PETALING JAYA, Feb 26 — Life can be unpredictable and suddenly throw us some curveballs. Instead of just running away, the optimist in me will try to work out something.

That's what I felt when I read about this viral fried rice in Petaling Jaya.

Usually I'll just dismiss it as "fluff" but since I was in the vicinity, I decided to try it out.

Located at the back of the ever-popular Restoran Kam Heong, this stall just serves two items: fried rice and char kway teow.

I remember the char kway teow in this coffee shop was pretty good back then but I remember it was an older man frying. I guess this stall has changed hands, as now there are two frying stations.

But instead, go for their superb 'char kway teow' which is full of 'wok hei'
But instead, go for their superb 'char kway teow' which is full of 'wok hei'

The fried rice is trumpeted to be similar to what's served in Din Tai Fung, purely because it features four medium-sized prawns with a crunchy texture.

I reckon the prawns are the best part of this plate of fried rice that set me back by RM9.

There are two cooking stations set up to fry rice and noodles
There are two cooking stations set up to fry rice and noodles

Tastewise, the fluffy rice grains with bits of cooked egg are a little flat. Moreover, there's not much wok hei. You really need the tangy, spicy chilli sauce served on the side to give it flavour.

What made me much happier was the char kway teow (RM8).

The seasonings were good, with a slight salty savoury taste. You have strands of al dente noodles packed with wok hei.

The stall can be found right at the back of this popular coffee shop
The stall can be found right at the back of this popular coffee shop

Don't expect large sized cockles though. These are the generic tiny bivalves found at most stalls these days.

While it's nice to have juicy cockles, you can forgive their absence since the noodles served with crunchy, shorter plump bean sprouts makes for an excellent brunch. There are two prawns too with thin slices of waxed meat sausage. You will find that the size of these prawns are slightly smaller compared to what's served with the fried rice.

I learned to appreciate it more later in the week when I tried another stall that served a very bad char kway teow. Not only was that char kway teow devoid of wok hei, they had cut the long strands of the flat rice noodles.

An icon in PJ New Town, this eatery is forever packed with diners
An icon in PJ New Town, this eatery is forever packed with diners

So you get bite sized strands that keep slipping from my chopsticks. Definitely a no from me, since it didn't even taste like char kway teow.

Vui's Fried Rice Stall, Restoran Kam Heong, 8, Jalan Tengah, PJ New Town, Petaling Jaya. Open: 7am to 2pm. Closed on Tuesday.

*This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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