Kedai Kopi Hock Seng Hin

Today, I discovered another hidden gem in the middle of K.L. city. This time, Pudu.

Yesterday, my uncle called and invited me for a special lunch today. We did not go into the details, all I knew were Pudu and fish head with black bean sauce. Personally, black bean sauce is not even on my very long list of favourites, but I decided to be adventurous and give it a try, since you never know what you will find in K.L. but most importantly the other alternative was to rot at home.

I have not even heard of this place before, but from what I was told, it is a famous place ran by some really fierce and feisty sisters. That was not what I was going for. The thing that attracted me was the fact that you have to make reservations, for lunch, in a coffee shop. Another reason was the need to leave for the place at 11 a.m. but to be fair we had to pick up my uncle's friend.

Hock Seng Hin coffee shop.

This place is in the middle of Pudu, with its pre-war buildings which are quickly coming apart, but by Malaysian standards still habitable. In fact, the sign was already giving way and had I not know Chinese, the last two letters on the sign would remain a mystery. 

To the kitchen.

We entered the shop through the back. It was reasonably hygienic, the caveat being by Malaysian standards. The kitchen has a neatly stacked tower of firewood, and that is an unmistakable sign for good food. The black cast iron woks, the massive flames shooting from below, and the glowing embers reinforce that assumption. The lunchtime crowd is also a testament to the popularity of the food.

Blue or white collar, all come to gather.

The service is pretty slow due to the crowd, but if you prefer your scrotum attached to your body, you would not question the cooks. I quite like having my balls so I waited patiently. To say the least, it was damn well worth the wait.

Catfish with black bean sauce.

The signature dish came first.

I would say that when I first tried it, there was no surprise. It was just alright for me. However, the more I had, the better it tasted and by the end of lunch, I was already craving for it. To begin with, the fish is fresh as can be, probably from the Pudu wet market a few blocks away. All the tiny bones I had to pick away was well worth it. The flesh was succulent and flavourful. The texture of the fish was just heavenly. When eaten with the sauce, the flavour of the fish is still more dominant, but when tasting the sauce alone, I found that the sauce was pretty salty on its own. This is atypical of Chinese-Malaysian cuisine where the fish is usually bombarded with sauces, which tends to mask any imperfections due to lack of freshness. With fish this fresh, there are no flaws to begin with.

The sauce itself deserves another paragraph on its own. It is thick and abundant. The ingredients in the sauce bind together so well that the hints of those ingredients are hard to trace. I could not even taste the black beans. That perfect amalgam of the ingredients into one flavourful sauce, that is the magic of the dish. I could have rice with this sauce alone.

Bitter-gourd with chicken.

Again, it is all about the sauce. This dish had the same magic in the sauce. The sweetness of the bitter-gourd can be tasted in the sauce, coupled with the hint of wood fire is just to die for. Not many restaurants use firewood for their cooking, but for Chinese cooking, I still insist that that is the formula for achieving a dish that is as close to perfection as can be.

The bitter-gourd was cooked until tender, but still retaining some of the crunch. The sauce gives them a savoury taste and also masked a bit of the bitterness.

The only problem I have is the use of chicken breast meat, but that is me being fastidious. There is really nothing wrong about this dish.

Kangkung (water convovulus) belacan.

The first word that came to my mind when I sampled this dish was "lard". Lard, glorious lard - the must have ingredient in a good plate of fried vegetables. The thing I like about this dish is the lack of intention to hide the fact that lard was used in frying it. It was not a hint of lard, the dish tasted like lard. This is a bit extreme for people who do not really fancy pork lard, but to me, this is as close to heaven as it gets.

Fresh vegetables, still retaining its dark green colour, its crunchy texture, after flash frying with firewood and lard, adding a strong belacan to the mix, tasting that combination is just an ineffable experience. There are no inhibitions in the preparation of this dish, just pure unadulterated lard. The moment you start needing your fix for this dish, your health is probably out the window, but with such food, who needs health anyway?

Choi sum (mustard greens) with prawns.

This is the mystery dish for me. Why? The choi sum tasted like prawns! For the first time in my life, I have eaten vegetables that tasted like prawns! This is a dream come true! I was ecstatic when I sampled this. To think of it, to infuse vegetables with prawn flavour could only be done by boiling it with prawns, which would mean the vegetables would become soggy and mushy. With this dish, the vegetables were still crunchy!

This coffee shop is definitely more than what meets the eye. I would not even hesitate to call it a hidden diamond in K.L. There is not only a sensation on the palette when it comes to food like this, you can feel the soul, for the lack of a better word, bursting through. It is the kind of food that warms the heart as much as it warms the tummy, one that brings back that familiar feeling of satisfaction in the good old days and the comfort of being at home.

For some reason I cannot find the location of this shop anywhere online. Also, I cannot be trusted with my way around K.L., or anywhere for that matter. However, if you truly want to find this hidden gem, you will find your way. That is part of the experience, taking time off, slowing down and searching for a part of you, a taste that is long forgotten. 

Restoran LYJ

To begin, I have heard much too many good things about this restaurant while I was in Melbourne. People praised, exalted even the food at this restaurant. Some say it is the best Chinese restaurant in Malaysia that they have ever been to, a serious claim considering the sheer number of Chinese restaurants in this country and the frequency they frequent these restaurants. Nonetheless, it sounded too good to be true. Hence I was a strong sceptic.

As if the bar was not high enough to begin with, my family arranged that LYJ be the venue for my welcoming dinner. After months of continual craving for Malaysian cuisine, this was chosen as the place for me to open my floodgates of desire. I went to the restaurant with hopes of stuffing myself silly with a stellar dinner.

The first impression I got upon arrival is that the place looks like crap, and I do not mean that in a good way. Certain restaurants look crappy, but rightfully so. Such places look crappy but homely. You can sense the history and the experience of the restaurant in every piece of plank with rusty nails and every piece of almost decrepit furniture. This place, on the other hand, looks very mechanical, frigid and just devoid of any soul. It seems that its only purpose is as an eating place. Nothing else whatsoever.

Crappy decor.

Fortunately, I cannot say the same about the food. Calling this place "good" does not do it justice. I shall explain in the detailed review below.

Standing chicken.

Dad in the background.

Mom going at the chicken.

The famous standing chicken is one of the star attractions at LYJ. After months of being tagged in Facebook on the carcasses of impaled chickens did arouse the curiosity in me. To be honest, the cynic in me wanted a taste of this dish as I have had many experiences with Chinese styled roasted chicken and none of them are good. Chickens cooked this way are usually completely devoid of moisture, resulting in almost unpalatable chunks of dry, hard, white meat.

Unfortunately, I was right about the chicken. Although the skin was a lot crispier and tastier than any other I have tasted, the meat was still dry as husk in many parts, especially the breast. The fortunate part was, there were parts of the chicken which were still tender. The thighs downwards, the wings, the ribs were still good, and those were the pieces I enjoyed.

Another disappointment was the chilli sauce that came with the chicken. It had a very artificial taste to it which I can only describe as plastic-y. There is no real flavour to it and the chicken was way better off on its own.

Fried lala with ginger and spring onion.

The fried lala with ginger and spring onion was good. It would be better if more than half of the shells were not empty. The lala were really big, fresh, succulent and juicy. Luckily, the sauce was not bombarded with salt and other seasonings, thus, the clammy flavour of the lala was preserved. However, the sauce was too starchy and thick. Most of the sauce was stuck to the plate rather than to a lala, making me think that the ginger and spring onion were redundant.

Fried kailan with yellow wine.

This is definitely one of the best fried vegetable dishes I have ever eaten. The fragrance of the cooking wine is balanced with the savoury sauces, a perfect combination with the slightly burnt kailan. The most important aspect of frying vegetables Chinese style is a strong flame, or what I call rocket fuel frying. Flash fried for slightly more than a minute, the vegetables retain the crunchiness, moisture and the attractive green colour that turns yellow if the vegetables are fried for too long. I guess I could complain that the vegetables are not burnt enough, but this is a healthier alternative. However, this is just me trying to find fault with an almost perfect dish.

Pork belly with salted fish.

This is definitely a favourite in my books. Thinly sliced strips of succulent pork belly in a claypot, seasoned with salted fish and a thick sauce. LYJ has certainly done all the right things with this dish. The saltiness is not overpowering unlike many versions of this dish that other restaurants serve. It was just right. The thing I enjoy the most would be the crispy crust on every piece of pork belly. It was just like a perfectly baked middle bacon, but with local twist. The lard and salted fish melting in your mouth is one of the best sensations in life. I could not praise this dish more without exaggerating. It is that good. In fact, it is the best version I have ever tasted.

Steamed tilapia with green sauce.

This dish, for me, would be the most underrated dish in LYJ that I have tasted. The fish itself is not the main attraction, it is just steamed without any seasoning. However, the freshness of the fish is important as the texture of the fish is paramount due to the lack of seasoning to mask the imperfections in texture. The sauce, on the other hand, works magic. I do not exactly know what is in the sauce, but I think the ingredients are calamansi, lime, mint and green chilli. The sauce is just a perfectly balanced combination of sweet, sour and spicy.

I can imagine this dish being served in small portions on a big gourmet plate, and plated up fine dining style with the sauce in puree form and spread around the plate. This dish wins all the points in creativity and is a dish no one would forget. 

Cold pucuk paku (fern shoot). 

Pucuk paku has always been one of my favourite vegetables, but I have only eaten it cooked lemak style, in sweet, thick, curry-like gravy. LYJ serves pucuk paku cold, as a salad, with a sour dressing.

It is a refreshing dish. The pucuk paku was fresh and crunchy, and there were deep fried onions to add more crunchy bits to the dish. The only problem I have with the dish is that it should have been served first, as an appetiser instead of coming last, as a dessert substitute. Nonetheless, this is not a problem with the dish per se but the service.

All in all, LYJ is a restaurant far above the average Chinese-Malaysian restaurant, but to call it the best would be unfair since there are restaurants which serve certain dishes better than what they have. However, to have so many dishes that are creative and atypical of the genre does have its merits in my book. It seems to me that LYJ is not only a restaurant but a place where the passion for cooking meets the courage of invention. Even the dishes that are typical of the genre deserve the highest praise, especially the pork belly with salted fish.

I foresee myself dining here very often whenever I am in town. It may not be the absolute best, but it is definitely first class.

Restoran LYJ

PT 11, Jalan Perkhidmatan,

Kampung Baru,

47000 Sungai Buloh,Selangor Darul Ehsan.

03 6140 2678

No Google Maps. This place is literally in the middle of nowhere.

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!

Jeremy is another sad person whose birthday fell on an exam day this year. Fortunately, some of his friends have already finished their exams and some of them, like me, do not really care about the remaining papers. As such, he still had people willing to celebrate with him.

At first we wanted to have his dinner at Ishiya Stonegrill, but upon arrival we found that it was closed for renovation. Bad luck.

Full house.

Then the venue was changed to Pizzeria 39. However, we did not make reservations so we had to wait more than half an hour while we were all well into starvation. Bad luck again.

We walked around the nearby Hardware Lane and a waiter of a seafood grill restaurant offered us complimentary drinks and entree and being the cheapskates we are, we took the bait hook, line and sinker (pun intended).

Leather covered menu.

The waiter offered us bruschetta and garlic bread for entree and everyone of us ordered alcohol. These were all on the house.

Bruschetta and garlic bread with sour cream and olive spread.

The garlic bread is really awesome, like really, really awesome. It is not your conventional garlic bread, it resembles a naan bread, or pizza, just a lot crispier on the crust. 

The bruschetta was decent. Nothing much to say about that.

Cheers.

We were enjoying the drinks because they were complimentary.

The birthday boy, I mean man.

Keith falling asleep.

The food took longer than what you would expect in a steakhouse. Some of us were already falling asleep.

400g aged rib-eye with port wine jus. 

Medium rare.

This is nothing like medium rare.

Serious food review time. The steak was horrible. There is no other way to describe it. I would not even call it decent.

 I ordered a medium rare steak and I had trouble slicing through the steak although the knife was pretty sharp. I doubted it was medium rare even before I saw the colour. When the knife went all the way through, it proved that my guess was correct. Getting your steak rarity wrong is not acceptable when you charge such prices.

The taste was even more appalling than its looks. The crust was so salty I could not even taste the flavour of the beef, if the beef had any flavour to begin with. The texture of the meat gave me the impression that the beef is not really fresh. A decent rib-eye does not taste, look and feel like this.

The port wine jus is as big a disappointment as the steak. The wine is not reduced enough, resulting in a thin sauce which did not taste good at all.

Jojo face-palming due to the quality of the food.

Not exactly cheap, not at all value for money.

After dinner, we walked around the area in search of a place for desserts. Jojo and Jinny suggested Giraffe cafe, and there we went.

The cafe provides card games, board games and other junk to kill time with. We were playing Jenga and the pressure was on. Whoever toppled the tower would have to pay for Jeremy's dessert.

Studying the structural integrity.

Looking from a distance.

Jinny's turn.

Moments before falling.

Jinny's fault.

We were busy playing while the desserts were being served one by one. None of us dared to touch our food before the tower toppled. Luckily, Jinny was quick to put us out of our misery.

Crème brûlée.

The crème brûlée is bad. It was not thoroughly cooked and about halfway down the cup it was liquid. That being said, expectations were not high in the first place as the shop is run by Chinese people and crème brûlée is not quite a Chinese thing.

Still enjoying ourselves despite the horrible dessert.

Jeremy wanking at the table, and looking happy.

Although luck was not even remotely on our side that day, we still had fun and a lot to talk about. Sometimes, good company really does beat good food.

Before I end, I would like to wish Jeremy "happy birthday" again.