KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Seremban may be a bustling town on its way to city status but there still exists food institutions with a long history.
This is especially true in the town area where pre-war buildings still dot the main roads.
One such example is Kedai Makanan Teo Hing, that sells Teochew porridge accompanied with a variety of dishes.
The establishment, although it has changed locations, has existed for 80 years.
Among the must-haves are slow-cooked ham choy (salted vegetable), pork trotters braised in gravy and vinegar, steamed pork ribs, boiled peanuts and steamed minced meat with chopped turnip.
One can also have the dishes with rice.
The dishes sound simple enough but scoops of ham choy eaten with rice and gravy from the pork trotters is enough to lure you back for more. At least for this writer who has frequented this restaurant since she was a child. They just don’t cook ham choy like this anywhere else.
The business started out as a stall in Birch Road (now Jalan Dato Bandar Tunggal) and it grew, the Tan family moved into a shop in Jalan Dato Abdul Rahman and remains in demand at its current location along the same road.
There are about 30 dishes available on a daily basis (they are closed every other Saturday of the month) from 11am to 5pm.
But be forewarned: Getting a parking spot is hard in this part of town.
The shop maintains an “old town” ambience ― from its black-and-white tiles to its counter where the only thing new is the cash register.
Tan Lui Song, 39, currently runs the joint after taking over from his father Tan Cheng Cheong, 69, about 18 months ago when he suffered a stroke.
The elder Tan opened the shop when he was 18.
The electrical and electronical diploma holder had several jobs in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur before returning to work at the restaurant.
“There is nothing special about the way we cook the ham choy. It just suits the customers’ taste buds,” he said.
“My mother was taught how to make it by my grandfather and she has been cooking it every day for the past 40 years.”
He added that his mother, Chia Siang Kiang gets up every morning and starts cooking the dish at about 4.30am.
“It has to be boiled for five or six hours. Cooking it is very simple. But it is all about ‘catching the taste’.”
The family has also been using the same ham choy supplier for four decades.
“Sometimes, the taste can differ, but this is because of the ham choy that comes to us.”
He personally cooks the pork ribs and steamed minced meat.
Tan added that they have not increased prices in the past five years, adding that business can get slow at times.
No thanks to the competition they face from the many food courts in Seremban.
“I am not sure how long we can remain open. It’s difficult to get workers.
“We have eight, including two cooks, and some of them have been with us for the past 40 or 50 years,” he said.
Server Teoh Chin Hee, 61, has worked at the establishment for the past 44 years, adding business hours used to be in the evenings when the food was sold from a stall.
“My friend was the one who told me about the job. I studied until Form One and went out to work,” he said.
“I have nowhere else to go. I take a break twice a year, though.”
