Ask anyone about prawn mee in Penang and chances are the name Old Green House kopitiam will be in among the top 10 lists, doubly so if the list is created by youngsters who does not like to go to bed at reasonable hours.
Green House prawn mee stall, with extras to choose
Well, if you’re one of those who likes to have your prawn mee in for dinner or in the wee hours (operating from 6pm to around 3am), the stall at Old Green House kopitiam is the perfect choice.
In addition to the usual ingredients of prawns, egg, your choice of mee/meehun, and pork slices, there’s a host of different additional “extras” you can choose from depending on availability – from pork intestine, ribs, meatball, pork skin, roast pork, and even sausages. Additionally, you can have it with classic prawn mee soup, loh mee, or a mix between the two (often my choice!)
A standard small portion goes for RM 6.00, and additional ingredients run from RM 1.20 to RM 3.00.
pork intestine, and roast pork, two additions to the standard bowl
The soup is flavorful enough, and ingredients given are plentiful (see video), I was hoping they do also provide the classic kangkung but unfortunately it was missing on my visit. Both intestine and roast pork did give it that extra edge for me, and I’d be returning for those pork skin next time!
This is the 63rd bak kut teh review that I’ve done, so I guess it’s safe to say that bak kut teh was and still is one of my all time favorite dish. This time, let’s look at one of Klang’s more famous outfit – Batu Belah Boon Hua bak kut teh.
Batu Belah Boon Hua bak kut teh
Batu Belah Boon Hua is located off Jalan Meru, just 3-4 minutes away from the NKVE or Federal Highway exit respectively. Like many bak kut teh restaurants in Klang, this place is fitted with zinc roof and does not have 4 walls. The fans generally does an okay job in providing comfort to diners, but expect a bit of sweat when the weather is hot, place is packed, and soup is steaming.
You get to have your bak kut teh in either individual bowls with your favorite cut of meat, or in claypot with a bit of a mix plus tofu skin (fu chuk) and raw cabbage. Purists will go with bowls, but to be honest, do what you like as there’s no wrong way of serving bak kut teh (except if you make it pepper soup instead, looking at you, Singapore & Johor!).
We had kahwan (fatty leg joints), and pua pui chiak (pork belly) in clay pot for two. The meat were tender, flavorful, and fatty bits could be cut just by using your spoon. The soup too had a strong hint of herbal taste to it, well balanced. I do also like the fact that you can request for fried shallots as a side to add to the steamed rice, elevating the experience just a bit.
mixture of kahwan & pork belly, my favorite cuts
Get here earlier especially if it’s on a weekend, you don’t want to be sweating from standing in queue even before you eat.
Address: Restoran Batu Belah Boon Hua bak kut teh 41, Lorong Pauh Kijang, Taman Bahagia, 41150 Klang, Selangor GPS: 3.073105, 101.447905 Tel: 012 2954 721 Hours: breakfast and lunch
When I was growing up, burger was roadside Ramly stalls, with chicken or beef patty, fried egg wrapped the meat, a slice of cheese perhaps, couple slices of tomato, shredded cabbage, all drenched in excessive chili sauce and mayo. And for those who wants it a bit more “atas”, you’d go to TGI Fridays or maybe even Hard Rock cafe and pretend to have a bigger bank account than your neighbor (there’s also McD but it’s not relevant here).
Spade’s Burger, Subang Jaya SS15
The burger scene in Malaysia has gone through a wave of expansion several years ago. Starting from those charcoal buns from MyBurgerLab and reaching a peak where you’d find a fancy burger outlet at every hipster joint all across the country, offering their own interpretation of how this American invention should look & taste like.
Alas, like every hype food that came and go, it eventually settled down to a plateau with a few brands that continue to thrive. One of such brands is Spade’s Burger, founded back in 2013 from my home town in Penang.
In fact, I was first told about Spade’s Burger by my brother quite a while ago, and finally managed to give it a try a couple weeks ago at their outlet in Subang Jaya.
Spade’s Burger offers a choice of pork, chicken, or beef as your choice of meat, there’s also salmon & mushroom options for those of you who prefer not to eat anything that can scream.
We went for the more traditional option of Dark Knight with pork, and BBJ with beef. These burgers are priced from RM 10.90 all the way to RM 17.50, you can also combo it up with unlimited refill for drinks and certain sides, we opted for fried bacon strips, salted egg fish skin, and mushroom wedges.
BBJ, Dark Knight, fish skin, mushroom, bacon fries
The pork patty here was so good it legit makes an almost indistinguishable replacement for those who does not eat beef, both types of meat were very juicy and full of flavor. I really enjoyed the bacon bits and cheese crisp in Dark Knight, and thought that BBJ, while very good in itself, was perhaps s tad too sweet for my liking. Overall though, they were both way above average and certainly satisfying.
As for the sides, fish skin and mushroom wedges were on point, while those fried bacon strips were too thin and contained too much breading to allow the natural flavor of bacon to shin, a bit of a shame really.
Will be back to sample more of their other offerings, will miss the bacon fries next time.
Klang is always going to be associated with bak kut teh, but after a big hearty meal, it is only natural that one starts to look for desserts, and one great choice by Klang town is the famous Regent’s pandan layer cake.
Regent Pandan Layer Cake Shop
The shop is located just a few minutes walk away from the Klang KTM station as well as the one of my favorite kopitiam – Chong Kok. It’s an old school bakery a set up that will not look out of place from a photos taken in the 90s.. my guess is not much has changed since it first opened in 1977.
While the shop does offer a few types baked goods, the star here is their layer cakes. These come in a few varieties, the classic is pandan, but you can also have corn, yam, pandan + corn, pandan + yam, and during the king of fruit’s season – durian.
these pandan layer cakes go so well with a cup of hot coffee
5 layers of chiffon cakes alternate with equal appearance of kuih-like jelly is what you get here, a 250 gram portion goes for RM 13 for original flavor, and durian was RM 22 (price list below).
It’s a treat of alternating texture of spongy chiffon and silky jelly, with a balanced taste that isn’t overly sweet. The cake is best served slightly cold and with a cup of hot coffee.
durian or pandan? what’s your choice?
These cakes run out early especially during weekends, call ahead to make sure they have it in stock, I don’t think you get to book ahead tho..
Address: Regent Pandan Layer Cake Shop 70, Jalan Raya Timur, Kawasan 1, 41000 Klang, Selangor GPS: 3.040891, 101.451933 Tel: +603 7876 6417
Nasi Kandar is one of those dishes that is perhaps taking a back seat when it comes to our national identity, everyone associates nasi lemak with Malaysia, bak kut teh with Klang, but most may not know that nasi kandar originates from Penang, with vendors on foot balancing a post “kandar” on their shoulder carrying rice & various other (usually) dishes such as mutton curry, fried chicken and so forth.
Kok Siong nasi kandar, Puchong
It is also one of the many must-have dishes when one visits Penang, the state where I grew up. For those who are in KL though, there are always Kayu & Pelita that littered pretty much the entire Klang Valley. These places offer decent enough nasi kandar, but the usual complains would be price, and sometimes the lack of confidence in hygiene standards.
For those looking for something different than those chains, there’s Kok Siong Nasi Kandar in Puchong.
Situated in Puchong right next to Tesco Extra hypermarket, this is perhaps one of the only nasi kandar places that is run by Chinese instead of traditional mamak vendors. Apart from that, the dishes offered are actually very similar, and pork free. If you’re looking for chasiu nasi kandar, well, you’d still have to assemble it yourself, probably at home.
squid with extra petai, fried chicken nasi kandar
We tried their squid with petai, and a piece of 1/4 fried chicken in two plates, with plenty of curry over rice. The dish is also served with papadem (as usual), and plenty of crispy bits on top, which I really like.
The squid is your typical mamak style that’s slightly on the harder/more cooked side, and does taste proper. Chicken was well cooked with crispy skin and juicy meat, but what I really love was those petai with ikan bilis, absolutely pungent and super delightful.
mixing up the different curry is the way to go
Fans of nasi kandar should find this place quite satisfying. As the “kitchen” is pretty much an open concept, cleanliness isn’t a dodgy affair. Price wise I thought they were neither cheap nor expensive, while a “standard” plate of nasi kandar with fried chicken should be RM 8, the bigger piece of chicken we ordered actually carried a higher price, so if you’re on a budget, do ask ahead.
Address: Restoran Kok Siong Nasi Kandar 45, Jalan Bandar 16, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47100 Puchong, Selangor GPS: 3.036115, 101.616258 Hours: lunch
