Man Kee HK Beef Restaurant 民記港式牛腩麵
[Non-halal] When it comes to beef noodles, Man Kee HK Beef Restaurant in Bangsar is surely not monkey-ing around.
Occupying a hidden small lot in Telawi Square, Man Kee HK specialises in Hong Kong-style beef noodles and other HK dishes.
We heard great things about the food here and finally paid a visit a few weeks ago.
Man Kee HK Beef Restaurant in Bangsar
A step into Man Kee is like a step into a cha chaan teng in Hong Kong. The space is small and tight, and the service is prompt.
The decorative signboards that pepper the place do evoke the spirit of Mongkok streets – and thankfully the food is up to par as well.
Man Kee offers Wagyu beef noodles
As the name implies, Man Kee’s main specialty is beef noodles – a recipe developed by the chef’s grandfather in 1950s Guangzhou. The family business would then operate in Hong Kong for over 30 years and is known for its braised beef brisket.
Compared to the Teochew-style braised beef (which is more common in KL), Man Kee’s recipe uses ingredients such as chu hou paste, nam yu beancurd, and oyster sauce which gives it a more Cantonese flair. Hence, we find the flavor profile to be sweeter instead of heavy.
Interestingly, Man Kee uses Wagyu beef – which is our preference, as it has a sweeter flavour profile. We sometimes find local beef to be too strong and gamey.
Come for the beef noodles…
The braised beef here can be ordered with your choice of rice, curry rice, hor fun, bihun, or egg noodles.
We opted for the 5 Treasures (Beef Brisket, Tendon, Stomach, Intestine, Meatballs) with dry hur fon noodles, and the 3 Treasures (Beef Brisket, Tendon, Stomach) with hor fun soup.
For RM27, we thought the 5 Treasures bowl was quite a good value for money given the portion and the use of Wagyu beef.
For the dry noodles version, we found the sauce mix to be light in flavour. We enjoyed this as it allowed the braised beef and radish’s flavours to shine.
Speaking of the beef, all the parts given were flavourful and tender. But the most impressive of the lot were definitely the honeycomb tripe and tendon.
The herbal flavours of the soup really penetrated the innards, as this was the first time we tasted honeycomb that was thoroughly marinated as it was slow-braised for at least seven hours.
As for the soup, it has a sweet herbal base with a mild beefy taste. We also like that it was slightly coloured by preserved radish for a bit of tang.
Both the dry and soup versions were delicious.
… stay for the lamb curry and egg tarts
The Lamb Curry (RM37) was a surprise hit for us. Just like the beef, the lamb was amazingly tender and we actually enjoyed the mild curry taste – as it had a more prominent curry seasoning ,and was not too heavy on the cumin/fennel seeds/star anise.
The Portuguese Egg Tart (RM5.50 apiece) was quite stellar too. The custard egg filling was really soft and smooth, and the pastry was satisfyingly flaky and buttery.
Man Kee also serves Hainanese chicken rice and Teochew cuttlefish balls if you’re not in the mood for beef.
Summary
If you love a good bowl of beef noodles, Man Kee is worthy of a visit.
We also recommend egg tarts and lamb curry.
However, we do recommend coming early as seats are quite limited, and the space can be a bit noisy when full. But alas – it’s authentic to the HK cha chaan teng atmosphere.
Man Kee HK Beef restaurant 民記港式牛腩麵
Address: Level 1, Telawi Square, 39, Jln Telawi 3, Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 11am-4pm (Closed on Mondays)
Phone: 012-320 6071
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