We decided to catch dinner at the nearby Petaling Street after going on the Eye on Malaysia a couple weeks ago. Even though it was a weekday, the heart of KL is packed as usual. We ended up at Hong Kee (鸿记) clay pot chicken rice after seeing that the rat’s tail clay pot place was not operating that night.
the old school charcoal burner
Like it’s Damansara Jaya counterpart, this stall cooks the clay pot chicken rice with the old fashion charcoal fire instead of using propane gas. I’m not sure I could taste the different, but it sure make the food preparation a lot more exciting, attracting the tourists along the busy Petaling Street.
Although the place also sells Portuguese Ikan Bakar, we only ordered their signature dish, the clay pot chicken rice, and a plate of vegetable (油菜) for the night.
suanie was philosophical about her food
Our food didn’t take too long to arrive. 2 big pots of steaming clay pot chicken rice for the 5 of us. The chicken rice marinated with the appropriate sauce, topped with some shredded salted fish, sliced lap cheong (Chinese Sausage), and spring onion was as good as I’ve tasted from anywhere. The vegetable though, was just average.
fireworks
Price wise, Hong Kee is inline with the other places despite operating in the city center. The meal costs about RM 10 for each of us, a pretty decent place to visit if you’re down at Petaling Street.
Hong Kee is just right next to the Chinese bookstore by Petaling Street
GPS: 3.144651, 101.698637
Last weekend a few of us decided to have some spicy food and went to this Hong La Qiao (红辣椒 – literally Red Chili) at the heart of KL for their unique Szechuan steamboat. Knowing that the place is usually packed during weekends, we called ahead to book for a table. Do note that it is advisable to get someone who can speak in Mandarin to make the booking, since the receptionist doesn’t really speak in English.
*slurps*
The restaurant, situated just right behind Berjaya Times Square, serves rice dishes as well as steamboat. We ordered the “ying yang” steamboat with the spicy Szechuan soup as well as the clear soup, and a bunch of steamboat dishes to chuck in there. There were fishball with meat stuffing, dumplings, beef, fish maw, dried pork skin, tofu, crab stick, fish fillet, a few types of vegetables, mushroom, sea cucumber, and more.. all in all more than 10 dishes.
the spicy szechuan and the clear soup
The other must-order item at this restaurant is their unique cold cucumber dish. Basically cucumber sliced to bite size sticks, covered with oil, salt, seasonings, and very finely chopped garlic. The ingredients might look simple and even odd, but it proved to be a very refreshing and interesting “snack”. We eventually ordered 2 plates for the 4 of us. The other non-steamboat item we ordered was the gyoza, though pretty decent, it wasn’t as good as the one served up at Crystal Jade.
the interesting pickled tofu sauce with crab stick
The steamboat though, was rather nice… if you are one of those guys who enjoy spicy food. The spicy Szechuan soup tasted very hot and even numbing. The top layer of red oil was especially powerful in attacking the heat receptor. However, cooking fish and meat in the hot soup, and then dipping them in their unique picked tofu (腐乳) or fermented bean paste sauce proved very addictive.
Hong La Qiao is just behind Berjaya Time Square
The taste was pretty unique and rather good, though a little on the spicy side, a great place for that exotic yet very Chinese food. Since we ordered up a boat load of food, it came to about RM 40 for each of us, but a normal serving of steamboat should be around RM 30.
Address:
No. 53,55, Jalan Cangkat Thambi Dollah,
Off Jalan Pudu, 55100, KL
GPS: 3.140666, 101.710321
Tel: 03-2141-8078
I first visited this stall some 3 years ago, that was way before this blog was born and way before I had any camera phone worth using (though the current one is due for a better replacement, but that’s another story). We recently visited this stall again when discovering that the nearby 王美记 Roasted Pork was closed on Sunday.
old school set up
This stall is located at a corner of either Jalan Brunei or Jalan Brunei Utara, it is quite prominent and wouldn’t be difficult to spot once you get to the area. The set up is very simple, with a row of plastic tables and not very ergonomic chairs by the walkway of shop houses. Though not the most comfortable of places, it does give a sort of old school, throw back feelings.
ahhh glorious noodle and dumplings
The stall offers quite a number of different dishes, like beef noodle, char siu, wantan mee, curry mee, and drinks. I have always loved their Sui Kow noodle, and asked for one. The girls ordered wantan mee with char siu, and wantan mee with beef balls. We also got some freshly squeezed sugar cane juice to go with the noodle.
the girls enjoying their food
It didn’t take too long for the food to arrive, and the smell steaming out from the soup and noodle just made me salivate. The food were nicely prepared, with ample ingredients, noodle, and sauce. Not only the sui kow, packed with plenty of meat, vege, and fugus were good, the noodle was smooth and juicy too. Very nice.
The other thing I like about this place is the choices of the “free flow” chili provided. You can have Thai chili, red chili, two types of sambal, and even the marinated green chili.
the place is just a stone’s throw away from Berjaya Times Square
The noodle and drinks cost less than RM 20 for the three of us, pretty good price for some really delicious old school servings.
GPS: 3.138652, 101.712885
Our dear friend Margie suggested that we head out to the Inner Mongolia Restaurant for a session of Mongolian Steamboat as a farewell dinner before her departure to some strange place in strange land in pursuit of higher education. About 10 of us readily agreed and headed there. This was a couple of weeks ago, but somehow Margie is still in the country, we might just have another “farewell” dinner..
The herbal and spicy soup in ying yang pattern
The restaurant is famous for its unique Mongolian steamboat, but offers other cooked dishes too. Of course, we ordered as many different dishes as possible.
The steamboat soup is served in a ying yang pattern, with the herbal soup on one side, and the super spicy soup on the other. The spicy soup has a pretty thick layer of spicy oil on top. Both types supposedly share the same soup base.
steamboat items: prawn, mushroom, squid, frozen tofu, fish…
We started out with a cold dish of some sort of ham that went well with the sauce and proved to be a good choice for appetizer while waiting for the soup to boil. A couple big plates of excellent pork belly (Dongo Pork) and roast lamb chop kept us busy at the same time. The pork was just fatty enough, when having it with the fresh lettuce, the contrasting taste and texture was fantastic. The lamb chop too was not disappointing at all.
other dishes: lamb, pork belly, ham, fried rice
As for the steamboat, we ordered four big plates of thin sliced pork and beef, some shrimp, squid, mushroom, vegetables, quail’s eggs, tofu, and a few uniquely Mongolian stuff that are probably made of mostly flour. I personally can’t get enough of the hot soup, with the underlying herbal taste and the strength of the spicy oil, it gives a very good flavor to the food cooked in it. The clear soup was very good too, especially for those who prefer their food less oily, or those who can’t take hot food.
Instead of sambal or Thai chili with soya sauce, each person is given a special dipping sauce that tastes like fermented peanut. Pretty weird description on my part, but it didn’t taste odd, but rather quite fitting with the overall taste of the food.
the raw beef and pork, a must. century eggs as dessert
We ended dinner with the century egg as dessert. Overall damage was slightly over RM 300, around RM 30 per pax. I would consider that a pretty decent value for the experience, the amount, and the excellent taste of the dishes. The only thing we didn’t finish was Terence‘s Mongolian milk tea, which tasted like tea with yogurt, just weird.
Map to Inner Mongolia Restaurant at Pudu
Other Reviews: masak-masak, eatinout
Address:
290 Ground Floor,
Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.139589, 101.709961
Tel: 03-2144 9688
This is yet another hidden place in the middle of KL introduced by Kelvin. Contrary to the Kampung Atap curry fish head (another place introduced by the same bloke), Yee Sang Fat (易生发) is famous for their steamed fish head.
the gang enjoying good food
This kopitiam is not trivial to locate. Situated opposite the Pudu Methodist Church just next to Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Yew, the easiest way to get there is via Jalan Pasar. Since there are tables set up both in and outside this tai chau (大炒) place, you won’t miss it if you are on the correct road (Jalan Gajah).
fish head, brinjal, pork ribs, vegetable
We asked for the must-try steamed fish head, brinjal (egg plant) with garlic, pork ribs, soupy lala, fried kangkung, and a tofu dish recommended by the waiter. We pretty much ordered all the dishes that printed on their lighted sign board that also spot the shop’s name. Six dishes for ten person to go with rice.
It didn’t take too long for the dishes to be served. The lala came first, and we devoured it like there’s no tomorrow. Then it was the fish head, steamed with plenty of garlic, ginger, and spring onion. The portion was pretty big too, and more like 1/3 of a fish instead of just the head.
tofu and lala
The vegetable and pork ribs were pretty good, but my favorite of the day must be the brinjal with garlic. The soft and tender brinjal fried with some salt and lots of crispy garlic topped with spring onion. The contrast of the differing textures and the taste were just perfect. On the contrary, the tofu dish was pretty much forgettable.
not the easiest place to get to (NOTE: check comment #9)
This meal came to slightly over RM 120.00 for 10 of us, definitely a great value. Granted we did not order any fancy drinks, but there were fish head, lala, and meat as well. A burger meal with fries and coca-cola will cost you around RM 12 at Burger King. I’m sure we will go there again one of these days.
Address:
Jalan Gajah,
off JalanYew Pudu
Kuala Lumpur 55100
GPS: 3.132342, 101.717026
