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YummY! Jotaro's Food Review
GOOD HOKKEIN FOOD @ HONG NGEK RESTAURANT
Jalan Tun H.S. Lee, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - January 2013
After collecting our goodies for the OCBC Malaysia 2014 Ride (... see ride blog) and going for a good ride at the Bukit Tunku area, we were looking for the Sang Kee fried noodles to have lunch. Somehow, I got a bit disorientated and could not locate the place. Our cycling buddy Felix (of the Outdoor Xplorer blogs) suggested that instead we go to the nearby Hong Ngek Restaurant. And we were most glad that he did, for we "discovered" a gem of a foodie place right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur City - right there, where the city started it's birth!
Hong Ngek is on of those old traditional Chinese restaurants in the heart of the city. These traditional places are getting pretty hard to find these days as they are slowly dying out as the latter generations of the founders find it hard to compete with newer joints. It's a pity as in these places one will get good food cooked in old time-honoured style, dishes that are delicious and harder to come by these days. Prices are very reasonable too as the operators usually own their own place and don't face high rentals.
Founded in the 1940's by Phung Kim Hui, the place started off by serving Hokkein dishes similar to Phung's birthplace of the Heng Hwa region of the Fujien province, China. These days however, there is an infusion of spicier fare into their menu to cater for the present younger generation's taste.
We started off with simple dish - Stir Fried Kangkong (water spinach) With Whole Garlic. This simple dish being quite bland was not a very good introduction to the place. I do hope better will be coming.
And we were not disappointed; what came next really bit on our taste buds. The Thai Style Deep Fried Tofu was very spicy. Being sweet and sour, it was poles apart from the first blend dish. What a lovely contrast!
The tofu were quickly deep fried in very hot oil so that the crust were crispy while the inside were still very soft. The hot Thai sauce really gave this dish an oomph! Laced with sesame seeds, it was just adequately sour without being overly spicy that to taxed our taste buds.
Surprise! Surprise! The tofu were in-filled with fish paste that had small cuts of spring onion and radish. YummY!
The Pork Ribs In Sweet Sauce was another onslaught on our palate! The deep fried pork ribs were laced with sweet sauce that is so thick to the point of being a caramel.
The pork ribs came in big chunks, with each piece well laced by the sauce. Although it was tasty, I found the meat to be a bit tough; perhaps they can find some way to tenderise it.
The Stir-fried Spicy Prawns & Cuttlefish that came next was just slightly spicy hot. The sauce brought out the fresh taste of the prawn and the cuttlefish was surprisingly very tender.
The spicy flavour of the sauce, with its prawny flavour went very well with our white rice.
The piece d' resistance - Pork Slabs In Bean Paste Gravy - was a dish that came to finish of a nice meal.
The pork with the skin and a thin layer of fat were lightly deep-fried in large slabs. Cut into thick slices, these chunks of meat were then cooked in a bean paste gravy with stock made from ground-nut soup. Some of the boiled soft ground nuts were added into the cooking. Surprisingly, the skin were crispy soft and the meat had absorbed the gravy well too. YummY too!
Overall it was an interesting meal - one of a mix of traditional Hokkein fare together with some spunky spicy dishes. Sitting there at the old restaurant makes the experience all the better. Although it was lunch time, the place was surprisingly quite cooling. And on hot days, there is always the air-conditioned section upstairs.
Some photos that were pasted on their walls showing the good food that they offer:
One of their signature dish - Tong Poh Yoke (Braised Slabe of Pork Belly).
Price list on the wall of their noodles & rice dishes. These are favourites take away for neighbouring office workers to take away for lunch or dinner.
HONG NGEK RESTAURANT
50, Jalan Tun H.S. Lee (Jalan Bandar),
50000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Phone : 03-2078 7852
019-222 0407
Hours : 11:00 am to 7:00 pm daily.
Closed on Sundays.
GPS : 3.148540, 101.697751
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After collecting our goodies for the OCBC Malaysia 2014 Ride (... see ride blog) and going for a good ride at the Bukit Tunku area, we were looking for the Sang Kee fried noodles to have lunch. Somehow, I got a bit disorientated and could not locate the place. Our cycling buddy Felix (of the Outdoor Xplorer blogs) suggested that instead we go to the nearby Hong Ngek Restaurant. And we were most glad that he did, for we "discovered" a gem of a foodie place right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur City - right there, where the city started it's birth!
Founded in the 1940's by Phung Kim Hui, the place started off by serving Hokkein dishes similar to Phung's birthplace of the Heng Hwa region of the Fujien province, China. These days however, there is an infusion of spicier fare into their menu to cater for the present younger generation's taste.
We started off with simple dish - Stir Fried Kangkong (water spinach) With Whole Garlic. This simple dish being quite bland was not a very good introduction to the place. I do hope better will be coming.
And we were not disappointed; what came next really bit on our taste buds. The Thai Style Deep Fried Tofu was very spicy. Being sweet and sour, it was poles apart from the first blend dish. What a lovely contrast!
Surprise! Surprise! The tofu were in-filled with fish paste that had small cuts of spring onion and radish. YummY!
The Pork Ribs In Sweet Sauce was another onslaught on our palate! The deep fried pork ribs were laced with sweet sauce that is so thick to the point of being a caramel. 
The Stir-fried Spicy Prawns & Cuttlefish that came next was just slightly spicy hot. The sauce brought out the fresh taste of the prawn and the cuttlefish was surprisingly very tender.
The spicy flavour of the sauce, with its prawny flavour went very well with our white rice.
The piece d' resistance - Pork Slabs In Bean Paste Gravy - was a dish that came to finish of a nice meal.
The pork with the skin and a thin layer of fat were lightly deep-fried in large slabs. Cut into thick slices, these chunks of meat were then cooked in a bean paste gravy with stock made from ground-nut soup. Some of the boiled soft ground nuts were added into the cooking. Surprisingly, the skin were crispy soft and the meat had absorbed the gravy well too. YummY too!
Overall it was an interesting meal - one of a mix of traditional Hokkein fare together with some spunky spicy dishes. Sitting there at the old restaurant makes the experience all the better. Although it was lunch time, the place was surprisingly quite cooling. And on hot days, there is always the air-conditioned section upstairs.
One of their signature dish - Tong Poh Yoke (Braised Slabe of Pork Belly).
Price list on the wall of their noodles & rice dishes. These are favourites take away for neighbouring office workers to take away for lunch or dinner.
HONG NGEK RESTAURANT
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