When in the past, you've only heard your mom reminiscing about this 茨厂街 (pronounced as 'chew cheong gai' in Cantonese), there's only one option...time to pay this place a visit! A few years back, my bro, sis and myself (siblings team) made a day trip to this place so this time round, we made sure we are able to stay a few nights there to explore more of that area.
Sis booked us rooms at Geo Hotel, which is just round the corner after exiting from the Pasar Seni LRT. Location was convenient as Petaling Street is just about 5 minutes walk away.
landmark of Petaling Street
For breakfast, you could opt for Hon Kee Porridge 汉记靓粥. This establishment has been around since our parents' time. Lots of tourists could be seen enjoying the smooth cantonese porridge from this stall. If the stall has no seats, just cross the road to the opposite side (near the bank) as those seats there are provisioned for this shop as well.
Hon Kee Porridge @ Petaling Street
Our usual orders would be mixed pork parts porridge (猪什粥) and fish porridge (生鱼粥). Place your orders and be seated. The staff will bring over when it is ready. The fried dough fritters or 'you zhar kwai' (油条) was nicely fried and crispy.
猪什粥 (chu chap juk)
生鱼粥 (sang yu juk)
If you don't fancy porridge, would you like to have some wanton noodles from Koon Kee? This is one of the famous and established stalls in Petaling Street, though lately many had commented about declining standards. Personally, I haven't tried Koon Kee.
Koon Kee
Take a stroll to nearby areas to check out other breakfast options. Perhaps some bak kut teh? If not, then there's also the Tang City Foodcourt to check out as well.
bak kut teh stall
There's also a stall selling dim sum if you like those. Be awed by the size of big pau. When we say big pau, we meant it. I found the siew mai a tad too tough for my liking but perhaps that also meant that it had packed more meat into it?
assorted dim sums
charcoal skin big bao, shang yuk bao, char siew bao
For decent local kopi, I prefer the one at Tang City Foodcourt over the one at 'Cha Wong' (茶王). The kopi at Cha Wong has a higher acidic sharper taste that's more tea-like than kopi-like.
Oooh, because it was Lunar New Year, we chanced upon a lion dance performance at the Guan Di Temple (关帝庙). So lucky of us!
lively lion dance
As you walk along, you will also encounter old hawkers who has been setting up stall at Petaling Street since their younger days. For example, the pancake uncle and the muah chee aunty.
pancake uncle
muah chee aunty
The coconut pancake retails for RM1 per piece and the muah chee is RM5 per box. Prefer the original muah chee as opposed to the multi-flavoured muah chee.
deft hands
years had gone by
Of course, when in Petaling Street, you will be looking for Sei Ngan Zai (四眼仔) or 'four eyed boy' roast duck stall. Hmm, but it is operated by two ladies wor and none of them wear spectacles. Why is it called Sei Ngan Zai? Half a duck for RM28 and one for RM56. Bought half to bring home and it was rather yummy.
Sei Ngan Zai Roast Duck
ate the roast duck with maggi mee
For the young and hip, there's also cafes around this area. The nearest would be Toast & Co. which exists inside the Grocer's Inn, a backpackers' hostel, or Coffee Amo and also Merchants Lane.
If you like old school bakes, there's the well established Fung Wong Biscuit (Confectionary). It was closed for a while and now it has reopened its doors. I do like their bakes especially the salted egg yolk pastry.
Fung Wong Biscuit
If you're thirsty from all the walking, there's Air Mata Kucing (Cat's Tears or Cat Eye Water?) or Kim's Soya Bean shop.
air mata kucing or ling chee kang
Read about previous visit to Petaling Street here.
It was during the recent Lunar New Year and we were visiting relatives around Ampang and Cheras area. The time was about 2+ pm and we were rather hungry. Cousin drove us to Hung Kee for food refuel. Surprisingly, the restaurant was still open during that hour. Usually, Chinese restaurants would be having their pre-dinner time break by then. Oh well, glad that they've stayed open. Let's eat! 吃饭咯!
menu
sample of available dishes
We were a group of 6 adults, so ordered two meats, one tofu, one vegetable dish and another side dish to eat for fun, or in Mandarin we termed it as '吃爽'.
Marmite Pork Ribs
Stir-fried yau mak (油麦) with fermented beancurd (豆腐乳) and garlic
steamed tilapia with minced ginger
The most impressive dish was the steamed fish as it was huge! However, this was the first time that we have minced ginger style that has soy sauce in it. Usually, soy sauce style is for Cantonese steamed fish and minced ginger sauce would be predominantly ginger. This was a hybrid but it still tasted good. However, the fish was rather big and certain parts of its head, looked a tad raw.
The stir-fried vegetable with garlic and 'fuyu' looked rather deceiving, as underneath those green leaves, were some chopped bird's eye chilies.
The marmite pork was very tasty with strong marmite fragrance and sticky sweet caramelized sauce, so it was a pity that most of its meat were rather tough.
Here's one dish that I think, is seldom found in Singapore; the stir-fry 'sang cheong' (生肠) with ginger and scallions. Do you know what is sang cheong? Nope, it is not pig's intestine.
stir-fry 'sang cheong' with ginger and scallions
Some may find it gross to eat innards and in particularly the sang cheong, but I found it utterly delicious. Texture was sprightly and crunchy, and tasted just fine with ginger and scallions. Utterly yums!
Didn't bother to take a picture of the tofu dish as it came to our table last, and we had already started eating halfway through by then.
The cost of the meal was about RM153 for 5 dishes, 5 plates of small rice and a pot of tea and fed 6 pax comfortably.
The place seemed more famous for its charsiew wanton noodles as we spied most tables ordered this, with roasted pork as well.
Hung Kee 亨记饭店
Address: 18-20, Lorong 4/91, Taman Shamelin Perkasa, 55300 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Contact: +60 3-9282 0133 Business Hours: Open daily, 6.30am-10pm
Revisited this place for some zhichar when I was back in Kajang during the December festive period. Read about my first documented visit here in 2012.
Wan Fatt feels rather run-down actually...but as long as the food is good and price is reasonable, then it is still one of the go-to places in Kajang. Rather unique to be going to a place that is like within temple grounds.
large tables for families
menu board
My cousin and uncle met us for dinner so there were 7 of us. Ordered five dishes; fish, pork, chicken, vegetable and a tofu dish. This place has a rather extensive menu and ordering was easy as the menu has pictures.
When eating zhichar in Malaysia, usually the dips would be garlic and bird-eye chilies with soy sauce. Drinks would be a pot of tea.
must-have
yum cha
Food arrived fairly quickly as we were there around 630pm. The crowds for weekends usually starts after 7.
(from top, clockwise - stir fried yau mak, pork ribs in golden pumpkin, two types of almond chicken, braised beancurd
The steamed tilapia with minced ginger was good. Think the fish was probably a good one kilo in weight. Vegetables were done stir-fried with preserved beancurd (the one's that is eaten with plain porridge).
The golden pumpkin was a bit bland though, but the pumpkin was naturally sweet. The chicken was a combo of crispy chicken skin with fish paste served with plum sauce, and the middle one would be deep fried chicken in salted egg yolk.
closer view of the almond chicken
The braised beancurd pot was really good and it has some vegetables in it as well. The sauce was good with the rice.
Dinner with family, aunties, cousins and nieces. Ventured to a new place as the usual one at Bukit Mewah had ceased their evening zhichar operation apparently.
The Old Man's restaurant is spacious and diners can opt for upstairs dining as well. With elderly folks, naturally we won't be climbing any stairs.
interior
You can bring your own bottle here but am not sure what's the corkage fee as the dinner was sponsored by cousins. At other places in Kajang, the corkage is RM8.
Had purchased an Argentinian Malbec a couple of days ago from Giant supermarket for RM38. An impromptu buy as I kind of like the taste of Malbec which is smooth, gentle with some spice.
Argentian red
Passed it to the restaurant staff, and voila; wine bottle in an ice-bucket.
just chilling for now
Colour was deep ruby and tasted fine though it had a bit of dregs in its bottom half. Nice and drinkable.
tofu soup with tiny shrimps
The soup texture was reminiscent of 酸辣汤 (sour spicy soup) but without the sour and spicy part. Eaten with a dash of black vinegar.
tummy warmer
In Malaysia, seems like we always order the '4 heavenly kings' or 四大天王. The version here has french beans, okra, brinjal and petai. It's like légume du jour.
4 heavenly kings of greens
egg furong 芙蓉蛋
The egg furong has diced char siew, onions and some tiny shrimps in it. But the omelette was so flat and a tad burnt.
The steamed tilapia was good. Big enough portion for 13 pax, yet the meat was so soft and silky.
steamed tilapia with minced ginger
quick fry mixed vegetables
The other vegetable dish with lotus roots was tasty. The celery and lotus roots were crunchy.
Simple dinner with family, a gathering of cousins and nieces. Till next year, take care.
The most famous food that one can find in my hometown Kajang, is satay. Delicious grilled meat skewers that taste of spices and sweetness, dunked in a spicy bowl of aromatic peanut sauce. Satay and Kajang is almost like a synonym. According to wiki, Kajang is also informally known as "Satay Town". And when you want to eat satay Kajang, one would usually head to these two places; Haji Samuri or Restoran Malaysia.
Sate Kajang Haji Samuri is located at Bangunan Dato’ Nazir, which used to be Kajang's old public library. Parking could be problematic at times with limited lots. Self-order at the counter and make payment. It feels like a fast-food joint nowadays. However, they do deliver the food to your table.
for large groups
In the olden days, you order satay and a bunch of meat skewers are delivered on a plate to your table and you eat what you want. At the end of it, the seller will come and count the sticks and charge in accordance. The uneaten ones are then taken back to re-grill and served to other customers. Thankfully, this was no longer practiced since aeons ago.
ayam (chicken), perut (cow's stomach) and daging (beef) satay
peanut sauce with a dollop of sambal
ketupat (rice) and timun (cucumber)
Though the satay nowadays is not as good as 20 years ago, the ones that we recently had at Haji Samuri was still tasty and flavourful. A major grouse would be that they do not seem to have sugarcane water on every visit. Satay and sugarcane goes hand-in-hand! Must haves!
closer view of beef satay
If you are ever in town to try Kajang Satay, you must must order the 'perut'. That's cow stomach (tripe) satay. First had it when I was a kid, and it tasted like cheese. Really. Of course now, it doesn't taste like cheese but is still as splendid. Yums!
perut satay (right)
Chicken satay here comes with a bit of skin, which is just the way I liked it. The beef was a tad tough. Also tried the fish satay and it turned out to be fine. Sweetish and not mushy. But give me tender juicy chicken satay that's not miniscule, plus some perut and I'm happy.
Chicken, fish, beef and tripe satay are RM0.80 per stick. Chicken gizzard and liver at RM0.70 per stick. For an adult male, expect to eat between 20 to 25 sticks, while adult females can usually do at least 12 sticks. A jug of drinks here are costly though at RM17 per jug. The orange drink was nice.
This cat cafe has been included as one of the itinerary items during my Penang visit early this month. Moreover, there's one wall mural that's at Jalan Muntri. So it ties in well with the plan. Explore, explore!
store sign
Was there on a Saturday noon. As you walk into the shop, you'll see a display of cakes. Rainbow cake, crepes and more. Upstairs is where you'll find the cats. Downstairs sells merchandise such as tshirts, mugs, pens, cushion covers, soft toys etc that's related to the feline or Penang's famous wall murals.
There's no cover charge to see the cats, but one does need to order something from the cafe before going upstairs. Got myself a sparkling peach drink @RM13+ after GST.
Then, you'll be required to wash your hands and take off shoes before heading upstairs, with the receipt/order chit.
narrow, narrow steps
Once upstairs, slide open the glass door and pass the chit to the staff. There are two dining sections, outer and inner. Inner section is where the cats are. If you have ordered lots of food and doesn't want the cats to 'kacau' or disturb you while eating, then choose the outer area first.
Naturally, I'd sit with the cats. Quietly slides open another door and choose a spot.
where the cats roam
There weren't many cats let loose that day. Only about 6 and all were napping. Cutest things ever, so took pictures of sleeping cats.
all curled up
cute paws
my bro said this looks like garfield
just forty winks
There's only another couple in there, we're just like waiting for the cats to wake up and hopefully, to play with.
grouchy cat: I'm awake, now what?
look into my eyes
The gray cat looks fierce but actually quite amiable, allowing humans to pet its body. It was only mildly curious at us humans.
grooming in progress
There's actually another enclosed area where there are some cats quarantined in there. One managed to climb out of it and started leaping from shelf to shelf. Quite interesting.
assessing the distance
looks like a small leopard
taking picture of someone else taking picture
looking for me?
90% of the cats there aren't interested in humans. They're more curious about things that we brought into their territory.
cat burglar in action: Ooh, smartphone in backpocket? I'll take it
postcard worthy
why so cute?
All in all, it was a fun experience getting up close with the various cats. Nice way to rest the feet after half-a-day of walking, searching for wall murals.
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