Restoran Yuan Kee - Kepong Baru

Kepong is a maze. It amazes me how this constituency remains vibrant. Living mostly in the northeast and southern corridor of KL, I have missed this vibrant rhythmic beat most Kepongites would have taken for granted, esp. in the area of food. The fares here is not surprisingly very Chinese and good food are crammed into its landscape with a density that speaks of a people that are living to eat.

I was crabbing. And searching for Bee's Crabs near the Caritas Catholic Church. For one who like crabs and not having it for a long time can torturous. And I was looking for it for a long time. In the days of old it was easy to make a U-turn here and there but Kepong has grown with the times and it is served by wide roads with dividers. There was a lot more cars on the roads too.

So we settled down on a random choice. Not so random in a way because we looked for one that was crowded and next to a landmark for easy reference. This roadside eatery was packed at 7:30pm. The captain came and we asked for crabs. "Sorry we don't serve crabs." I countered, "Aiyah." An expression for disappointment. He offered an excuse, "We don't do crabs for a good reason. Crabs are to be enjoyed slowly and we cannot do it here as we have to serve many hungry souls." So it is about turnover of each table. I guess every half and hour. With up to 50 tables and from 6:30 - 9:30pm they would have served 300 tables.That is a lot of money.

So, defeated by the almighty $ and feeling famished, we asked for some of his signature dishes and settled down for the evening.

Grouper Fish meat and head in salty bean paste. They serve Grouper Fish only. I asked, "Why only the Grouper?" Tired of my questions, he shot back, "Its the best and there is no need for variety and toying around." Variety sacrificed on the altar of efficiency and ease in operations. The dish was salty and must be eaten with plain rice. But the captain was right. The fish was excellent.

"Kon Chien Har Loke" Pan-Fried Prawns in sweet sour sauce. A tad on the sweet side. But the prawns was great and the bonus was it had roes thus lending a fragrant aroma and savoury taste to the whole dish.

This was a disappointment. The Kai Lan was past its prime. But on the bright side its packed with cellulose.

Location:
Behind AMbank,
Jalan Ambong Kiri 2
Kepong Baru