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
Claypot chicken rice is one of those Chinese food that is more popular in this region than most parts of China. With the preparation method that involves charcoal and claypot, it is also something that is usually consumed outside rather than home cooked. (though I’ve made similar style chicken rice at home)
A meal involving claypot chicken rice usually takes quite a bit longer than usual due to the time it takes to have the rice to cook, so it was fitting that we went to Huen Kee on a Friday 2-hour lunch break.
claypot chicken rice at Huen Kee, with charcoal on top!
Huen Kee has been in operation for well over a decade, and they have a little secret in cooking that I’ve seldom seen anywhere else – by utilizing charcoal from both bottom and top of the pot! This ensures a faster cooking time as well as a more even heat distribution on the rice, brilliant.
claypot chicken rice, pork tripe soup, seafood tofu, vegetable
The chicken rice came with a separate serving of salted fish (if you asks for it), and has generation portion of chicken and Chinese sausage in the pretty strongly flavored rice that carries a hint of rice wine.
The aroma that exudes out from the pot as you mix the ingredients had me licking my lips before digging in, and the taste did not disappoint at all, it was one of the best claypot chicken rice I’ve had.
menu and price list at Huen Kee
Other than chicken rice, we had pork tripe soup (spicy and offer a good contrasting taste to chicken), their signature seafood tofu (above average, but I prefer the one at Peter’s curry fish head), and some oily vegetable (for color and .. vitamin)
The claypot chicken rice is priced from RM 9, RM 16, and RM 22 according to size, and they also sell waxed duck rice, chicken with rice wine soup, and even curry fish head too.
Address:
Huen Kee claypot chicken rice
59, Ground Floor,
Jalan Yew, Pudu,
Kuala Lumpur,
Wilayah Persekutuan 55100
GPS: 3.13392, 101.71664
Tel: 03-9200 1603
A couple Fridays ago my buddies Terence and Horng made a trip down to KL and bought me birthday lunch. Since it was a little too early for the best roast pork at Wong Meng Kee (they only start serving at 12:30pm sharp), Terence suggested that we head to Thim Kee Steamed Fish, a place with the best Tilapia, according to Mr. Goh.
Thim Kee Steamed Fish at Pudu
As with anywhere in Pudu, parking is always a challenge, Pudu plaza car park is an option since the stall is situated just directly opposite the old mall. The hawker shack itself isn’t exactly the most comfortable of all dining places, but it’s largely sheltered, and relatively clean.
The three of us were joined by Sean, so four of us ordered up a total of four dishes to share.
delicious deep fried tilapia
First to come was their famous deep fried tilapia that was so crispy on the outside but still has its meat fresh tasting and tender (must be fried with really high temperature, check out the gas canisters on top collage). The fish is served on top of a sauce that carries a hint of sweetness and fermented bean flavor, unique and in a very good way.
This is a definite must order, I’ve never tasted tilapia so good, it’s even better than Sister Lan’s tilapia at Rawang.
butter squid, herbal steamed tilapia, fried chicken
The butter squid here is served in a clay pot and comes with butter in liquid state, which results in soft and tender squid but one that doesn’t get as much flavor from the butter/spice/curry leave. Still a dish worth ordering though.
Herbal steamed tilapia is another fish we ordered, since this place is famous for tilapia, so why not? I couldn’t find any fault from this dish except for the fact that there’s only so much you can get out of tilapia, I think this would taste much better if only it was a siakap (barramundi) or pomphret.
Fried chicken is another must-order dish. This tastes like a cross between Vietnamese style lemen grass chicken and traditional Malay pandan chicken but deep fried. The sauce that came with the chicken was sweet+spicy and definitely flavorful. I wanna have the whole chicken drumstick by myself next time!
note: GPS should be 3.136585, 101.713824
As with most hawker stalls at Pudu, price is rather reasonable. The total bill for four of us came to some RM 60+, we left with really satisfied stomachs. Will definitely return, thank you guys for treating!
p/s: By the way, do call and make a reservation to make sure fish and more importantly, seats are available!
Address:
Thim Kee Steamed Fish
Jalan 1/77c, Off Jalan Pudu,
55100 Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.136585, 101.713824
Tel: 03-3986 3097
The last time I blogged about pork intestine porridge was over 4 years ago on a hawker stall in Penang. It has always been one of my favorite old school hawker foods, but also one that is increasingly hard to find.
My first time at this small stretch of old school hawker center at Jalan Sayur in Pudu was a couple months ago, and while I had other food at the time, I noticed this porridge stall that offers pork intestine porridge, among other types.
old school hawker center on Jalay Sayur, Pudu
So when pocket Anne asked me out for a little dinner + catch up session in KL, I suggested to head to the very same place just so that I can have my pork intestine porridge.
This particular porridge stall is situated quite close to Jalan Pudu itself, they offer fish ball, salted egg, chicken, fish filet, seafood, and of course, the all important pork intestine porridge (猪什粥).
pork intestine porridge, and chee cheong fun
This bowl of goodness comes with deep fried pork innards, plenty of shredded ginger, some spring onion, and a good shake of white pepper with porridge cooked to perfection.
Compared to the one at New Lane in Penang, this one is less crunchy and has a slightly fresher taste mainly due to the ginger. Both of them are excellent nonetheless, and I am sure someone like Kim who loves intestine from Teow Chew porridge would love it too.
KY and the tiny pocket Anne
Anne also ordered the pretty famous chee cheong fun from another stall, one with the normal sauce, and the other with curry. Plain chee cheong fun with sesame on top and some proper sauce can be very addictive too, not to mention pretty economical. Our dinner came to only about RM 10 for two person, who said dinner at KL must be pricey?
Address:
Hawker center at Jalan Sayur
off Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3135208, 101.713051
Whenever we are at an event that dragged into late night with #porkgang, Kim would always get hungry and suggests “I’m feeling like Teow Chew porridge, lets go to pudu now!”
That was precisely what we did after attending the hugely entertaining Nokia’s Year End Party, primarily due to the availability of helium filled balloons and awesome company.
old school Teow Chew porridge at Pudu, KL
Kedai Makanan Teochew at Pudu is located just behind Berjaya Times Square, parking at late night is usually not a problem, and during day time there there’s the open air paid car park just opposite the shop.
At night, we usually choose a table outside where it’s usually quite a bit cooling.
3 in 8 dishes you see here are made of pork
The selection of dishes at this place is as wide as anywhere. You can find anything from the standard luncheon meat, Chinese lap cheong, assortment of vegetables, fried fish, salted egg, to even pork intestine cooked in soya sauce.
In this instance, we left the ordering job to Kim, and you can see just how much she ordered for the five of us. We had 9 dishes altogether, pork’s ear, daze with black bean, lady fingers, two types of salted vegetable, fermented tofu, pork, and double order of intestine.
Kimberly, Gareth, Nigel Yap, Haze, KY
Like many late night eateries around Pudu area that is popular with the after clubbing crowd, the way your bill is calculated is often sort of a mystery. I believe ours came to over RM 10 per person that night, while not exactly cheap for porridge, the convenience and taste was more than worth it (especially since it was Nigel who paid for this meal, Thanks!)
Address:
Restaurant Teochew Porridge
270&272 Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah
Off Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, 55100, Malaysia
GPS: 3.140701, 101.71005
Tel: 03-2148 3452
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