Stop at Uncle Teck for Old Malaya’s memorable flavours   

MY better half and I were driving through Kuching’s Gala City when we spotted a long line of people snaking out from a café – and each one of them clutching the café’s menu book in their hand.

It was just the kind of clue we wanted, as we were on the lookout for a cool rendezvous to have our brunch before our weekend R&R (rest and reflexology).

The signboard of the eatery read “Uncle Teck” and an accompanying slogan said it all for us – “the flavour of memories.”

Instantly my thoughts went back to the 50s and 60s when the adorable kopitiams lent the ideal setting for camaraderie.

Here, over delightful half-boiled eggs, butter and kaya toast, the quaint “nasi lemak bungkus” wrapped in banana leaf and the good old taste of local coffee in all its happy notes delivered an upliftment to the cold mornings then – and still do today, as kopitiam culture never went out fashion and is here to stay.

Uncle Teck’s cafe is an upscale version of the kopitiams of old that we had known and were familiar with in our younger days. I remember the Nan Yang kopitiam in my hometown, Segamat, where I enjoyed half-boiled eggs and roti kaya toasted over a charcoal grill. This outlet, now managed by the family’s third generation is still churning out its old Malayan favourites. 

As we took our place in the queue line, a friendly waitress handed us the menu saying “Please wait to be ushered in, sir, it won’t be long” and briskly departed.

I browsed through the menu and noted that though Uncle Teck was established by the Hakka clan, its food spread was reminiscent of the old favourites from the 50s and 60s era – such as butter-kaya toast, half-boiled eggs, mee Siam, five versions of nasi lemak, kampong-styled mee Jawa and Sarawak laksa.

Among the other hodgepodge signature dishes included Hakka chicken rice, home-styled satay, fish chips burger and the ever-pleasing quaint English breakfast. Another “talked-about” specialty here, is nasi goreng daun ubi (fried rice topped with tapioca leaf).      

Uncle Teck is a halal restaurant that also renders an assemblage of Malaysian cakes and savouries like kuih seri muka, ondeh, curry puffs, yu tiau (yu char kway) and doughnuts. The outlet also offers a taste of Portuguese egg tarts – that come crisp, flaky and with a creamy burnished egg custard. 

Brisk business

When we finally got seated, we were able to take in the scene. Business was brisk as fleet-footed waiters and waitresses crisscrossed the large expanse of floor space with trays of food and drinks determined to deliver the orders in good time.

Over at the entrance, diners who had had their meals stepped out while new diners were ushered in to occupy vacated seats – like in a game of musical chair.

Everything here seemed tidy and well-ordered. Unlike street-side kopitiams, where orders are shouted out to the kitchen staff with plenty of din and clamour – Uncle Teck is more deluxe and distinguished, as patrons dined in an ambience of quietude with just the clinking of cutlery all around. 

We were seated at a table for two which had the typical marble top, like in all kopitiams. While waiting for our orders to be served, floor manager Desiree Tan stops to chat with us – having noted that we were newbies at Uncle Teck.   

Tan, who has an engaging effervescence about her, takes us through the story of how Uncle Teck came to be.

“I am the third generation daughter-in-law of Ah Teck, my great great great grandfather-in-law,” she tells us.

According to her: “Ah Teck was born in a little village in Sarawak. In the fifties, he moved away from his village to the city, seeking job opportunities. Working in the city and being away from his family, Ah Teck pined for his grandfather’s early morning breakfast which was prepared and sold in an alley next to the house.

“Ah Teck loved the aroma of coffee in the crisp morning air prepared by his ah kong (grandfather). The coffee also came with toasted bread grilled traditionally over a charcoal fire. For Ah Teck, this memory of an old flavour … morning coffee with toast and homemade kaya was an unforgettable experience.”

Tan says: “Ah Teck also remembers his grandfather’s fondness for preparing traditional dishes of the time including home-made peanut butter and Malay-styled sambals. The wafts of aroma rising from these preparations got the attention of the people who lived around them. Eventually, Ah Teck set up his own eatery in a small way and here we are today, three generations down, continuing his legacy of serving traditional cuisine from his own world of flavours,” added Tan. 

Our orders of Hakka chicken rice and mee Siam arrived soon, accompanied by hot coffee and iced coffee.

The hot coffee was served in the old world kopitiam cup that looked squat, small, thick and donning a single-tone green floral motif – a design that has imposingly remained unchanged - perhaps, since the first Hainanese kopitiams that came to our shores in the 1800s.

The mee Siam dish came with added value – a single half-boiled egg on the side, sambal and a slice of calamansi.   

A flavoursome speciality created from a mix of Chinese, Nyonya and Malay influences, mee Siam features vermicelli fried in a combination of spices and other local condiments. Uncle Teck’s preparation lent a zesty and definitive Malaccan taste with a burst of pleasing sourish-ness to the tastebuds – most likely coming from the tamarind juice tossed in during the cooking.

The Hakka chicken rice seemed very much like the Cantonese and Hainanese chicken rice fare generally. It was difficult to pinpoint what ingredient in it staked its claim to its Hakka-ness. Perhaps, it was the special green dipping sauce that gave a zing to the tender boneless chicken when eaten with rice.

The rice itself was invitingly fragrant with a subtle hint of chicken “stock-aroma” which made the entire meal inviting and so true to its slogan – “the flavour of memories.” When we left Uncle Teck’s as two happy diners, the game of musical chairs continued to be played out at the entrance. – The Vibes, July 21, 2023