Kum Lin Ke's original black Hokkien char. KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — The brainchild of Tan Sri Francis Yeoh himself, “Hutong” is located in the basement of YTL’s Lot 10 in the shopping district of Bukit Bintang. Opened to the public at the end of 2009 amidst a blaze of media publicity, it is no ordinary food court — “hutong” appears to have several meanings, but “enclave” seems to be about the most appropriate in this case — the place was designed to simulate the back streets and alleys of a typical Beijing neighbourhood, so the food stalls are arranged in a rather haphazard manner.
Soong Kee Beef Noodles... a favourite with foodies.Again, this would have been the way such places slowly grew, but needless to say, everything is much cleaner and brighter, kitted out with hygienic, modern furniture. The self-styled “Heritage Food Village”, which has been endorsed by Hong Kong food critic Chua Lam, has some 26 stalls serving up mainly well-loved traditional Chinese street food. Many have been long established in KL and the surrounding environs, and some are into their third, even fourth generation. It’s a veritable collection of names and tastes which some of us might recall from our childhood, many of them Tan Sri’s personal favourites, all collected together under one roof for your convenience. So whether you fancy Imbi Road Pork Noodles, Klang Bak Kut Teh, Seremban Siew Bao or Campbell Street Mini Popiah, it doesn’t matter: you don’t have to go traipsing all over the country or indeed town to eat them. Several are branches of popular outlets which are still going strong in Chee Chiong Kai (Petaling Street). There’s Kum Lin Kei black Hokkien Char, fried over a charcoal brazier the way it’s always been, and Hon Kee Porridge, which started in 1949.
Mr Ho from Ho Weng Kee with a bowl of curry noodles!How Weng Kee’s Curry Wantan Mee has been going strong since 1935 — it started during the war — and also Soong Kee’s Beef Ball Noodles. They all serve dishes that, despite being originally a poor labourer’s meal, lard-laden and full of energy-giving carbohydrates, are now considered one of our most endearing and traditional foods. I adore them all, as they remind me of the sort of stuff I ate as a child: it’s our very own comfort food. Practically everything, be it rice or noodle, is doused in a dark, see yau gravy of sort, and eaten with chilli sauce or fiery green chilli padi. Sometimes the remembered taste differs slightly from what is actually put in front of us, but overall, it is definitely a trip down memory lane. With the exception of one or two dishes: Ho Weng Kee’s Curry Wantan Mee, for example, is now served with roast chicken instead of silky-smooth bak cham gai like it used to be, which proprietor Ho Chan Thong, 65, attributes to the fact that the younger generation prefer the former now. Or maybe it’s just my changing taste buds … Hutong doesn’t just have traditional KL stalls though because, as Starhill PR Lady Kelly Teong pointed out to me, “Not everyone wants to eat this sort of food, so we had to have a few which others would consider,” and quite rightly too, although personally, I just can’t see how they could not like this sort of food! So there are Bistro Bavaria, which does German-style sausages and Pork Knuckles, and Kong Tai from Singapore, where the (lighter coloured) fried Hokkien Mee is served with home-made Sambal Belacan.
Hutong in Lot 10, KL is street food heaven.Apparently Tan Sri travels to Singapore often, and he would always make it a point to eat there, so when this opened he asked them to come here. There’s also also Kayu Nasi Kandar, Hong Kong Dim Sum, Kissatan Japanese Fast Food, Seremban Siew Bao and Kluang Station coffee and toast. Hutong, Lower Ground Floor Lot 10 Shopping Mall 50 Jalan Bukit Bintang 50250 Kuala Lumpur Tel: 603-2141 0500 Open daily 10am – 10pm Non Halal
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