PETALING JAYA, Sept 19 — We made a visit to PJ's Section 17 as Cheaw Mun Wai nominated Restoran Kim Seng as his chap fan hero.
He said "the chap fan stall there has been around for decades, serving very affordable chap fan especially to the students living in the area." Also recommended is the siu chow stall that serves what he termed "large quantities at lower prices."
When you walk into the corner restaurant, the first thing you see is the chap fan stall manned by the affable Madam Yong. The spread here sees around 30 plus dishes with the usual favourites like steamed pork patty, fried eggs, deep fried pork belly and assorted vegetables. Specialties include their chicken curry, fried chicken, and sweet and sour pork.
You can also help yourself from the big pot of soup. The choices vary daily. The day we visited, it was cabbage soup with pieces of chicken, chopped cabbage and carrots.
As it was holiday time at the university, the students were absent and most of the diners that day were office workers or people who live nearby. Their choices are healthier ones as I spotted quite a few plates without rice or a little rice. They load up the vegetables and it's paired with smooth steamed egg and fried chicken.
My selection was a varied one with their chicken curry, stir fried long beans, steamed egg, deep fried ikan bilis and sweet and sour pork.
Even though I took a few items albeit smaller portions to sample, my plate cost me an incredibly affordable RM7. Madam Yong explained that she will observe the quantities taken and charge accordingly rather than just charge on the varieties taken.
The chap fan is available from 11am to 3pm. At night, they open from 4.30pm to 8pm. They will offer the same varieties of food but top up the quantities.
The chap fan stall has been around this area for about 30 years or so, as an extension of the siu chow stall that was started about 40 years ago by Madam Yong's husband. Till today, the siu chow place co-exists with the chap fan stall.
Nowadays, it is manned by Madam Yong's son, Ivan H'ng. He may look youthful but he has been cooking since 16. In his early days, he used to fry char kway teow and even sold pork noodles. With almost 30 years of cooking experience, he is a deft hand behind the hot wok.
A must-eat is their fried dried shrimp beehoon or har mai beehoon (RM8). It's infused with the fragrance of the dried prawns that makes the thin rice vermicelli strands really delicious. One cannot stop eating it, especially with the sambal on the side. The ingredients are simple such as a fluffy egg omelette, thin sliced pork and fish cake slices.
The other signature item is their pai kuat wong (RM8) with its sweetish sauce covering the crispy pieces of pork. Even their sweet and sour pork or ku lou yok is famous too. Ivan cooks these in batches as diners will usually order their signature dishes.
It's a mad rush during lunch time as he will be cooking up the dishes but it's all done quickly.
The siu chow menu is a varied one with rice or noodle dishes. You also have roast pork paired with different vegetables, salted black bean or with fried rice.
There's also chicken dishes like black pepper chicken, bitter gourd chicken and so forth. You can get Hokkien mee, Cantonese noodles, loh mee and even dry style char kway teow.
The siu chow stall is open from 12.30pm to 2pm for lunch. The dinner session starts from 5.30pm until 9pm.
Restoran Kim Seng, 607, Jalan 17/10, Section 17, Petaling Jaya. For the siu chow stall, you can call +6012-2917789 or +6010-2137789 to place a takeaway order. The chap fan and siu chow stall are closed on Saturday.
