath the noodles are 4 pieces of “gold fish” shaped wonton, each containing two sea prawns encased in a thin yet firm wonton skin. The presentation is exactly like what you’d have expected – in a classic petite bowl so that the noodle’s special taste and texture remains al dente and springy till the end.
To be honest, I had my reservations about the wonton noodle, fearing it would have a strong alkaline taste like what we experienced at Mak’s Noodle in Hong Kong.
But it turned out that my concern was for naught. The noodles here have little to none alkaline taste because they were handled properly to rid most of the unpleasant flavor. In short, it was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
If you can’t get enough of the wontons, they can be ordered a la carte. A small portion is priced at RM15.90.
Deep fried version is available too.
For a better appreciation of the noodle’s texture, try it without soup in a special soy sauce. It’s slightly pricier though at RM14.90 per serving.
Another one worth trying is the Beef Tendon and Brisket noodle that’s a lot more flavorful with an aromatic five-spice sauce. Other sauce based noodles you can order include sweet & sour pork, dried prawn roe sprinkle, shredded ginger & spring onion and Hong Kong Kailan. Instead of me listing out the food, here’s the menu of the food for your reference:
Mak’s Chee Authentic Wonton
(opposite Cold Storage)
LG 311B, 1 Utama Shopping Centre
Business hours: 11am – 10pm daily
