Last chance to eat 'popiah' and 'nasi lemak' at PJ's O&S Restaurant

PETALING JAYA, Sept 26 – For over 40 years, 64-year old Kam Ann Nee has been rolling out popiah and serving customers her nasi lemak at O&S Restaurant.

Together with her husband Chew Sing San who operates the chee cheong fun stall, they are the pioneers at this coffee shop known for its delicious Penang eats.

No visit to the eatery is complete without a plate of thick, fragrant prawn paste chee cheong fun paired with popiah, not to mention the slurp-worthy asam laksa or freshly fried char kway teow.

On October 25, Kam will be retiring from the popiah business. Instead, she will be assisting her husband, behind the scenes, to prepare ingredients at home for his chee cheong fun stall.

The push for this move was driven by the retirement of their Indonesian worker who had been with them for 20 years or so. As Chew also explained, it's also time for them to take things slower since both of them are growing older and their children have all grown up.

Chew Sing San (left) and his wife, Kam Ann Nee have been operating their respective stalls for 40-plus years at O&S Restaurant.

The Penang-born couple had come down to Petaling Jaya to work when they were teenagers. Previously, they started out at the coffee shop behind Sea Park's KFC outlet, which was operated by Kam's relative.

They got married when Kam turned 21. As the management of the coffee shop changed hands, they both moved to O&S Restaurant to open their food stalls.

Kam makes the 'popiah' using a recipe handed down from her grandmother.

Chew's 'chee cheong fun' with his own made sauces and curry chicken are incredibly popular with diners.

Kam decided to sell popiah which is based on her grandmother's recipe, while Chew sold chee cheong fun. He may not make the smooth rice sheets but he concocts the sauces, like the thick gooey prawn paste. If you're not a fan of the pungent taste of prawn paste, you can pair the chee cheong fun with curry chicken.

A plate of Chew's prawn paste 'chee cheong fun' will transport you to Penang with its rich, pungent aromas.

Kam's popiah sports a signature look – unique to her stall – which is a streak of brown sauce on top.

The ingredients are added in layers before rolling.

Once each layer is added, the 'popiah' is slowly rolled together.

While the brown sauce and popiah skin is not made by her, she makes the slightly spicy chilli sauce that is used. You will find the popiah here is filled with juicy yam bean, lettuce, cucumber shreds, chopped fluffy omelette and fried shallots. Each popiah is RM2.50.

The spring rolls are stuffed with juicy yam bean filling, omelette, lettuce, fried shallots and cucumber.

The taste of Kam's nasi lemak is incredibly homemade. The basic nasi lemak is RM3.50 where you get a thick sambal paired with a lightly coconut milk scented rice, cucumber, hard boiled egg, crunchy fried ikan bilis and peanuts.

The stall also offers 'nasi lemak' with 'sotong'.

You can add curry chicken, tender sotong or Kam's homemade vegetable achar. My plate of nasi lemak with sotong was just RM6.

Usually by 10am, the nasi lemak will be sold out.

The popular restaurant houses many delicious choices for breakfast and lunch.

Sadly, once the stall shuts, she won't even entertain any catering requests for the popiah. This she explained is because she won't be making the popiah sauce anymore since it's not practical to keep the ingredients on hand.

Popiah and nasi lemak stall, O&S Restaurant, 1, Jalan 20/14, Paramount Garden, Petaling Jaya. Open: 6.30am to 12pm or until food finishes. Closed every Wednesday.