GEORGE TOWN, Jan 3 — Hidden from view, behind rows of shophouses in the middle of George Town, is a large piece of land that used to be the location of a busy, bustling bazaar made up of wooden shanties.
Local merchants used to live, trade and organise performances on a stage in the middle of the square back in the late 1940s.
When the shanties were torn down, low-rise flats — now known as People’s Court — were built around the square some time in the 1950s and some of the residents and merchants were each given units.
In one of the shop lots on the ground floor of the flats is a nondescript, plain open-air traditional Cantonese restaurant.
The Chinese words on the signboard proclaim it to be a traditional-style restaurant offering simple, home-cooked fare.
The restaurant has been around since the 1960s and was started by Boey Chong Kee who named it after himself. Till today, it is still very much a family business and is run by Boey’s granddaughters, the Chan sisters.
Just as it says on the signboard, the restaurant doesn’t serve spectacularly complicated or unique dishes. Instead, the quaint little place offers up really simple fare such as stir fried sliced beef and braised duck.
Despite the simplicity of the dishes, the taste is one that evokes memories of carefree childhood days gone by. The flavours are those now rarely found in commercialised restaurants and naturally, there is no such thing as plating or presentation.
Food is served on plastic melamine plates of different colours and patterns as what seems to matter most to the cooks is the authentic flavours of their Cantonese-style dishes.
One of their specialties is stir fried egg with glass noodles and carrots, which they call “fried sharks’ fin” due to the similarity of the glass noodles to sharks’ fin. This is quite a common dish in most Chinese households.
It is served with lettuce leaves on the side; you put a spoonful of the egg mixture on a piece of lettuce, wrap and pop the whole thing in your mouth.
Somehow, the clean, fresh tastes of the ingredients without the added clutter of other added flavourings make this a winner.
Forget strong bursts of flavours or any added flavouring but be prepared to be reminded of what it used to be like to eat simple home-cooked meals made by your grandmother.
Here, each dish is carefully prepared; no words can do justice to the authenticity of the resulting flavours.
One of their must try dishes has to be their ginger braised duck. It may not look like much, just dark blobs of duck meat in a dark, almost black sauce, but be prepared for perfectly seasoned duck meat without the usually strong gamey flavours.
Another signature dish is the hoong siew fish head which is deep fried fish head, cut into small bite-size pieces, and then cooked in a thick, flavourful gravy with beancurd, leek and mushrooms.
The gravy is definitely a win for this one; it goes perfectly with the fish head and is great to eat with plain white rice.
The restaurant only offers one type of fried noodles, the char hor fun. This may be an ordinary fried hor fun dish but the way it is fried makes a lot of difference because one can practically taste the heat of the wok, called wok hei in Cantonese. Again, the thick, starchy gravy is as much a win as the one in the fish head dish. It is flavourful, thick and so good, you will be tempted to drink it like soup.
One thing for sure, there are no added flavourings, additives or MSG in any of the food served in this restaurant. The fresh, simple flavours of each dish, from the braised pork to fish fillet to a simple mixed vegetables, can attest to that.
Be warned though, the restaurant is quite small. It has about six tables inside and the rest are outside seating, right in the open air. Perhaps due to a large shady tree nearby, the outdoor seating area is quite airy and is cooled by a nice breeze most of the time but there is no protection from the rain.
Also, the restaurant is a popular dinner spot for many locals, most of whom are regulars who have been eating there for decades, so be prepared for a long waiting time of between 45 minutes to one hour.
This is also partly because each dish is individually prepared and cooked, like what we do at home, no mass productions here.
The kitchen is a really small space, able to fit in only three to four people with two of the sisters hunched over the woks and two others preparing the ingredients. Another sister will be outside, taking orders and serving drinks and food to customers.
Though the restaurant has a phone number, they usually do not entertain prior orders of food and seldom pick up phone calls either. Everything is on a first-come-first-served basis and new customers will also be forewarned with a curt, “You may have to wait 45 minutes.”
The restaurant does not have a fixed day off and the sisters may sometimes decide to close it and go for short holidays at any time of the year.
Boey Chong Kee
C-6, People’s Court, Off Cintra Street, George Town, Penang.
Time: 6.30pm-10pm
