Yut Kee – 83 Years of Legacy & Going Strong

Yut Kee – a name that most KL folks aware of. In fact, when you Google about Yut Kee, you’ll see tons of food blog links on this icon of Kuala Lumpur, raving about their famous Roti Babi (pork sandwich), Hainanese chicken chop and so on.

The heart of KL is one place I would stay away especially during peak hour, but on a bright Sunday morning, the usual horrendous traffic jam is no where to be found – much to my delight. Therefore, we finally found our way here to check out one of KL’s remaining Hainanese coffee shops in town. If possible, I would really love to order everything they have on the menu, but alas, the two of us only managed to have 3 items, plus two iced milk coffee. The steamed version of the toast with home-made kaya (coconut jam) was a pretty standard fare but we like the kaya for its thick consistency, egg-y aroma and not too sweet to the palate.

While waiting for our other orders to arrive, I sweeped my camera around for pictures and then it struck me. This place has an air around it, most possibly similar to those back in Ipoh. The atmosphere filled with noisy chatters of the patrons from all walks of life (multi-generational families!), the old-fashioned tiles, aroma of freshly brewed coffee permeates the air, the round marble-topped dining tables etc. How long was it since my last visit to such nostalgic eatery like this that I used to grew up with?

Although I only been here once, but I was saddened by the news that the 83 years old Yut Kee would only have approximately one year more to continue its business at the current location. The owner of the premise apparently have plans to redevelop the area. It seems like “change” is inevitable in these modern days, where history would have to make way for progress and developments. For those regulars who have been a loyal customers to Yut Kee all these years, it is definitely something hard to accept, especially the ambiance that they have accustomed to for so long. But heck, that doesn’t mean Yut Kee will stop their business. They will relocated to a new premise, possibly to Bodhi Tree restaurant which is also managed by the same Lee family.

Anyway, I digress.

The Roti Babi (RM 7.50) arrives and my dining companion was not impressed. Egg-coated and fried, the bread was stuffed with shredded pork, crabmeat and onions (some praise lyrical on the additional waxed Chinese sausage but we found none) but taste-wise, I think my dining companion was right. It was a bit bland. We realized it too late that we should have added a few dash of Lea Perrins Worchestershire sauce… by that time, we’ve wallopped everything down. That thought alone warrants another trip, don’t you agree?

Yut Kee is also famous for their other Hainanese fare, such as the Hainanese Chicken Chop (RM 7.00), which is served drenched in Lea Perrins Worcestershire sauce-infused brown gravy, plenty of onions, mix vegetables, tomato and potato wedges. The chicken fillet was succulent, juicy and the best part, it was the lightly-battered. Very much reminds me of mom’s cooking (especially her fried chicken), where simple marinade would be sufficient to do the trick.

Let’s hope that miracle would happen and Yut Kee would still be seen standing strong on its current location when the time comes.

Kedai Makanan Yut Kee
35, Jalan Dang Wangi (Campbell Road),
50100 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: 03-2698 8108
Business hours: 8am to 5pm
Closed on Mondays and the last Sunday of the month.

Need more info? Click HERE for dozens of links!

Standard Chartered Bank’s Extravagant 8 Menu – Elegant Inn

Chinese New Year is just a bout two weeks away! Radio stations and shopping malls have been blasting Chinese New Year songs throughout the month of January, signalling the Year of the Rabbit is approaching fast. Most Chinese will be busy preparing for the festive season, especially the important reunion dinner. If you’re a Standard Chartered credit card holder, here’s a good news for you. Standard Chartered Bank will be hosting the Extravagant 8 event in association with 8 of the best Chinese restaurants in Klang Valley from 20th January 2011 onwards till 17th February 2011. Chefs from all 8 participating restaurants will prepare a special customised menu for the fiesta.

Priced at RM888++ per table for a pax of 8, Standard Chartered credit card holders will not only be taken on a gastronomical journey, they will also be treated to free fortune cookies. Here are the list of participating restaurants:

1. Li Yen, The Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur
2. Shanghai, JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur
3. Celestial Court, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur
4. Tai Zi Heen, Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur
5. Zing, Grand Millennium Hotel Kuala Lumpur
6. Gu Yu Tien, Chulan Square Kuala Lumpur
7. Elegant Inn, Menara Hap Seng Kuala Lumpur
8. Chynna, Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Much rave reviews on their fine Hong Kong cuisine have been heard about Elegant Inn since their second outlet debut back in 2008 and I was lucky enough to be invited over to sample their Extravagant 8 menu, specially prepared by their executive chef Wesley Ng. As a normal practise, yee sang is a must-have for all Chinese New Year meal, hence we kicked off our meal with the Bountiful Harvest Salmon Lo-sang. Freshly shredded carrot, cucumber, radish, ginger, snow pear and pomelo sacs are tossed together with fresh sliced salmon, jelly fish, pearl clam, crispy crackers, sesame seeds and specially home-made dressing. The colour of the vegetarian ingredients were kind of pale especially the shredded cucumber, but hey, Elegant Inn emphasizes on natural ingredients and healthy-eating, hence no extra colouring or dye are used in their ingredients. Every mouthful was a refreshing experience as you can really taste the freshness of the ingredients. And don’t forget those Chinese phrases or wishes, while tossing the yee sang as high as you can!

It was a relieve to know that no shark’s fin will be served in all the participating restaurants. Elegant Inn double-boiled most of their soups for 4 – 6 hours with no extra flavouring enhancer to brings out the best natural flavour from the ingredients. Our Double-Boiled Village Chicken Soup with Cordyceps Flowers and US Top Shell was perfectly cooked with a distinctive sweet taste. Every drop of the soup were infused with the goodness of two village (free-range) chickens (yes, two!), pork ribs, Chinese ham, dried scallops, US top shell and cordyceps flowers, which is beneficial to the lungs and liver.

The next dish was Golden Fried Estuary Grouper with Chinese Leeks Fish is another must-have on the dining table during Chinese New Year, as fish (“yu” in Mandarin) signifies “nian nian you yu” (Abundance all year long). One thick slab of giant estuary grouper (long dan) was lightly fried to golden crispiness, topped with stir-fried leeks and “har kon” (dried prawn meat sourced from HK) and drizzled with superior soy sauce. The fish was beautifully done; moist and succulent, while the thick skin was a little bit gelatinuous but crispy.

While most restaurants would dunk their prawns or crabs into the salted egg yolk mixture, which resulted a thick coating of the mixture on the crustacean, Elegant Inn believes that will overpower the taste of the prawns. Hence, their Crystal Prawn done in Signature Salted Egg Yolk Style was prepared in the way that the egg yolk mixture was just enough to lend a subtle salted egg flavour without overpowering the taste of the prawns.

A labour-intensive style of cooking a chicken, this dish requires the work of stripping all the meat and bones from the whole chicken while retain the skin. It is then replaced with minced prawn paste (instead of fish paste as most restaurants did) and deep fried till the skin is crackling crispy, akin to roast pork skin. The chicken meat is then shredded to make the side salad with tomatoes and orange balsamic dressing. We love this Golden Boneless Stuffed Chicken with Chicken Tomato Salad lots!

Braised Sea Cucumber with Dried Oyster, Fatt Choy and Mushroom is another dish synonym with Chinese New Year, as “fatt choy” is always related to abundance of prosperity. High quality thick cut of sea cucumber and big, plump Japanese oysters are used in this dish. We were almost stuffed to the brim when we were presented with Braised Seafood Rice with Australian Scallops, Fresh Crabmeat and Abalone Sauce in Lotus Leaf. Looking at the amount of scallops and crabmeat on the rice, we just couldn’t stop ourselves from digging into this luscious rice dish despite our stomachs’ protest!

Last but not least, desserts! A symbol for “higher/better year”, nian gao or nin kou in Cantonese (sweet glutinuous rice cake) from Elegant Inn were just simply pan-fried lightly without any condiment and served with hazelnut cookies. The rice cakes were amazingly soft without overly sweet. The accompanying Chilled Japanese Pumpkin Sago with Green Bean made a good ending to the lavish meal.

I couldn’t remember how long it was since I had such a great meal prepared with good quality ingredients, paired with the great skill of the chef but Elegant Inn truly did a great job with their Extravagant 8 menu here. Kindly don’t just take my words for it. Come and experience it yourself. So, if you are a Standard Chartered credit card holder, grab this opportunity to feast on the limited time menu available, while ushering into the Year of Rabbit.

Elegant Inn Hong Kong Cuisine
2.01, 2nd Floor, Podium Block,
Menara Hap Seng,
Jalan P. Ramlee, 50250 KL.

Tel: 03-2070 9399
Fax: 03-2070 9398
Email: ei_hs@streamyx.com

Read about PureGlutton’s experience HERE.

Shin Chan Ramen, Solaris Mont Kiara

If only Crayon Shin-Chan can cook! Well, we might not have one but we have another Shin Chan who opened this ramen shop in Solaris Mont Kiara. Shin Chan Ramen is the brainchild of Wong Shin Chan and his brother, Tony (now you know where the name came from).

We were quite impressed with the interior design of this shop. The earthy colour palette exudes a dim, cosy and comfortable mood that beckons you to take a shelter from the scorching sun outside (black ceiling, dark colour furniture, dark blue mosaic cashier counter), while glasses and metal grills lend it a contemporary, modern finish. On the other hand, I personally think the menu is confusing – too much item and some of them are redundant (for example, you may find salmon teriyaki at page 8 and then you’ll see it again in page 17 but with different picture). That was most probably the reason which caused us to take a longer time to place our order. And the music – I heard Korean.

After much deliberation (we got some recommendations from the friendly waiter, luckily), I ordered the Sutamina Don (RM15) which came with rice, topped with generous amount of stir-fried lean pork, onions, chives, a little bit of chilli and a raw egg. Usually served as udon (sutamina or stamina udon), but the chef cleverly substitute it with rice instead, made it a more filling meal. When mix everything together, it became very moist and sticky but absolutely delish. The veggie and pork topping was stir-fried to perfection; the pork slices were succulent and tender and the chives does not have the strong, pungent smell as the usual Chinese would use.

A rather normal Katsu Don set (RM22) came with miso soup, salad, rice, white tofu and tangerines. The salad is forgettable (julienned cabbage with Thousand Island dressing) and the tangerines reminds me of Chinese instead of Japanese but I must admit it’s a refreshing change from the usual watermelon. The katsu (chicken, in this case) however, has a slight frozen taste to it.

There are some hit and misses but since we did not have any ramen, I guess I should order that next time for a fairer view. Wouldn’t mind to come here for the Sutamina Don again.

Shin Chan Ramen
19, Jalan Solaris 4,
Solaris Mont Kiara,
50480 KL.

Tel: 03-6203 6998
Fax: 03-6203 6989

While Googling, I found these; NekoHime, Epicurious Girl and Tockism.