55: Yut Kee Restaurant

I was actually conflicted whether to do this write-up or not. Somehow, somewhere, the taste of the food just did not click with me. Based on memory alone, I think the quality might have dipped (around this point my mum would say "You're only been here once before a very long time ago"). True, but who am I to judge? In cases like these, I let the crowd do the talking.

Just look at the people, piling up outside like that. And this was just the beginning of the lunch hour.

Yut Kee Restaurant
36, Jalan Dang Wangi,
50100, Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-26988108
Open from 8am to 5pm
Closed on Mondays.

Yut Kee has been serving up hot local and western eats (with a touch of locality); like Hainanese styled pork chops and fish chops (say what?), since 1928. That's right. The same family (wait, that's absurd. I meant the same family line) has been running the restaurant for almost 80 years now.

Oh yes, they also have nice butter cakes to die for (and I am very sure some people agree). It definitely goes down well with your afternoon tea. They also have a huge roasted pork thing going on every Friday, which you have to pre-book with the restaurant if you ever want to try some (if I got that bit of information right..). Before I get caught with my pants down, I have to admit right now: I forgot to take the pictures of the cake. :'(

We were incredibly to be able to get a parking right in front of the place on that Sunday. For the rest of the people out there, be prepared to walk! Don't be greedy. If you find one spot, just take it. Chances are, once you make one round around the block, the place you ignored is as good as gone. So yes, finding a parking spot down here is nothing to sneeze at. Really. Unless there's pepper around. *ahem* Bad jokes aside, all the walking you will be doing will work up your appetite.

A contrasting image of the interior of Yut Kee. On your right, there's a picture hung up of the very first owner, Lee Tai Yu (I guess) of the shop. If you shift your eyes to the... No, stop looking at the candid people! Don't look up! You'll only find my previous paragraph up there. *ahem* As I was saying, if you look to your left, there's this flat screen TV, looking horribly out of place. What happened to "old world charm", eh?

The place looks exactly the same as I remembered it, sans the TV. There are framed newspaper clippings, whiteboard menus, wooden chairs, and a huge mirror for all the self indulgent chauvinist in all of us. Probably a fry cry from back then. The places was kinda hot, but that's not the reason one goes downtown (if I wanted heat, I'd stand in the kitchen. Or probably a volcano.). It's really all about the sights, sounds and people. On a side note, I've omitted "smells" because contrary to popular belief, carbon monoxide is not really a smell.

Alright, enough reminiscing. On to the food.

In the first photo, we see the chicken chop. In the second we see the pork chop. Both served Hainanese style, that is, with gravy. Something akin to Kluang Station, but more homey and less corrupted with commercialism. Then, a whole load of sweated onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, carrots and corn and dumped on top. Both must also be eaten with copious amounts of L&P sauce (provided on every table, next to the boring ketchup and chilli sauce). Really, if anyone can point out major differences in the two pictures, let me know.

Both meats are pretty tender, and the vegetables didn't have the horrible "Hi, I'm a packet of obviously frozen vegetables" taste I so horrible despised. The only weird thing is, that David (Copperfield, not Blaine; which the current generation idolizes) must have come and pulled a switching trick. The pork is lean, while the chicken is fatty. Why? What happened to the healthy white meat? This is a conspiracy. Or just, different cuts of meat used. Oh well. Maybe not so recommended for the health conscious. I also didn't like the watery brown sauce. Sure, it adds some flavour, but by the time the chicken chop got to my table, it was a soggy mess.

Then there was this.

Ginger beef noodles. Served ying-yong style, with that kooky-crazy starchy soup thing. Although it imparted plenty of ginger taste to the pallet, the dish lacked aroma, and just tasted... Well, normal. A thumbs down on my part.

And then, "dry-style" mee sua served with chicken bits. I'll be very blunt with this. I didn't even try more than one bite. The sauce in it was just too salty! It was like a Fat Man or a Tomahawk of salt hitting me. Even my dad, master of the salt, could not take it,but still forced it down after the dish was returned to the kitchen, minus 40% of the salt. A thumbs up for service, a thumbs down for kidney stones.

Since its been all but bad news up till now, its time for a sliver of hope. A pinch of good news. The savior of that Sunday Lunch From Hell®.

Roti babi: The Dark Porky Knight. The defender of all food that is good.

Basically, roti babi is bread, dipped into egg and then put over a grill, much like a French toast. Then, the bread is cut open and stuffed with sautéed onions and shredded pork. A tad oily (isn't all French Toast. No?) but very flavourful. I love original things like this to bits. Woo! A must try.

And of course, as mention earlier, do try their cakes that they have on sale. Good stuff.

The verdict? I'd come down here again, maybe, but with a horribly narrow view now on whats good and whats not. But if you're like the crowd of people waiting out in the heat there, or if you have never been down here before, by all means go for it. Yut Kee is the kind of place where you just have to experience it once, food blogger or not, just for its charm and its 80 year old history.