Ah See Wantan Mee, Batu Pahat

“What to eat in Batu Pahat ar?”

If you’re originally from Batu Pahat like me, you’d invariably get asked this loaded question.

There are all these expectations of great food in small towns (it was still small when I left 15 years ago), and that people still cook the old school way of charcoal and passion.

I hate this question. Please stop asking me what to eat in Batu Pahat. I don’t know. Well, I do. But I don’t want to impose my personal favourites unto others. I like what I like. You very well might hate it.

I refuse to be that b* that causes people to go, “Ceh, tell me to eat this that in Batu Pahat, but the food so-so only, nothing special also.”

Go stuff yourself with sand then!

“What do you eat in Batu Pahat ar?”

Now, THAT is a question I can answer. Let me start with a Batu Pahat institution, Ah See Wantan Mee.

Chop See Kee, Ah See Wantan Mee, Batu Pahat
Plates of Ah See wantan mee

Yes, institution. I grew up with it and when I came to KL, I missed it (and mostly the tastes of home) so much that I wrote a very silly piece as a sort of odd tribute.

And also for the first few years in KL, I couldn’t take dark soy-based wantan noodles. Just like how the rest of Malaysia could not understand Johor’s wantan noodles that comes with chili or tomato sauce.

Chop See Kee, Ah See Wantan Mee, Batu Pahat  in Jalan Jenang
Chop See Kee along Jalan Jenang, Batu Pahat

You see that shop second from right that says “CHOP SEE KEE”? Yeap, that’s “Ah See wantan mee”. There are a lot of small shops whose name starts with “CHOP”. I think it was an older way of establishing that you’re a ‘company’ or ‘business’.

You see that corner shop next to Ah See’s? I lived there until I was about 5.

Chop See Kee, Ah See Wantan Mee, Batu Pahat - Mr Chong Kok Heng
Ah See’s third son, a smiling Mr Chong Kok Heng

Some 60+ years ago, Chong Ah See – the family patriarch set up a roadside stall. There, he cooked and peddled “char siu wantan mee” – handmade egg noodles mixed with a sesame-based sauce, served with slices of charcoal-roasted char siu barbecued pork) and wantan (meat dumplings).

Soon the stall was moved to the shoplot where it currently stands. All of Ah See’s 8 children helped with the restaurant. A couple of them still work there today, including Ah See’s eldest grandson who dived right into the family business.

Chop See Kee, Ah See Wantan Mee, Batu Pahat - Mr Chong
Another Mr Chong, who seemed more serious

Ah See’s family prides themselves in their homemade ingredients. Sure, modern technology made the work faster now, but quality was not compromised. For example, the handmade noodles were ‘cut’ using a knife, a process that took many man hours. Today, they have a machine to do that.

They still make the noodles at the back of this shop. When cooked and mixed with the Chong’s aromatic secret sauce, the noodles retain their satisfying springiness and bite.

Chop See Kee, Ah See Wantan Mee, Batu Pahat - noodles
Ah See’s handmade noodles

The ‘char siu’ is still slow roasted using metal tin ovens and charcoal, right in the back alley like how they did it many years ago. These aren’t the fatty types of char siu, but by no means less flavourful.

Wantan; its meat and skin are also made in the kitchen at the back of the shop. These meat dumplings are tender and juicy. Want these delicious morsels in your own home? You can now buy frozen packages of Ah See’s wantan.

Chop See Kee, Ah See Wantan Mee, Batu Pahat - dumplings
All your wantan are belong to me

A small portion costs RM4, a larger portion costs 50 sen or RM1 more. Order your Ah See wan tan mee with or without chili, it’s how us Johor people eat our noodles.

This is one of the things I eat in Batu Pahat 🙂

Chop See Kee (Ah See Wantan Mee)
No. 2, Jalan Jenang,
83000 Batu Pahat,
Johor, MALAYSIA.
Tel: +607 – 438 8516
Click for: Google Map || Facebook

Opens daily from 8.30am to 9.30pm

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Comments

  1. I wanna try it with chilli!
    KY recently posted..KY eats – Nasi Campur at Istana Budaya, KLMy Profile

  2. I get the impression from the aggressive intro that you’ve experienced that once too often kekeke…!

  3. eeee… i wanna try this!! and note to self.. don’t read this blog before lunch time… im sooo hungry not it’s not funny.
    ccfoodtravel recently posted..Cocktails at Hyde @ 53MMy Profile

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