Kelantan, to me, has some of the best food in Malaysia.
Give me nasi kerabu, nasi air or colek, and I’m absolutely happy. Those are the kind of dishes that can make me forget I’m supposed to be watching what I eat. Budu, though, is one Kelantanese thing I just cannot get into. 😂
There are still plenty of Kelantanese dishes I have yet to try, but when it comes to the ones I already know and love, mee celup is definitely high on my list.
If you have never tried mee celup before, it is basically a bowl of noodles served in a rich, aromatic soup with meat and other toppings. It has a little Thai influence too, which gives the broth that nice balance of savoury, spicy and slightly tangy flavours. The word celup means to dip, referring to how the noodles and vegetables are briefly dipped in hot water before being served in the bowl.
When I found out about Kedai Mee Celup Cik Yue Ampang, I was curious to see what they had to offer. The restaurant had good reviews online, and you know me, I rarely say no to a good bowl of noodle soup.
Since I was already in the area after visiting Zoo Negara, I thought, why not give it a try?
✅ About Kedai Mee Celup Cik Yue Ampang
Kedai Mee Celup Cik Yue is a local restaurant serving traditional Kelantanese food and flavours from Malaysia’s East Coast
From what I found, the idea behind the restaurant was to give Kelantanese people living or working around Kuala Lumpur a place where they could enjoy the kind of food that reminds them of home.
The restaurant is actively managed by Cik Yue, who often shares the restaurant’s food and daily happenings online. Interestingly, it has also been known as “Kedai Gear Box Terbesar di Ampang”, so there is more to the restaurant than just mee celup.
They even have private air-conditioned VIP / VVIP rooms, that cater specifically to groups, family gatherings, or small business meetings
Of course, mee celup is one of the main reasons people come here, but the restaurant has quite a few other Kelantanese dishes on the menu too.
That is what I like about local restaurants like this. You can come for one particular dish, then find yourself looking through the menu and thinking, “Hmm, maybe I should try that too.”
✅ First Impression
The restaurant occupies 2 shoplots, and when I walked in, it had that familiar local Malay restaurant feel.
It is very much about the food here. Nothing fancy, no elaborate decor or beautiful dining setup. It feels like a straightforward local eatery where you sit down, order your food and get on with the important part, eating.
I arrived in the late afternoon and there were already quite a few customers inside. It was not packed though, so finding a table was still easy.
I liked how the tables were arranged too. It did not feel cramped or uncomfortable. There were bigger tables for families, smaller ones for couples, and plenty of options if you came with just a friend or two.
The staff were generally quite efficient too, although I did have one slightly unpleasant experience. When we were ready to order, one of the waitresses seemed to ignore us and had quite a grumpy expression. She did not seem very friendly, even when we tried to get her attention a couple of times. Eventually, we decided to call another waiter instead.
Thankfully, he was much friendlier.
We asked him about the differences between some of the mee celup dishes because the menu had quite a few options and I did not want to order blindly. He took the time to explain them to us properly, which I appreciated.
Our food arrived fairly quickly too, so we did not have to wait long before getting to the part we came for.
✅ The Menu And What We Ordered
The menu here is much bigger than the name of the restaurant might suggest.
If you come thinking you are only going to find mee celup, you might actually spend quite a bit of time deciding what to eat. There is nasi kerabu, nasi berlauk Kelantan, nasi air, colek and different rice sets, along with quite a few variations of mee celup.
They have some more interesting choices too, especially if you enjoy parts that you would not normally find on a typical noodle menu. You can get eel (belut), beef tendon (urat keting), beef tripe (perut lembu), beef tongue (lidah lembu) and even cow’s feet (kaki lembu).
Since I came specifically for the mee celup, I tried my best not to get distracted by everything else on the menu.
We ordered two different mee celup dishes so we could try the variations.
- Pad Thai Celup Special
It came with a chicken drumstick, thinly sliced beef, Hatyai meatballs and quail eggs, together with rice noodles.
The noodles were a little firm when they first arrived, but since they were sitting in the hot soup, they softened after a while and became much easier to eat.
There was already chilli oil, chilli pickles and chilli powder on the table too.
This is probably one of the things I love most about mee celup. You can adjust the flavour yourself and make the soup as spicy as you want.
Of course, I added more. I like my mee celup with a little kick, so I happily mixed everything in until it was spicy enough for me.
- Mee Celup Campur Special
This one came with chicken, beef, perut tebal, perut bulat or keting, telur gedik and kopeh (chicken feet).
So yes, there was quite a lot going on in this bowl.
One thing I like about ordering mee celup here is that you get to choose your noodles. You can have mee, Maggi, kuey teow or bihun, depending on what you feel like eating.
If you are not into all the different cuts and toppings, there are simpler options available too.
I actually like that they give you the choice because not everyone wants a bowl filled with everything at once.
- Maggi Tomyam With Eel
We also ordered Maggi Tomyam with eel to take away because I wanted to try their tomyam too.
Unfortunately, this was not my favourite. In fact, my experience with this was quite different from the mee celup.
The tomyam was extremely creamy and thick. I don’t think I have ever had tomyam quite this creamy before. It was so thick that after about three spoonfuls, I found the flavour leaning more towards salty than the sour and spicy taste I normally expect from tomyam. I tried, but I just could not finish it.
The Maggi noodles did not help either. They soaked up the thick tomyam, making the whole thing even heavier. The combination of the creamy tomyam and Maggi noodles did not work for me.
The eel itself was actually cooked well. It was soft and tender, so I had no complaints about that.
If you ask me, I would stick with the clear soup here.
✅ Is It Worth The Price?
One of the things that surprised me about Kedai Mee Celup Cik Yue is how affordable the food is.
For a place around Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley, I think the prices are budget-friendly, especially considering the variety of Kelantanese dishes available.
For example, mee celup starts from RM12, while the special versions are around RM15. There is also a rice set for around RM34 for 2 people, which comes with rice, ulam with budu, an omelette and clear soup. That is quite a lot of food for two people.
Most importantly, I was satisfied with the mee celup. At first, I thought the portion might not be enough, but I was actually wrong. The bowl was quite filling, especially with all the generous toppings that came with it.
For what we got, I felt the price was fair. I left feeling like I had gotten my money’s worth.
I think this is the kind of restaurant you can come to when you are on a budget but still want a proper meal.
📍 Location and Opening hours
Kedai Mee Celup Cik Yue Ampang is located at 23, Jalan Rasmi 7, Taman Rasmi Jaya, 68000 Ampang, Selangor.
The restaurant is in a shoplot area, so parking is mainly along the roadside. There is no dedicated parking area for the restaurant, which means finding a spot will depend quite a bit on your luck.
If you come during peak hours, especially in the evening or on weekends, you may need to drive around a little before finding a spot.
Opening Hours: 11AM to 10:30PM, Tuesday to Sunday
Closed: Monday
✅ Would I Come Again?
Definitely.
I think Kedai Mee Celup Cik Yue is one of those local places you are happy to have found, especially if you enjoy Kelantanese food and a proper bowl of mee celup.
It may not have fancy decorations, a beautiful interior or the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to take fifty photos before eating.
That is not really the point here.
You come for the food.
For me, the mee celup was definitely worth the trip.
There are still plenty of things on the menu that I want to try, especially the rice set. The tomyam was not for me, but I would happily order the mee celup again and try their rice set.
I just wish the restaurant was a little closer to home.
Since it is quite far from where I live, I probably would not drive all the way to Ampang just because I suddenly felt like having mee celup.
If I am in the area again, though, I would definitely stop by.
Another bowl of mee celup, please!
Wanderhoney Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ (4.5/5)
With Love,
Auri Duham 🌻
