Tag / imbi
January 31, 2013
One of the biggest advantage of riding to work is the flexibility in breakfast choices. No longer am I confined to the route of LRT or just the food stalls within walking distance of the office. All I need to do is to leave home half an hour earlier, and so that’s what I often do these days, exploring breakfast places around KL in the wee hours.
old uncle’s been preparing wantan mee for a while now
The area behind Berjaya Times Square is one of my favorite places to explore. Being one older part of town, it’s littered with many old school eateries.
And it was by random choice that I ended up at this nameless kopitiam at Jalan Brunei just behind the Caltex gas station. Business always seems pretty brisk in the morning, so I thought I should give it a try.
bbq pork, minced meat, lard, pickled chili, wantan
There is only a stall operating in the morning, offering wantan mee and sui kao mee.
The wantan mee (a tad under RM 5) comes with everything you’d expect in a plate of wantan mee and some. There’s wantan, minced meat, spring onion, charsiu, pickled chili, and even lard. It can take 10-15 minutes before your plate of wantan mee is served, the noodle is springy, the combination of various pork ingredients work their wonders, and is everything you’d want in a wholesome hearty old school breakfast.
the sui-kao (dumplings) are very yummy as well
Their sui kao too are of top quality, packed with black fungus, minced carrot, pork, and prawns.
If you are a fan of wan tan mee or sui kao mee, this is a place to check out. I’ve been back several times since.
Address:
Ban Lee Hin Kee kopitiam
Jalan Brunei (behind Caltex)
Pudu, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.137286, 101.711544
September 20, 2012
Hidden at the alley just right behind the Honda Showroom at Jalan Imbi sits a hawker stall that has a sign that says See Kee Curry Puff. The stall is pretty old, and the operator even older. In fact, it’s been over 30 years since the old uncle first sells his curry puff at this area (source.)
see kee curry puffs has been around for more than 30 years
And this was the first time I tried one. After having Ipoh Hor Fun for lunch at Pau Kee just a stone’s throw away, my colleague suggested and bought us some. There’s two types of curry puffs available here, between chicken & mutton, the option was easy. I’ve never tried mutton curry puff.
the mutton curry puff is excellent!
The mutton curry puff (RM 1.50) has chunks of mutton nested in potato & curry gravy encased in the golden crispy pastry shell, it was different yet familiar, and made me wonder why isn’t there more places that sells this? A bit more savory and slightly stronger tasting, I love it. The chicken version is said to be top notch too.
Give me this mutton curry puff anytime over Ikea’s version, thank you very much.
Restaurant Pau Kee
(next to Honda showroom)
off Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.145658, 101.715414
January 18, 2012
One of the best things about sharing my food adventures on this site is that I do get a lot of good recommendations from readers. From the previous post on the char kuih teow at Mei Sin kopitiam, missyblurkit commented that I should try their nian gao (kuih bakul, 炸年糕, or fried gold cake), and another reader, May, mentioned that I should try the Ipoh kai si hor fun.
A couple weeks later, I did just that.
fried nian gao at Restaurant Mei Sin
For those who aren’t familiar with nian gao, also known as Chinese New Year cake, it is prepared from glutinous rice and very generous amount of sugar. It is sweet and sticky, and most consumed during Chinese New Year as the name nian gao 年糕 sounds like 年高, which symbolizes a higher (better) next year.
I love it smacked between layers of sweet potato and yam, and deep fried in batter.
nian gao in between yam and sweet potato, superb with coffee
The end result is a lethal dose of calorie that is crispy on the outside, firm in between, and soft in the middle. This delicacy is best consumed piping hot, it is mainly sweet, and I think goes best with coffee (even better with Vietnamese coffee).
The same stall also offers other deep fried goodness such as sesame seed ball and banana.
I remember having this first time when I was a small kid back in Penang, from the then famous (or perhaps still) stall located right in front of Island Plaza (of course back then there was no Island Plaza) in Tanjung Tokong. This is the first time I had a good one in KL, any other places offering the same thing?
kai si hor fun at Mei Sin kopitiam
The nian gao was of course, the dessert. My main meal for the day was the Ipoh kai si hor fun, and as suggested, I tried the dry version.
It was a pretty simple dish, with hor fun (or kuih teow, if you like) served in some combination of dark/light soya sauce with bean sprout, smooth steamed chicken and plenty of fried garlic on top. It actually tasted good, and I bet would be even better if I ask for thigh next time. (mine came with chicken breast, I don’t like chicken breast)
Address:
Restaurant Mei Sin
No. 16, Jalan Melati
Off Jalan Imbi,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14396, 101.714768
December 21, 2011
Pork ball noodle is somewhat of a side kick in the world of hawker food that involves pork and noodle. While pork noodle is Batman, pork ball noodle would be Robin.
Just like Robin, pork ball noodle isn’t exactly as prevalent as pork noodle, and in places where both types are available, Batman usually takes center stage.
Of course, everything has an exception, and such is the case at Win Heng Seng where the pork ball noodle stall arguably busier than the pork ball counterpart (I love the kidney).
pork ball noodle stall at Win Heng Seng kopitiam
The pork ball noodle comes in soup or dry version, and you get to choose from kuih teow, mee hun, yellow noodle, loh she fun, and the combination of them as stomach filler.
While the stall get get very busy (as with the kopitiam itself over lunch), it usually doesn’t take very long for your bowl of goodness to be served.
dry version is my favorite, with kuih teow or lou she fun
I particularly like the dry version here, there’s the properly flavored minced pork over noodle and black sauce, and the side of homemade pork balls and those super addictive Chinese sausage (lap cheong siu cheong). This is a largely savory, non spicy dish with pickled green chili in soya sauce for those who likes to have that bit of kick to go with.
firm and flavorful pork ball, then there’s the Chinese sausage
I usually devour everything within 10 minutes or so, and maybe next time I should ask for more lapcheong. So irresistible.
The standard bowl goes for RM 5 or RM 5.50 RM 6, a pretty standard price for this area, and you won’t regret it. 
Address:
Restaurant Win Heng Seng
Jalan Imbi, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.145479, 101.715087
November 17, 2011
Ask anyone from Penang, and chances are char kuih teow is in the list of their favorite hawker dishes. So for those Penangites living in Klang Valley, there’s always a constant urge to find a good plate of char kuih teow.
So when a colleague who was also from Penang talked about this CKT place at Imbi, I knew that we will surely have to try this over lunch time, even thought it meant a good 1km+ walk under the sun.
Mei Sin kopitiam Char Kueh Teow stall
Mei Sin eating shop is a kopitiam just off Jalan Imbi, and just like another famous kopitiam nearby – Win Heng Seng, this one is usually packed with white, blue, and no collar workers during lunch hours.
glorious char kuih teow, just need even bigger prawns actually
We went there by around 12 p.m. and the crowd was just building up. The char kuih teow we ordered (of course I ordered in Penang Hokkien, always as a litmus test) took just 15 minutes or so to arrive.
The plate of RM 4.50 goodness came with lightly cooked cockles, prawns (medium size), egg, kuih teow, bean sprouts, and of course, chives. It was lovely, spicy, full of “wok hei”, and positively delicious.
I would rate this place a little better than the CKT stall at Win Heng Seng a stone’s throw away.
Sheng loves the CKT, and do try the fresh yao char kuai too
When you are at Mei Sin kopitiam, don’t miss out on the yao char kuai too. The freshly deep fried yao char kuai I had was very crispy and had just the right amount of saltiness with it. I wished there were some bak kut teh soup to go with, but I guess kopi-o wouldn’t be a bad substitute either. The yao char kuai place seems to be off on Thursdays.
Address:
Restaurant Mei Sin
No. 16, Jalan Melati
Off Jalan Imbi,
Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14396, 101.714768
