Wah Cheong Coffee Shop — Restaurant in Petaling Jaya

Update 5th Feb 2025

I believe that this kopitiam needs no introduction for PJ folks. A very old school kopitiam in the older residential area of Section 17 that used to house many UM students. Every morning all the locals as well as those from nearby areas will come here for the bustling morning market and then maybe a cuppa at one of many kopitiams in this area.

Wah Cheong is one of my favourite places to hit whenever I want a good bowl of pork noodle. However, do keep in mind that great patience is required because the waiting time can range from 30 to 60 minutes.

◾Pork Noodle for me, is one of the best in the business. The murky broth ticked every box that I looked for in a good bowl of pork noodle - old school flavour packed with sweetness from the meat, perfectly cooked liver, kidney without the smell and topped with a perfectly poached egg. Never missed a single drop in the end. ◾Curry Chee Cheong Fun was a new favourite of mine - it started when the pork noodle queue was too long and I decided to try the CCF instead. Instead of usual sweet sauce, I asked if she had curry and the answer was yes. Gotta love the curry broth with profound taste of lemongrass - so good that this CCF made into my permanent list after that maiden visit. ◾They really ought to improve the taste of their kopi/teh.

It's easier to park in Seventeen Mall and walk straight right up to Wah Cheong, or if you're really lucky then you'd get a spot on the street.

Old review: As I made my way to the bustling old school Chinese kopitiam located right in front of Seventeen Mall, the whole restaurant was packed with hungry people. Mind you.. it was already 10am on a typical weekday yet family, friends and colleagues made the beeline to eat breakfast here.

The initial plan was to eat the sam kan Chong but I suddenly remembered that the pork noodle is famous. Sure enough "you have to wait for 40 minutes" came the reply. I decided that the wait was OK since I can eat the SKC first. The proprietor still insist on cooking bowl by bowl hence the long wait and I swore that another 2 ladies who tumpang the same table said "the last time I came here I had to wait one hour".

◾Pork Noodle with extra egg came after an antagonising 30 minutes wait. However, one sip of the soup was all it took to make me forgot the long wait. I don't know how to describe the murky broth but to say that "it's very good!!" - packed with the sweetness from the pork; all the meat including the liver were cooked at the right doneness - soft & tender. An onsen egg felt so perfect too! ◾Pork Ball Noodle aka Sam Kan Chong - compared to Win Heng Seng (WHS), the noodle was not as dry with generous amount of minced meat. Dark sauce & oil covered every strand of the hor fun; the pork balls were fairly bouncy but the sausage - good but still prefer WHS. Satisfying dish without having to drive all the way to KL.

This might be personal preference but I think that this pork noodle is one of the best (if not the best) I ever had in a kopitiam. I observed that there's at least one bowl on almost every...

This review reflects solely on my experience while eating here. This is my third and only successful time dining at this establishment but it will definitely be my LAST time here :) Firstly, I went straight for the pork noodles since it’s THE dish ppl come here for but as I was giving my order the owner of the stall made me feel as if my order was an inconvenience (this was after lunch hour so there was not a crowd) anyways that was fine.. I proceeded to sit down and my friend came running back to me telling me the same thing about the vendor 🤣🤣

Then as I was seated next to the prawn mee stall I thought that they smelled very good. So we decided to give it a try as well and when it came, she served us dry prawn mee.. once again we became an inconvenience. She then reluctantly returned to the stall, proceeded to dump the noodles back into the pot and scooped it up into a bowl of soup. Well, I’m gonna blame myself for that inconvenience to begin with but to my horror the noodles was nothing short of horrible. It was not fresh, tasteless and bland. Tasted like the soups’ overnight and just reboiled. As I saw the lady then poured a big pile of some sort of shrimp into a small pot and worked to break it up.

Not even two minutes later, the lady and a guy (I’m assuming is the owner of the stall) broke into an argument where the guy angrily stormed to his motorbike to leave and the girl snatching his keys away from him. THE DRAMA The guy got off the bike and threw his helmet angrily on the ground and continued arguing back at the stall

Oh what luck… anyways as conclusion, pork noodles was pretty tasty, but unless as for the prawn noodles…maybe look at the expressions of other tables trying it to make a decision

Happy...

26 November, 2024: Having been told that the famed pork noodle had a 65-minute wait, and as non-believers in overly-long waiting times for any food, we went for others. The 'fried kueh teow' (stir-fried flat noodles) had good wok-breath, but was somewhat lumpy, so we had to deal with the occasional tastelessness in addition to the already somewhat-bland dish. Meanwhile, the 'wan tan mee' (dry egg noodles) was of the thin variety that we liked, and it was al dente too. But the soy sauce did not really agree with our palate and we hoped the pork lard was a little richer and more fragrant. We also specifically ordered 'dry WANTAN noodle with chicken' but the noodle came with only poached chicken and no 'wantan' (dumplings). The saving grace of the afternoon was the fish noodle - the deep-fried fish was fresh and the meat wasn't dry and still had some juiciness to it, while the broth was rich and had the right amount of rice wine without being overpowering.

Now back to the pork noodle - for the sake of discussion, we don't understand why the operator doesn't try to cut down the waiting time. We had three pax with us today, which means the stall had 'lost' three prospective orders. Now let's imagine there were five of us, occupying the whole table, and all five of us agreed to wait for 60 minutes. The coffee-shop operator would've lost an hour's worth of revenue because the table did not generate revenue for more than an hour (one hour waiting, plus whatever time we would've needed to eat, and this was almost lunch-hour rush). Even if we each ordered a drink, it still does not justify occupying the table for more than an hour during...