Wanglee Cafe 旺利茶室

Super crowded on a weekend lunch. We ordered their dry chilli pan mee and toast set. The noodled were cooked al dente and in KL style. They were generous with the kaya and butter. But i would suggest to eat while it's hot. Otherwise, the bread is not nice. I would eat if i was in the area but would not come down specially for it.

It does seem that the opening of modernised Nanyang-Kopitiam-themed cafes have really gained some pace since a couple of months ago — those familiar with the local F&B scene would note the opening of more outlets of the locally-established brands that had entered the Nanyang-themed Kopitiam segment fairly early on such as that of Qi Li Xiang, Nan Yang Dao and The Hainan Story. There have been many other brands that had entered the scene of the late, which includes that of New Nanyang, Kopi 1930 and the fairly new Ipoh Town Kopitiam — all of which appearing in the local F&B scene in the first half of 2024. One Nanyang-themed Kopitiam that seems to have been kept away from the spotlight though seems to be that of WangLee Cafe 旺利茶室; this could have been due to the location of the establishment itself that is tucked slightly deeper within the Toa Payoh neighbourhood. Located at Blk 92 Lorong 4 Toa Payoh, WangLee Cafe is situated fairly close to Toa Payoh Palm Spring Market (93 Toa Payoh Lorong 4 Market & Food
Centre) — one can also find other notable dining establishments like Tims Restaurant & Cafe and Shrove Tuesday in the same ‘hood as well. The interior design of the space does bring back some nostalgic vibes of the old-school kopitiams with its mosaic tile walls and the use of coloured panels and faux window shutters on its feature wall; the use of the standard shade of green that one can find at Nanyang Kopitiam-themed cafes and the wooden furnishings further adds to that vibe. The food menu at WangLee Cafe includes that of mostly noodle dishes — the only rice dish on the menu being the Braised Pork Rice, while the only toast item is the Home Made Kaya Butter Toast. Beverages available at WangLee Cafe would include canned drinks, as well as local-style Kopi and Teh.

Considering the lack of the usual Nasi Lemak / Mee Siam Ayam Goreng Berempah on the menu of WangLee Cafe, we found ourselves gravitating to their more homely food offerings — the Mee Hoon Kuey is available in both dry or soup variants at WangLee Cafe, and patrons whom are looking to have an alternate choice of noodles for this dish can opt for the You Mian. WangLee Cafe does not describe on the elements that come with their dishes inn its menu; that being said, it can be observed from our order that the Mee Hoon Kuey Dry does come with broad pieces of hand-torn noodles, sous-vide egg, some greens, anchovies, minced pork and some crackers — all of which coming in a pool of dark sauce. While it is noted that a Chilli Pan Mee does has a place in the menu at WangLee Cafe, it is noted that we weren’t asked if we would like to have chili with our order. Giving the Mee Hoon Kuey a toss, we also mixed the sous-vide egg into everything else in the bowl as well. With the addition of the sous-vide egg that came with a runny yolk, the flavours of the dark sauce has mellowed down quite a bit to become just savoury enough to aptly flavour up the Mee Hoon Kuey — the consistency of the sauce also being silkier as well. While the Mee Hoon Kuey does come pretty broad: the thickness came just about right that gave a soft bite without being too chewy at the same time. The anchovies provided a saltish crunch that provided a contrast of texture and flavours to the sweet entire bowl, while the meatballs gave a soft, meaty bite that gives some balance to the carbs with the greens providing a more wholesome feel for the dish. The addition of the crackers that seem like some form of tidbits does seen to work well as compared to if they had used garlic chips; provides a crisp texture without carrying a heavily sweet or saltish note that would have thrown the dish off balance.

During our visit to WangLee Cafe, we had also given their Home Made Kaya Butter Toast a go as well; the toast might have been all iced thin for the rendition of the Kaya Butter Toast here, but there was an adequate spread of Kaya and butter that gave it a good balance of sweetness and saltishness. The butter is served chilled so that it does not get too melted down, while the home made Kaya here comes perfuming of a pandan fragrance without being overly sweet — itself coming with a paler shade of green that likely suggests the extraction of pandan juice via panda leaves instead. Equally lovely was the lightly crisp texture of the toast as well. Going for the Iced Kopi during our visit to WangLee Cafe, the Iced Kopi comes with a frothy appearance like how one would expect it to be from a Malaysian Nanyang-themed Kopitiam establishment; the Kopi having a thick body without being particularly sweet — provides quite the caffeinated kick that one would expect. One thing notable about our visit to WangLee Cafe is how neighbourhood-ly the spot is even despite being a rather newly-opened establishment; there seems to be quite a bit of rapport built where folks behind the counter do interact and have small talk with the elderly patrons during lull periods; they also do seem to take extra care of elderly patrons here which creates a rather heartwarming vibe even for other patrons within the establishment as well. Prices are surprisingly kept wallet-friendly to keep things accessible to its patrons as well; the lowest-priced individually-portioned main dish costs $3.80 here, being the Economic Bee Hoon Set — the priciest item in the meanwhile would be the Braised Pork Rice and Chilli Pan Mee at $6.80 that can be described as wallet-friendly. With such positive vibes and quality of food at reasonable prices, WangLee Cafe is likely a hangout spot for residents around the area in time to come!