Have you ever loved a food so much that you would decide to open a restaurant dedicated to serving it? Personally, I wouldn’t know what food I would be that obsessed with, but for local foodie Mervin Chin, his answer would always be an enthusiastic “Hot dogs”.
You know he walks the talk too, as he is the owner of the newly opened Mervy’s Hotdogs & Shakes. Finding this place can be a bit of a challenge, as there really is only a small signboard acknowledging its existence.
A unique bar in PJ
For convenience’s sake, when you are in Taman Rasa Sayang, keep an eye out for a ground-level restobar called Undisclosed Location. Yes, that literally is its name. Fun fact: Undisclosed Location belongs to Mervin too!
Ascend the stairwell next to Undisclosed Location, and on the first floor of the building, you will step into one of PJ’s strangest little eateries. Even I, when I entered, thought that I had come to the wrong place.
But Mervy’s is every bit as quirky as its owner. The decor is very Mexican-inspired, with lots of references to the iconic Day of the Dead festival. Colourful paper pennants flew over my head while I lost count of the number of skulls peering at me with empty sockets.
With sofas and regular dining chairs available, this seems like the perfect place for friends to gather and chill. It helps that Mervy’s has several board and card games available for customers to play. Fancy a round of Cards Against Humanity?
Mervin would eventually burst through the door, quite eager to let us continue our cardplaying. As much fun as I was having, I wanted to know more about what got him to set up Mervy’s, a place dedicated to the humble hot dog.
A hotdog heaven
Image Credit: Mervin Chin (Left)
“I don’t find many good hotdog places in Malaysia right now, so I started to open one myself,” he explained. In addition to wanting to introduce quality hotdogs to Malaysia, Mervin wanted a place where people could chill with a hotdog in one hand and a tequila in the other. Hence, Mervy’s.
But what exactly makes a quality hotdog? For Mervin, hotdogs must actually have some meat to them. “We make our dogs in-house. We follow every way classic New Yorkers do their hotdogs.” To that end, the hotdogs are made fresh daily, using 70% lean meat and 30% fat. They are also free of preservatives and additives, so your health-conscious self can eat guilt-free.
The Coney Dog
Needless to say, I was excited to taste what was supposed to be PJ’s best hotdogs. And what better way to indulge my gluttony than to check out the classics? First on the list was the Coney Dog, sinfully dripping with meat sauce.
When I first bit it into it, I knew that I was eating the real thing. Firstly, the hotdog had just the right amount of saltiness and savouriness to it. Some hotdogs tend to lean too much towards one flavour or the other, but Mervin’s walks the thin line between them perfectly.
The hotdog is just one half of the equation though, with the Coney sauce being the other. It was thin and runny, but surprisingly tangy. The mustard and the raw onions gave it much of the flavour it needed, though, leaving my eyes watery and my tongue spicy.
The New York Dog
It was a good start to my hotdog feast, and I was eager to move on to the New York Dog, made the delicious way that so many Hollywood films have shown me. Sure enough, Mervy’s take on it was oozing with both ketchup and honey mustard.
Simple as this hotdog may appear, it is still a crowd favourite for a reason. The frankfurter itself was well-seasoned, but the mustard gave it a sharp, tangy taste that I really savoured. All that was missing was a baseball game for me to watch while I enjoyed this tasty hotdog.
The Seattle Dog
Before visiting Mervy’s, I was not aware that Seattle, a West Coast American city, was also famous for its hotdogs. Hence, when I spotted the Seattle Hot Dog, I was curious to see how it would differ from its eastern counterpart.
To my amazement, the Seattle Hot Dog goes all in with the cream cheese, which was accompanied by grilled, caramelised onions. The rich cheese and the sweet onions combined perfectly with the happy hot dog. I’m starting to think Seattle might give NY a run for its money!
The Osaka Dog
Osaka, Japan might not be famous for being a hotdog hotspot at all, but Mervy’s might end up giving the old city something else to be proud of. Behold, the Osaka Dog. It’s a protein-rich dog, courtesy of the row of tamago placed atop the frankfurter.
What really brings this hotdog together is mentaiko sauce that coats the tamago. Its savoury, tangy and ever so slightly taste adds a lot of flavour to an already flavourful hotdog. Little wonder why the Osaka Dog is quite praised in Google Reviews.
What else is good?
But what if you’d like something heavier than hotdogs? Mervin actually took this into consideration and Mervy’s thus has alternatives heavier than the average hotdog. Just take a look at the Steak & Cheese Roll!
While served in a hotdog bun, this roll does not have a frankfurter in its centre. Instead, it has pieces of New Zealand ribeye served together with a thick dollop of mozzarella and cheddar cheese. True to its purpose, I was stuffed by the time I finished the last morsel.
Tequila galore!
While you’re choking down on Mervy’s hotdogs, why not pair them with a refreshing drink? There are plenty to choose from the bar, including the Tequila Highball, Tequila Sunrise, Margarita and Paloma. Needless to say, you should call yourself a Grab afterwards. I did!
Is Mervy’s worth your time?
For such a unique experience, it is a shame that Mervy’s is so obscure and hidden. But perhaps that is part of its charm? After all, what better way to keep a place all for yourself than to be one of the few people to know about it. But given how good Mervy’s hotdogs are, it’s unlikely to be a secret for long.
Address: 1A, Jalan SS 4C/5, Taman Rasa Sayang, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Opening Hours: 1 pm – 10 pm daily | Closed on Tuesdays
Contact: 012-9026648
Halal Status: Pork-free | Alcohol served
You should also check out: Ditch the average hotdogs for this street stall in TTDI that serves gourmet hotdogs from RM10
Feature Image Credit: Mervy’s (Left)
