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One of my favorite types of comfort food is mixed pork porridge. A bowl of porridge with all the essential sinful ingredients and yet mild enough for a stomach that may not be in the best condition, it is really the quintessential comfort food.

Imbi market mixed pork porridge

Problem is, most of the stalls offering mixed pork porridge operates only in the afternoon or at night. In the afternoon, there’s seksyen 17 and SEApark, and at night, you can head to Jalan Sayur or Taman Cheras, but if you want it for breakfast, Imbi market is your answer.

Located right at the side that also houses the famous Ah Weng Koh Hainanese tea stall, this porridge stall also offers fish ball noodle and even curry noodle, hours are from around 7 in the morning till around noon everyday except on Mondays.

soft bits, crispy bits, delicious bits

This version of mixed pork porridge has most of the essential ingredients on the list – crispy deep fried pork intestine, stomach, pork slices, pork tongue too (I believe). The only thing missing would be coagulated blood, but I shall forgive them for this since the overall taste is still rather good. The congee is smooth and more than delicious enough for breakfast.

if this is not a good start to a working day, I don’t know what is

Oh, when you’re there, be sure to order a glass of Hainanese tea to go with your breakfast.

Address:
Imbi Market (Pasar Baru Bukit Bintang)
Jalan Melati, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14340, 101.71664
Hours: breakfast and brunch, closed on Mondays

Lets go back to one of my favorite breakfast spots in town at Imbi Market, and this time, we look at Ah Fook Chee Cheong Fun, one of the busiest hawker stalls.

Ah Fook Chee Cheong Fun at Imbi Market, always with a queue

While chee cheong fun is on the banner, the stall is actually very popular with their yong tau foo that is prepared fresh everyday and cook right on the spot. Fresh yong tao foo is definitely the way to go.

As for chee cheong fun, there are two types to choose from, the usual plain type, and the On Soon chee cheong fun that comes embedded with some ingredients. I always choose the latter.

a good selection of yong tau foo made from scratch on the spot

The selection of yong tau foo is pretty good as well, with a few types I haven’t seen anywhere, such as long beans and “four angle beans”. There’s also a few types of tofu, tofupok, and fish balls as well. My favorite piece is however, their fried fu chuk. If you’re a fan of fu chuk, you gotta try this.

chee cheong fun with yong tau foo, awesome breakfast combination

As a bonus, imbi market also serves the best Hainanese tea from Ah Weng Koh’s stall. So if you’re up to a wholesome breakfast, here’s surely a place to check out. Close on Mondays.

Address:
Imbi Market (Pasar Baru Bukit Bintang)
Jalan Melati, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14340, 101.71664
Hours: breakfast and brunch, closed on Mondays

Inflation is as unavoidable as death and taxes, and as most things, there are always silver linings to be found. For example, while at Imbi Market this morning weighing my breakfast options, I found a fresh new sign on the nasi lemak stall that I never noticed – a new price list for 1/1/2014.

Ann Nasi Lemak at Imbi Market

And it was only by looking at the price list that I realized they actually offer non-halal nasi lemak – with pork, and most interestingly, pork skin curry too!

So I immediately ordered a portion of nasi lemak with pork skin curry (RM 5), which comes with fragrant santan rice, salted peanuts and anchovies, half an egg, a few slices of cucumber, sambal, and a rather generous portion of pork skin curry.

nasi lemak with curry pork skin, what more can you I ask for

And boy it was a very satisfying breakfast indeed. The curry was flavorful, the rice fragrant, and pork skin did not disappoint at all with its perfect texture. I cleared the plate pretty fast.

A glass of cold Ah Weng Koh Hainanese Tea made for perfect companion as well.

I cleared the plate within minutes, yums

Other than pork skin curry, Ann’s Nasi Lemak also offers nasi lemak with pork (RM 6), with curry chicken drumstick (RM 7), with anchovies (RM 4), with sambal cockles (RM 5), with sambal squid (RM 6), economy meehun or mee (RM 2.30), and glutinous rice (RM 3.50). Of course, you can always add additional ingredients to make up your personal version of breakfast for champions.

Other non-halal nasi lemak includes the one at Segambut Hoi Kee kopitiam and 6 to 10 Nasi Lemak and Grill.

Address:
Ann Nasi Lemak 
Imbi Market (Pasar Baru Bukit Bintang) 
Jalan Melati, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14340, 101.71664
Tel: 016-364 5959
Hours: breakfast and brunch

Popiah, or commonly known as fresh spring rolls in most other parts of the world, has always been one of my favorite breakfast dishes. It’s easy to eat, contains an assortment of vegetables, usually pretty economical, and doesn’t take a long time to chew down.

It is a dish that is pretty common in Penang, but unfortunately, good ones are hard to come by in Klang Valley, so I was pretty happy when I finally sampled from this one from Imbi market.

the poppiah stall at Imbi market

Sister’s Crispy Popiah is situated some 10 meters away from the famous Ah Weng Koh Haianese Tea. It has been operating at the same spot for years, and business in the morning is rather good. There’s almost always a small queue right in front of the stall, behind the operator that always move in a super brisk pace.

two pieces of pohpiah at RM 4.40

A single serving goes for RM 2.20, one is never enough as the only dish, but suffice as a side dish if you have something else to go along with, like a plate of wantan mee or some breakfast toasts for example.

Other than the popiah skin, chili paste (optional), and sweet sauce, there are at least five other ingredients packed into this spring roll, including sengkuang (yambean), cucumber, carrot, and some absolutely fantastic crispy bits (I have no idea what they are).

goes well with toast and Hainanese tea too

The normal serving is a little on the drier side, but if you prefer to just ask, you can have it with a bit of those sengkuang soup to wet them as well (which is closer to Penang style). The popiah skin holds up well while not being too thick, the mixture of crispy ingredients and really soft, well cooked sengkuang makes for a well balanced contrasting texture that I really like.

A pair of popiah for breakfast? I can do it this any day.

Address:
Sisters Crispy Popiah
Imbi Market (Pasar Baru Bukit Bintang)
Jalan Melati, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14340, 101.71664
Hours: breakfast and brunch

Imbi market is fast becoming one of my favorite breakfast places on weekday mornings. It’s not too far from work, has a parking spot for my bike (paid car parking right next to the market), and excellent breakfast choices.

A few days ago, I tried the widely acclaimed Bunn Choon mini egg tarts for the first time.

Bunn Choon egg tart, since 1893

The banner that hangs over at Bunn Choon egg tart stall says that it’s been in operation since 1893, which means that this place existed before my great grandparents were born. I suspect that modern equipment such as the electric ovens were probably not being used back then to bake these goodies, but it seemed that the younger generation owners managed to keep the recipe intact, keeping the sterling reputation of this little stall over the years.

tried the almond tart, charsiu pie, and egg tart

For breakfast, I tried their almond tart, chasiu pie, and their famous egg tart (all for RM 4.40).

With business always brisk, you always get the pasty fresh and often still very warm. The egg tart creamy, soft, and flavorful, goes very well with a glass of hot coffee (doesn’t pair so well with Hainanese tea I think). The almond tart was not overly sweet and carries a subtle almond taste. Chasiu tart crispy on the outside and moist inside, with delicious bits of pork threatening to ooze out if you don’t chew it down quick enough.

If you are looking for some good old fashion Chinese pastry to go or for a quick breakfast, this would be a place to check out.

Address:
Bunn Choon Egg Tart
Imbi Market (Pasar Baru Bukit Bintang)
Jalan Melati, Kuala Lumpur
GPS: 3.14340, 101.71664
Tel: 03-9075 5625/ 012-254 7625
Hours: breakfast and brunch