[Non-halal] Tien Tien Lai in Ara Damansara serves one of the best char siew in this side of town.
Opened just before the pandemic, this stall at Tien Tien Lai offers melt-in-the-mouth char siew without the need to travel to Meng Kee in Glenmarie or TNR by Sean & Angie in SS2.
Apart from the char siew stall, Tien Tien Lai also serves up a good bowl of Penang-style koay teow thing, which had received approvals from a few Penangites.
[SEPT 2023 UPDATE: The char siew and koay teow th’ng stalls have relocated to Dudu Yummy Restaurant just around the corner. See our new post here]
Glistening char siew at Tien Tien Lai
The chicken rice stall here at Tien Tien Lai serves the best char siew in Ara Damansara, in our view.
The man behind the meat – Ah Wai – honed his roasting skills from his sifu in Restoran Tian Tian in USJ 20 before he decided to open up this stall in Oct 2019.
The stall seems to have garnered good traction from the get-go, as we’ve seen long queues for Ah Wai’s roasted meat since 2020.
Hence, come early at 11am to get your char siew fix as the meat typically sells out by lunch time.
Choice cut at Tien Tien Lai
Ah Wai’s char siew is tender, wonderfully caramelised, and sufficiently sticky.
However, what sets Ah Wai’s char siew apart is the cut.
Compared to most, Ah Wai uses a particular cut with a nice 50:50 ratio of fat and meat. When roasted, the fats naturally render into the meat – making it super tender and juicy.
The fats also fits in the “melts-in-the mouth” category – not too hard or soft with no texture.
We also like that the marinade is not very sweet or thick – resulting in strips of meat that is not burnt or overly sticky.
In a way, we think Ah Wai’s char siew is similar to Sean & Angie’s in terms of cut and caramelisation, but with a less sweet marinade.
Crispy siew yoke
We usually order our Char Siew Rice with a portion of siew yoke (RM9 for our plate). The siew yoke is decent as the skin remains crispy. The meat is also tender, but not too salty or fatty.
We generally prefer the siew yoke to the roasted chicken here as do find the latter to be on the drier side.
Excellent Penang-style koay teow th’ng
Besides the char siew stall, Tien Tien Lai is also known for their Koay Teow Th’ng (RM7).
For RM7, the bowl is served with noodles, sliced duck meat, coagulated blood, shredded chicken, fishballs and fish cakes.
The broth is made with a mix of pork, duck and chicken bones – yielding a soup that is clear but tasty.
Crispy pork lard and generous amount of coriander complete the dish for a simple but wholesome meal.
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Restoran Tien Tien Lai
Address: Ara Permata, 33, Jalan PJU 1a/42, Ara Damansara, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Hours: 8am-2pm Daily (Closed on Mondays)
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