Tag / klang
While we have mamak restaurants at pretty much every commercial all throughout the country, it is surprisingly rare to see “proper” Indian restaurants that aren’t the typical mamak style. The difference is subtle, especially when it is a Southern Indian cuisine, but you can always spot the tell-tale sign that beef isn’t on the menu.
Exotic Curry House, at Little India, Klang
While exploring dinner option at Little India, Klang a few weeks ago, we somehow got into this small back lane by the name of Lorong Tingkat largely due to parking situation on the main road and chanced upon this busy little restaurant by the name of Exotic Curry House.
If an eatery is located in an unfavorable location and manage to attract steady stream of customers, experience tells me it will usually be good, so we went right in as the only non-Indian couple that night.
all hail to the mutton murtabak
Exotic curry house offers quite a good variety of chapati, roti, putu mayam, and many other traditional dishes (check the video below for a shot of their menu). I’m a big murtabak fan, so I got myself a mutton murtabak for dinner (RM 10).
Some 10 minutes or so later, the murtabak came, and boy was it a life changing sort of experience!
The roti was thin, meat was soft, succulent, and full of flavor, everything was perfect, and on top of that you get three different curry as condiments. It was just absolutely the best murtabak I’ve ever had in my life.
If you even remotely like murtabak or roti canai, you owe it to yourself to come to this place.
banana leaf rice available for lunch
We went back to Exotic Curry House again a week or so later during lunch time looking for a repeat experience, but unfortunately banana leaf was the only option during the afternoon hours so we had that instead.
It was a pretty good meal which ticks off the right boxes in terms of ingredients served, but I suppose the murtabak has set the expectation perhaps a bit too high. It was good, but not life changing.
Anyway, we’ll surely be back for more chaptai/murtabak. So happy we stopped by this place.
Address:
Exotic Curry House
39, Lorong Tingkat,
Kawasan 1,
41000 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.039962, 101.447853
While you can get bak kut teh all around the clock in Klang, it is still mostly a breakfast option for most natives around here. So prior to work a few weeks ago, I decided to head to one of the more popular old school bkt places to get my morning fix – at Seng Huat bak kut teh.
Seng Huat Bak Kut Teh
Seng Huat is located just right beside the main Klang bridge and stone’s throw away from the origin of bak kut teh at Teck Teh. The corner shop has plenty of seats right at the side by the river, which makes for quite a comfortable dining area compared to the slightly stuffier interior.
one big bone for me please
This is an old school type of bkt place, so there’s no such thing as claypot, vegetable, enoki mushroom, or any of those distractions. You order your favorite type of meat and you get it served in a bowl and a plate of rice. What they do have though, is chili padi & soya sauce, which Teck Teh doesn’t even serve.
I asked for a tua kut (big bone), one of my favorite parts for breakfast.
bak kut teh is a breakfast meal here in Klang
What came was quite a huge portion (especially for breakfast) of meat that was appreciatively soft enough to fall off its bone quite easily. The soup was quite thick & flavorful, though to be fair not the thickest I’ve had, Mo Sang Kor or Ah Her would probably satisfy you more if you want it thickest possible.
Over all though, it was a pretty good breakfast, and one that I would not have a problem to revisit. If you want it more “original” though, head to Teck Teh for some surprise.
Address:
Seng Huat Bak Kut Teh
No.9 Jalan Besar, Klang,
Kawasan 1,
41000 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.043503, 101.448595
Tel: 012-309 8303
If you’re looking for dinner at Klang, there are a few repeating themes you’ll see. First and foremost, there’s of course the various bak kut teh restaurants at every other block, followed by seafood & tai chao restaurants, and then if you look closely, there’s also quite a few steamboat/hotpot sort of places.
A few weeks ago, we decided to check out one of those places.
Restoran Max Venture, quite a weird name for a kopitiam
This particular restaurant is situated a stone’s throw away from Mae Porn Thai, one of our regular Thai restaurants, so you could say that we’ve been curious for quite a while prior to giving it a try.
Ordering is simple, you get a set for two pax for something like RM 30, which comes with assortment of vegetables, mushroom, tofu, imitation crab, egg, meehun, bakwa, a couple prawns and sliced pork.
Thai style hot pot, grill & soup two in one
The hot pot is heated up with charcoal and has a grilling dome at the center and a ring of soup surrounding it. To start, you grill some pork lard to oil the pot, then one by one goes the prawn, pork slices, and other ingredients. Be sure to stuff the cabbage in the soup too, by the time your grill items are done, the cabbage gets to soak up all those juice and makes for a very sweet, delicious soup too.
KY & Haze, was a nice long leisure dinner
Places like these are quite popular around Klang, if you’re ever looking for dinner around the area, perhaps it should be in your short list. Happy eating!
Address:
Restoran Max Venture
Pelangi Point, Lintang Pekan Baru,
Off Jalan Meru, Klang,
41150 Selangor
GPS: 3.064707, 101.452734
Several weeks ago I chanced upon an article on The Star newspaper on Teck Teh and how it is believed that this is where it all started, the origin of bak kut teh in Malaysia. Since I am a self confessed bak kut teh fan, I did myself a favor and promptly went there for a visit.
Teck Teh Bak Kut Teh, the origin
Teck Teh is located near the Klang train station, just right across the river in Klang town. The shop has been operating for some 50 years and it sure looked like they haven’t really renovated the place sans some newer kitchen equipment since then.
The old man running the shop is now the 3rd generation chef who still uses the same ingredients & spices as per his grandfather’s recipe. If you want the taste of the origin, this is the place to go.
bak kut teh for one, at Teck Teh, Klang
I ordered a portion of “tua kut”, or big bone, together with a tea which came in the form of loose leaf on a piece of newspaper.
The pork, as with most other Klang version that came after it, was really tender, juicy, and packed with herbal flavor. The soup itself was not the thickest but has a distinct taste of traditional spice which I found rather palatable. It was a more than decent meal of BKT to be honest, except for one little “problem”.
which cut would you choose?
Now, this place is so original they don’t serve garlic, chili padi, or even soya sauce. Yes that’s right, you’re supposed to only taste the sweetness of pork and the aroma of soup without any alteration.
I find myself suffering a little bit since I do really enjoy some chili padi with those fatty pork meat, but I guess it works for many regulars who seemed to keep coming back.
If you’re a fan of BKT though, you should probably give this place a try (maybe bring your own soya sauce)
Address:
Teck Teh bak kut teh
Jalan Stesen 1, Kawasan 1,
41000 Klang, Selangor
GPS: 3.042644, 101.448241
To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have known about Hon Ki BKT if Ah Tao of the famous Ah Tao Seafood Bak Kut Teh was still alive.
When I was sharing the news of Ah Tao’s demise (RIP) with Zess over Chinese New Year, our Klang ahbeng who’s well versed with everything bak kut teh then mentioned that perhaps I should check out Hon Ki, a bak kut teh outlet that also makes a habit of adding seafood to the old fashion Klang dish, as his sister had good experience with it. So I did.
Hon Ki Seafood Bak Kut Teh, YY is pleased
Hon Ki is a second generation bak kut teh eatery that has been in operation for over two decades, according to the proprietor, they have been serving seafood bak kut teh even during his dad’s time, so this is definitely not one of those “me too” sort of place that tries to jump on any bandwagon.
Situated at Persiaran Pulau Pinang (what a coincident for a Penangite) just opposite Klang Parade across Jalan Meru, the restaurant is converted from a corner lot terrace house with zinc roof, a basic set up that is sufficient and rather typical of Klang BKT scene.
flower crab simmering together with your favorite pork cut in BKT soup
The bak kut teh here comes in clay pots, choose the meat of your choice and you can have it dry, with soup, and of course, with a number of different seafood options to add on, such as fish fillets, prawns, abalone slices, or flower crab. Unfortunately, lala or kappa isn’t an option here.
prawn? crab? pork? why not all?
Like other bak kut teh with seafood, the soup at Hon Ki very spicy as well, and this is done with loads of red chili padi, which I found slightly more convenient not accidentally chew one down, it also has a slightly different aroma and hotter compared to the green type. The additional complexity from seafood does give the bak kut teh an extra dimension, I love it.
Kerol was quite satisfied with the bkt lunch
Expect to pay about RM 40+ for two person if you have 1.5 portion of pork with seafood in it, flower crab gives the soup a stronger taste, while prawns were much less messy to eat. Try it!
Address:
Hon Ki Bak Kut Teh
60, Persiaran Pulau Pinang,
Jalan Meru, 41050 Klang
Selangor
Tel: 011-1111 5686
GPS: 3.061762, 101.450480
Hours: breakfast & lunch
