Home of Hakka cuisine
Classic Hakka - Mui Choy Kau Yook (front), and Towfoo Kang (left)
By Eu Hooi Khaw
AUG 22 — When Danny Chong of Hakka Restaurant told me his mother Lee Siew Chin would be hosting lunch for us, I was over the moon. I met this feisty, elegant woman — founder of the 53-year-old restaurant — 16 years ago, when I had a thorough initiation into Hakka food.
That was at another Hakka Restaurant they had started in Cheras (it has since closed). I knew their food though, having been there when the restaurant was in the Chinwoo Stadium.
Now Lee is 85 years old, but still goes into the kitchen to make sure the Hakka flavours stay true to form. “My fourth son is the chief cook, my daughter is doing the accounts, and Danny takes charge of the restaurant. My own people are doing it,” said the matriarch. “I’m retired but I still look around to make sure the flavours are preserved.”
Hakka Fried Tofu that's crispy outside, moist and tasty inside
Indeed Lee is savvy about what people like in her restaurant, as well as how a spacious car park is crucial to its success. There is no problem now in its present location in Jalan Raja Chulan, just behind the Pavilion.
Believe it or not, the kangkung belacan we all love is her invention: “Last time people laugh and say we cook such cheap things as fishhead, bean sprouts, kangkung and tofu.” Guess who’s having the last laugh now.
“My husband came from China: he knew how to eat but not to cook. He told me the ingredients in each dish and I learnt to cook.”
Hakka matriarch Lee Siew Chin, still supervises the kitchen at age 85
The Fried Yong Tofu stuffed with minced pork and salted fish, cuttlefish and fishpaste arrived with a garlicky chilli dip. It was hot and crispy to the last bite, with a very tasty filling. Then the Minced Pork with Salted Fish cutlet (Harm Yue Yook Pang), with appetising hints of salted fish, had us asking for a bowl of rice to share. The fried, thin cutlet was simply scrumptious.
The Sang Choy Pau (lettuce wraps) is different from that in other restaurants. This has dried scallops fried with pork, mushroom, egg and onion. A little mustard and sweet sauce are smeared on the lettuce, which is then filled with the mixture. All the flavours came together well, though it was a little salty. This is a very popular item with foreign visitors to the restaurant.
So good -- Kai Lan fried with sweet rice wine and minced pork
It was great to have Lee explain to us about the Bean Sprouts Fried with Pig’s Stomach that smelt wonderfully garlicky and lemony at the same time. “It’s the chee toh tau (beginning of the stomach),” she said of the crunchy white slices in the bean sprouts that had been tossed in the wok with chilli, garlic and preserved lemon that gave it a sour tang. The lemon zest was obvious and clung to the bean sprouts.
To die for -- The Red Wine Mash Chicken or Hoong Chau Cho Mun Kai
The Tofu Kang (beancurd stew) here is exceptional. The white beancurd is cooked with prawn, minced pork and spring onion in a delicious stew that’s laced with some hot lard. It tasted wonderful.
The Mui Choy Kau Yook or braised belly pork with preserved vegetables is just as good as ever. The fat falls away as you pick up the meat with your chopsticks. All the flavours of the sweet preserved vegetables are in the meat which can make you eat more rice. We ate it with slices of white dumplings.
So scrumptious... Hakka Fried Noodles
“Now people don’t eat rice because of health reasons but in the past you would eat two bowls because the food is so appetising,” said Lee, whose mind is as sharp as ever. This was because the Hakka Yim Chau Kai (baked chicken with salt and rice wine) had just been served. The chicken had soaked in the wine (loh mai chau) and salt, and since it was kampung chicken, it had firm, tasty meat.
We were wowed by the Hakka Hoong Chau Cho Mun Kai. It’s red rice wine mash that was used to braise the chicken. There were slivers of salted vegetables in it, ginger, bamboo shoot and Chinese parsley (kun choy). We all loved it for its lightly sweet, hot and winey taste. The same mash can also be used to braise fishhead. We learnt from Lee that the restaurant makes its own salted vegetables. No wonder it was so good.
Even those who don’t like vegetables will be bowled over by the chopped kai lan fried with minced pork and sweet rice wine, the aroma of which was fantastic.
Lee told us a lovely story of her loyal noodle maker in Petaling Street whose Hakka noodles have been exclusive to her for 40 years! She presented us the “loh” (stirred up) and “chau” (fried) versions. I liked the fried one better as it had finely ground pork and cuttlefish clinging to every delicious strand, chives and beansprouts.
Hakka Restaurant is located at 90 Jalan Raja Chulan 50200 KL, Tel: 03-2143 1908.
