When it comes to bak kut teh, the best recommendation usually comes from those who stay or work very close to Klang, so when Yuki mentioned that we should try out Swee Xiang bak kut teh at Klang Utama, I knew that it was not going to be something special, and indeed it was.
Swee Xiang BKT at Klang Utama
Swee Xiang is located at the less glamorous part of Klang, quite a fair bit away from most residential areas. It is about a 10 minutes drive from Klang town itself, in the light industry area opposite the huge 99 Speedmart warehouse along Jalan Kapar.
It is a typical “kopitiam” type of set up, and being located within an industrial area, parking is plentiful, so that’s definitely a plus.
pork tendon, bak kut teh, curry chicken, vege
Unlike typical bak kut teh place, Swee Xiang actually offers quite a few differnet dishes. The hong bak here is definitely something that you shouldn’t miss, the soft pork tendon, tofu, and fatty pork knuckle were prepared perfectly with super thick sauce that left me yearn for more.
The bak kut teh is decent but not overly impressive, I’d recommend ordering minimal portion just for completeness and hydration sake.
glorious brunch on a Sunday, can’t beat this
Interestingly, curry chicken is also one of the more popular dishes here (sort of like Peng Heong paikut offering mutton curry). The version here comes with thick curry broth, soft potato, and juicy chunks of chicken that goes well with steamed rice.
In the interest of taking full advantage of a “cheat day”, we also ordered some intestine & chicken feet to complete the meal. It was quite glorious.
Unfortunately, our session was not 100% complete as the highly recommended pork stomach soup had ran out that day, so it looks like we’ll have to go back there again.
P/S: another good Hong Bak place to check out would be 158 Hong Ba at Pandamaran.
Address: Restoran Swee Xiang No. 2, Lintang Sungai Keramat 7C Taman Klang Utama 42100 Klang, Selangor GPS: 3.086284, 101.414509 Tel: 016-373 4037, 016-684 9811
For those who loves classic Hokkien dishes, Hua Xing would be a place you shouldn’t miss. For reasons unknown, I didn’t know the existence of this place until very recently, despite staying rather close to the area and actually visited the police station just across this restaurant for “official business“, furthermore, Sing Kee is also one of the restaurants we frequent.
Restaurant Hua Xing at Sungai Way, Petaling Jaya
Most of it though, has to do with the location of this place. Situated on the first floor of a fantastically planned shopping strip that is Plaza Seri Setia (conveniently situated behind a row of shop houses), it is but 50 meters from Federal Highway, but well hidden enough that you’d never find Carmen Sandiego if he take up residence in this building.
Anyway, the restaurant has a pretty clean, air conditioned interior, with photos of various dishes plastered on the wall, which was helpful. Food arrived in less than 10 minutes after we ordered, definitely a good thing.
Hokkien braised pork with “alkaline” kuih, or Hong Bak in Hokkien
I’m ashamed to be a Hokkien for not having heard about Hong Bak before, and how insanely awesome this dish is. Really fat cuts of pork braised in thick, sinful gravy accompanied with soft “alkaline” kuih. The kuih is like a softer version of char kuih kak’s kuih, and really goes well with the gravy. Of course, those fatty pork doesn’t hurt at all. I love it.
Another notable dish here is the fried eggplant. It reminds me of the version at Serai which I loved, both are deep fried, one with sugar (Serai), and another with plenty of garlic. Very delicious and positively addictive, I will order this every time I’m here.
The bitter gourd Hokkien mee is a nice change from the ordinary version which can be a tad “jelak” after having the 2nd bowl. The slight bitterness from the vege neutralize the dark sauce in a positive way, I like it.
Potato flour noodle was a bit of a disappointment for us, a bit too dry for my liking, and doesn’t offer any advantage in taste either.
The rice wine (or actually red yeast) chicken was another old school dish that we tried, it could do better with heavier dose of red wine/yeast thingy but the dish held its own nonetheless. It’d be better with rice, we had noodle, so a bit of mismatched there.
Yuki, Horng, Suan, and KY at Hua Xiang, Sungei Way
Over all, the dinner at Hua Xing was a positive one. I believe we’ll definitely head back there again. I only wish that the parking situation is a bit more favourable though.
Address: Hua Xiang Restaurant Lot1-12, 1st Floor, Plaza Seri Setia, Jalan SS9/2, Seri Setia, Sungei Way, 47300 Petaling Jaya, Selangor GPS: 3.085874, 101.62023 Tel: 03-7876 3288 Hours: lunch and dinner, closed on alternate Wednesdays
