KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 -- A little over two years ago, Malay Mail's Lee Khang Yi wrote about Mama Lek, a small, family-run stall in Setapak that serves excellent Thai beef noodles.

The family hails from Kelantan, and Mama Lek herself is originally from the Isan region in northeastern Thailand.

It was a humble operation, but the noodles were a hit - "a home run" for my colleague - and in 2024, Mama Lek was recognised with a Thai Select Award by the Malaysian office of Thailand's Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP).

They announced plans to relocate in October last year, and earlier this week, Mama Lek debuted as a full-fledged restaurant on the ground floor of Wisma Cosway.

Here, they face stiff competition from the many ...