Popular KL breakfast spot serving roti canai drenched in dhal & curry, topped with runny eggs

As a Petaling Jaya native, I had never heard of Mansion Tea Stall until I started conducting research on the best roti canai spots in Kuala Lumpur. Prior to writing that article, I lacked knowledge about the preferred morning and tea time spots for residents of KL. 

A couple doors down, you’ll find a shop named An Nasuha Beverages. Mansion Tea Stall and An Nasuha work hand-in-hand to feed the hungry bellies of KL— their joint service provides ample space, so customers can choose which side they prefer to be seated at.

The popularity of the restaurant made me slightly sceptical. Is this place a has-been that’s now only frequented by tourists, or are most of their customers still locals? I was pleased to find out that the stall has managed to maintain approval from locals, while also pulling in tourists on the hunt for authentic street food.

What I tried at Mansion Tea Stall

We ordered 3 items off the menu to be shared among 3 people. Now this is what I call a Malaysian breakfast.

Just from skimming through the photos on Google Reviews, you can easily identify their signature dish: Roti Special. But what exactly is so unique about this self-declared special dish? Well, for RM4.00 a pop, you get classic roti canai that’s been cut into bite-sized pieces, drenched in dhal, and topped with 2 poached eggs and a spoonful of sambal. 

This is something I’d recommend if a single roti canai isn’t enough to fill you up, but 2 pieces is too much. The addition of the soft eggs really turns this dish into a full-on meal. It’s a good thing that the roti is cut for you. I can only imagine the mess that’d happen if you tried to tear the flaky bread apart— dhal would splatter everywhere. 

Although they did pour some curry on top, the dish definitely leaned on the sweeter side. I found that their dhal, in general, is noticeably sweeter compared to most other places.

One thing’s for sure: this is not for those who dislike soggy food. It is, after all, roti banjir. After a while, the roti soaked up all the gravy, providing a burst of flavour with every bite. In addition to that, the eggs (which I thought were perfectly cooked) had runny yolks. After mixing it all up, we were presented with a mound of drenched roti.

To summarise: the eggs were good, and the borderline-soup gravy was too sweet for my preference. I’ll explain more about the roti below.

I knew that the roti would be soggy from all the sauce, so the only way to fairly judge the quality of their roti would be to try a Roti Canai (RM1.60) as well. 

10 must-try roti canai places in KL for the best breakfast of your life

Their roti canai was soft and flaky, with some slight charring on the outside. Taste-wise, it was your standard roti canai, just like the ones you’d get from any other mamak shop. Like the roti special, it definitely wasn’t anything to shout about, but it wasn’t bad by any means. Their roti met all our expectations without blowing our minds— the outside was nice and crispy, while the inside maintained a doughy texture.

Most places will serve your roti on a metal tray that has different sections to separate the sauces, primarily dhal, curry, and some variation of a sweet sambal. Mansion Tea Stall, however, serves all of their sauces in a single saucer. This resulted in a predominantly sweet and mildly savoury concoction that didn’t do much beyond saving time (why dip your roti thrice when you can do it once?).

Personally, I prefer having my dipping sauces separated because most of the time, I don’t like mixing everything and only want 1 of the 3. Note to future customers: If you’re like me, then ask for them to separate the curry and dhal.

The last dish we tried was their Roti Sardin (RM5.00). I haven’t had roti sardin since my high school days, so I was pretty excited about this.

Compared to their roti canai, the roti sardin was a little more charred on the outside. They definitely had to leave this on the stove longer to let the sardine and onions cook. However, their roti-making skills really shined here, as it didn’t taste burnt or overly cooked.

Again, this dish was a lot sweeter than I had anticipated. The filling was good, with the sardines being dry enough to not turn the flaky bread soggy, but moist enough to make the eating experience pleasant. I really liked the onions in this, which were abundant and cooked well, allowing for the natural sweetness of the root vegetable to take centre stage. 

Admittedly, their roti sardin did get a bit much. I don’t think I would’ve been able to finish this alone. I’d suggest asking for some curry on the side in replacement of their mixed gravy to balance some of that sweetness with something on the saltier side.

Final thoughts

Unfortunately, my personal experience at Mansion Tea Stall didn’t live up to its online hype. I think that a large contributor to my disappointment was the sweetness of it all. Unless I’m ordering the likes of roti tisu or roti pisang, I don’t expect my roti to be manis.

Was the food bad? Absolutely not. Would I go there again on my own accord? No. Would I revisit if someone invited me to and I was already in the area? Maybe. The most shocking thing was that their teh tarik, a drink filled with condensed milk, wasn’t too sweet— I managed to finish my whole glass!

Another thing I should touch on is the stall’s cleanliness. Even as a Malaysian who’s used to going to roadside stalls situated next to large longkangs, their standard of hygiene is slightly questionable. The tables used to prepare the food and drinks appear to be well-kept and clean, but the floor and open rubbish bins tell a different story.

Expected damage: RM3.10 – RM11.50 per pax

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