It’s been a while since I wrote a bak kut teh entry, in fact, the last one was more than 3 months ago. For a food important enough that I dedicate an entire category on, this hiatus is far too long.

It was not like I’ve stopped eating BKT. The lack of new entry has to do with the fact that it was getting difficult to convince my regular eating buddies to try out new places when they already have their favorite BKT joints. Meng Kee at PJ Old Town, and Yap Chuan at Puchong are the two places we frequent lately.

restaurant Weng Heong at Klang

After a brief retreat to Awana Genting with colleague and a bunch of friends a couple weeks ago, we decided to get some bak kut teh for lunch at Klang. Naturally we head to the BKT capital that is Taman Intan at Klang.

There’s at least half a dozen BKT specialty restaurants within stone’s throw distance, at one point of I had wanted to try all of them but somehow didn’t get around doing it, maybe I should… emm..

Anyway, instead of the over packed Teluk Pulai BKT, we decided to head right next door at restaurant Weng Heong (永香海参瓦煲肉骨茶).

the glorious pot of goodness – Bak  Kut Teh

For the 8 of us, we ordered two pots of clay pot bak kut teh, some yau char kwai, and a plate of vegetable to go with oily rice. We kept it fairly simple, one pot of lean meat, and the other mixed lean and fatty pork, didn’t order any innards either.

I usually do indulge in all sorts of spare parts and not-exactly-lean meat, but the order was a right one as it turned out that I was the only one not on 100%-lean-meat diet around the table. If we had ordered innards and pork knuckles too, I’d probably be typing this at a hospital recovering from heart attack right now.

Yau Char Kuai, oily rice, and of course, some vitamin C

Like most Klang Bak Kut Teh, this one did not disappoint. The soup was rich and full of aroma, the meat too cooked to perfection, soft and flavorful. Fried shallot is available to add an extra character to the yummy oily rice that goes so well with the soup too, no one was complaining (except for the heat and lack of air conditioning).

As per old school bak kut teh practice, boiling water is available right next to our table for self serving hot tea refills. The staffs were quite speedy in refilling soup too, always a good thing at BKT places.

Chloe, Vicky, Li Choo, Ivan, Bee Eng, Roy, Li Zhi, KY

The bill came to about RM 10 – RM 12 per person, pretty much in lined with most other BKT places just about anywhere in Klang Valley. The lunch was mighty satisfying, but next time I should do it for breakfast instead.

Address:
Restoran Weng Heong Bak Kut Teh
28, 30, Jalan 5, Kawasan 16,
Taman Intan, Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.056268, 101.474018
Tel : 012-382 4408

Tags:  Bak Kut Teh,  bee eng,  bkt,  chloe,  ivan,  klang,  li choo,  li zhi,  pork,  roy,  vicky

Posted by KY | 27 Comments »

It seems like it’s been quite a few weeks since my last post on a bak kut teh place, this cannot be be happening!

So today, let me introduce this little bak kut teh place at Seapark that I have visited since a few years ago. Tucked within Sun Fatt Kee kopitiam and somehow overshadowed by the busy mamak that is famous for its nasi lemak at night, this bkt stall isn’t flashy nor it is particularly busy.

wholesome bak kut teh, and i love their vegetable

Bak kut teh here is served in a clay pot, with teow chew style soup that is pretty flavorful. Ingredients are as per standard bkt places, lean meat, fat laden meat, knuckle, intestine, tripes, ribs, tofu skin, mushroom, and vegetable – if you asks for everything, my default choice usually.

I particularly like the “oily vegetable” they serve here, it is laden with a lot of fried garlic and oyster sauce, which makes it quite flavorful and not merely a dish with its sole purpose of making us feeling less guilty of having only meat.

everyone had bak kut teh except dree, who ordered nasi lemak (halal bah!)

Although this isn’t the best bak kut teh I’ve had (i’d say it is above average though); the very old school ambiance, friendly service, and convenience its location (close to where I stay) more than make up for it. The price is in line with most other bak kut teh places at around RM 10 ish per person.

The bak kut teh stall only opens for dinner, in the afternoon, the same kopitiam has a pretty good teow chew porridge stall.

Address:
Jalan 21/11b,
46300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.109920, 101.622301

Tags:  bkt,  dree,  kerol,  pork,  rachel,  suanie

Posted by KY | 23 Comments »

Last Sunday a bunch of us went for a good go-kart session at KartQuest located at MAEPS, near UPM. After sweating our collective butts off and myself sustaining a big blister on my palm from two 10 minute sessions of hard work on the track, we proceed to reward ourselves with a very good lunch at Restaurant Yap Yin & Bak Kut Teh at Seri Kembangan.

We ordered 7 dishes for the 8 of us at Yap Yin, a bit too much food heh?

Like many restaurants around Seri Kembangan, on top of a rather comprehensive menu of Chinese dishes to go with rice, Yap Yin also serves Bak Kut Teh. This combination is rarely seen outside this area, usually restaurants are either ‘tai chau’ style, or they solely concentrate on bak kut teh.

Restaurant Yap Yin is located at a pretty busy part of Seri Kembangan, street parking is a bit tough to find, but they do have a couple dedicated parking spots, do take advantage of them.

Braised pork knuckle and innards, kung pao frog, steamed haruan fish

The claim of fame at Yap Yin is their steamed haruan fish (snake head, RM48). The preparation of the steamed fish here is pretty unique, the fish meat is sliced up to bite size, and 2 bottles of Brands chicken essence are poured to the fish upon serving to add to the flavor. It was well worth the price, very smooth texture and with the chicken essence adding a different dimension to the taste, very nice.

The kung pao frog (RM 20) was very flavorful and actually comes with the proper kung pao ingredients – bell pepper, dried red chili, cashew nuts, ginger, and the dark sauce. I’m sure Kim would have ordered an extra plate if she was with us.

One of the most sinful dishes we ordered has to be the braised pork knuckle with innards and chicken feet (RM 20), plenty of fatty porky goodness and chicken feet braised to perfection. Tender and juicy, best with some chili padi.

kampung chicken, tofu with mince pork, lotus root, bak kut teh

The kampung chicken (RM 12) was, well, tasted like kampung chicken, not fatty like normal chicken rice steamed chicken but otherwise not particularly interesting. Tofu with mince pork comes in a clay pot and dark sauce, silky smooth and rather flavorful. Very good value at only RM 8!

The  sauted lotus root (RM 16) provided us with some sense of meat vs vegetable balance though in reality we should have ordered something in green to satisfy ourselves visually, oh well!

horng, KY, Adry & gf, Terence, Damien, Amy, Galvin

Just when we thought we had ordered too much, Galvin, being from Klang, couldn’t resist the temptation and ordered a pot of bak kut teh (RM 9). The herbal soup was thick and actually quite nice, but I wouldn’t say it is on par with the proper Klang version.

We well all stuffed silly after lunch, total damage came to RM 191 with drinks and rice included. About RM 24 per person for so many dishes, it was well worth it. Should go there again after next go-kart session!

Address:
Restaurant Yap Yin & Bak Kut Teh
No. 1231, Jalan Sekolah
43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor
GPS: 3.021839, 101.704372
Tel: 03-8943 5426
Hours: 11:30am to 10pm

BB Update

The Blackberry Bold, Tour, and Curve 8520 (from Xpax)

I was often asked what’s the differences between the few common blackberry models currently officially sold in this country as well as some “underwater” models too. So here’s the very quick comparison:

• Curve 8520 - one of the most affordable Blackberry models, the latest in the Curve series. EDGE, Wifi, touchpad, Media Keys, not that much bigger than a normal phone
• Bold 9000 - used to be one of the highest end Blackberry models, EDGE, 3.5G, Wifi, GPS. One of the biggest and heaviest BB smart phones. Bold 2 is coming soon, and I suspect would be rather pricey.
• Tour 9630 - even though positioned below the Bold (and now Bold 2) series, the Tour is sold over RM 2k in “underwater” market and not officially via Telco. EDGE, 3.5G, GPS, but no Wifi.
• Storm 9500 – the first touch screen Blackberry, EDGE, 3.5G, GPS, but no Wifi. Mixed reviews on the touch screen implementation, but Storm 2 is coming up, we’ll see how much it’ll be sold for.

Every model comes with the beloved BBM, push mail, and all the other messaging technology that earns Blackberry the nickname CrackBerry, they can get very addictive. Every model here works with Xpax BB prepaid too!

If you’re new to the BB world, the 8520 is certainly a good start as it is priced below RM 1000. What kinda other cool phones can you get for that price these days?

Tags:  adry,  amy,  Bak Kut Teh,  bkt,  brands,  faggot,  galvin,  haruan,  horng,  pork,  terence

Posted by KY | 23 Comments »

One of my favorite dinner Bak Kut Teh destinations was always been at PJ old town. For the longest time, I actually didn’t notice the existence of Meng Kee Bak Kut Teh despite having been to Heng Kee just a stone’s throw away in numerous occasions.

Meng Kee Bak Kut Teh with all sorts of ingredients to choose from

Meng Kee is located right opposite Public Bank at Old Town at a corner shop that is basically almost all alfresco with no table within the walls. The whole set up is more old school, quite a lot more disorganized, and even busier than Heng Kee.

On the Monday night we were there, it was packed and we actually had to wait for some 10 minutes before a table was available for the six of us. It took a further 20 minutes or so before our food was served.

pork ribs, vegetable, 3 layer fatty pork, braised mushroom

Just like the other Old Town bak kut teh, the dishes are served in plastic bowls instead of clay pots. Personally I don’t find any distinction between having my meat in a clay pot or a bowl. You should eat bak kut teh fast enough that the soup stay warm irregardless of the type of container used.

We ordered 3-layer fatty pork, ribs, braised mushroom, vegetable, a small portion of intestines and tripes, and tofu.

KY, Ginny, Mellissa, AmCheong, Yee Hou, Firdy

The meat, fatty pork, ribs, innards, alongside with the teow chew style bak kut teh soup was good, on par with some of the bests out there. The mushroom and vegetable was alright too, though not particularly special. Tofu was a little too oily but I think it was due to the fact that they rushed it.

There are people we claimed that Meng Kee is better than Heng Kee, but honestly speaking I find no significant difference between the two and would probably prefer the latter’s slightly more comfortable dining experience. That said, Meng Kee does have the more old school nostalgic feel to it that works in its favor for that all important psychological effect.

Meng Kee BKT is located opposite Public Bank at PJ Old Town

Address:
Meng Kee Bak Kut Teh
Jalan Pasar 1/21
Petaling Jaya, Selangor
GPS: 3.086565,101.646044
Tel: 017-291 1745

Tags:  amcheong,  Bak Kut Teh,  bkt,  firdy,  ginny,  mellissa,  old-town,  yee hou

Posted by KY | 31 Comments »

Most everyone here will say that the best bak kut teh is found at Klang. I do agree with the statement to a certain degree, but I also believe that the dish has matured beyond it’s original location and now you can find pretty awesome bak kut teh in many places around town and perhaps even in another state (but not Singapore, please!).

Yap Chuan Bak Kut Teh at Puchong

I’ve heard about this elusive bak kut teh place at Puchong for quite a while from Horng, who happens to work in Puchong, and we finally went there a couple weeks ago when FA was in town and suanie was hungry for some meat.

The claim-of-fame for this this particular bkt place lies with the fact that the chef/owner started the restaurant at the tender age of 14, and actually won the best bkt award 2-3 years back. Just to show that the lack of education is not a hinder to archiving early success in life.

soup and dried bkt, steamed fish, tofupok and fuchuk

The restaurant is pretty airy, quite clean and comfortable for a bkt place. We took a table, and grabbed a packet of tea before ordering a pot of soup bak kut teh, dried bak kut teh, and steamed siakap fish (yes, for some reasons they’re famous for steamed fish here) to go with rice and some tofu and fochuk.

The soup bak kut teh was top notch, right up on par with some of the better ones I had, rich, thick, and very herbal, this is Klang version as opposed to the teow chew style BKT soup. The tofupok and fuchuk, however, were just ordinary. For a good bowl of fuchuk, I would still head to subang teowchew bak kut teh.

FA, Horng, Suan, and KY having some awesome bkt!

The dried bak kut teh here reminds me of the one at Lai Choon, Klang but slightly more sophisitcated. There were dried red chili, sliced okra, and dried cuttle fish to add to the taste. The sauce is thick and rather strong, I usually have it with some soup, but the meat is quite a bit more flavorful though. I like it.

Now, I was at first quite skeptical about this whole steamed fish thing, but the steamed siakap (red snapper) turned out to be a surprisingly good dish. Topped with lime, plenty of sliced onion and the slightly salty and sourly sauce, the fish felt like a mixture of Chinese and Thai style of preparation, but the end result was quite splendid.

I think the guys can attest that we had a very satisfying brunch at Yap Chuan Bak Kut Teh, and even though it is almost all the way to the Cyberjaya/Puchong toll, I wouldn’t mind making that journey again. We paid less than RM20 per person, which is pretty reasonable considering there was fish too.

Will definitely go there again.

Address:
Yap Chuan Bak Kut Teh
53, Jalan BPU 2,
Bandar Puchong Utama
Selangor
GPS: 2.994486,101.621094

Tags:  Bak Kut Teh,  bkt,  FA,  horng,  Puchong,  steamed-fish,  suanie

Posted by KY | 31 Comments »