When ever we go to KL, my sister & brother in-law which was the permanent KL citizen will surely bring us to makan. I actual fact they need us to help 'hantam' the left-overs and to have more people to sit in so that they can try more food!  They can't handle the big feast by themselves...lol

Sai Kee, was one of the pioneer in KL Chinatown as they had occupied here more then 50 years, as my title says, 3 generations, from grand pa, father and follow by son. But i wonder how and why they choose to operate the stall at the back lane for half a century?!  Guess a name BACKLANE is not a ideal dining area right? Especially the old town house, you really can imagine how dirty, smelly, rats & roaches crawling here and there along the lane, and don't mention about dining there!

Alright, i couldn't believe my eyes when i heading to the stall. Guess what? 80% tables were patronized by the supporter! I was asking myself, are they really serving good food here, in  a DIRTY BACKLANE? Well, lets fine out!

Dishes Rating:

Traditional Hand Made Fish Paste Soup with Vegetable Thong Ow: 3.5/5
Steam Pork with Salted Fish: 3.5/5
Roast Pork Stir Fry with Tofu : 3.7/5
Black Bean Fish: 3/5
Balacan (Shrimp paste) Brinjals: 4/5

Average rating for this place:

3.5/5 for value
3.8/5 for taste & texture
3/5 for service
1.5/5 for cleanliness  (very dirty....at the back lane, what do you aspect?)
1.5/5 for atmosphere (back lane is very stuffy)

P/S: Teh Cehf has a heavy hand, 70% of the dishes are pretty salty, so do remember to ask for some adjustment to your liking OR opt for non salty dishes....lol. Actually, I dont like to dine here as it was really dirty to me.

For the full experience at Sai Kee, do visit our already not so new self-hosted food blog at:

http://www.gourmetgarden.com.my/2009/05/13/3-generations-cantonese-old-school-dishes-sai-kee-kl-chinatown-back-lane/

KL Chinatown or better known as 'Chi Chong Kai' to many locals, has many things to offer other than cheap bargains for watches, luggage's, etc. One could find many hawker food and traditional dishes or eateries that have been there for generations.

We came across one claypot chicken rice stall in Chinatown during our October Trip down there. There are a few stalls offering the same thing along this road, and we have tried 1 or 2 before but have left us unsatisfied. During our recent trip, we came across Hong Kee. It is just opposite the the entrance to the Chinatown night market area. As like many of the claypot chicken rice stalls there, the dish is still cooked on charcoal flames. Charcoal flames in Chinese cooking is considered as 'Sang For', roughly translated to live fire, that give the dishes cooked on this type flames the unique taste. Even 'Char Koay Teow'(fried flat rice noodles) cooked on this flames tastes better than those fried on gas stoves.

Like any other stall in Chinatown, Hong Kee prepares and sells everything one needs for a proper dinner. It caters to those who wants to have steaming hot soup to quench and cleanse their pallets, have a balance diet with lots of vegetables, fish, meats and carbohydrates.

Rows of flaming hot charcoal powered stoves are ever ready to serve the cook at a moments order. The claypots would be filled with the washed rice, cooked till it is half done then add in the marinated chicken.and preserved Chinese sausages. If the chicken is put in at the beginning, the meat would be overcooked and dry. Thus, loosing its juices and smooth texture.

After the rice and chicken are cooked, the cook would drench the pot of rice with their dark sauce and let it sit for a while to let the rice absorb it. Then he would sprinkle the salted fish meat and spring onions, and its ready to be served.

The pot of rice hit me at just the right spot. All the ingredients harmonised into one piece of art ready for my digestive track. The taste was better than average, but it lack the Chinese liqueur(Siu Heng in Cantonese) taste that is always synonymous to claypot rice.

The price or cost of the meal is already out of my mind. It add up to something near RM 100 for four pax. I think it is a common for KLite.

On average, I would give this place:

• 2.8/5 for value
• 3.3/5 for taste & texture
• 2.5/5 for service
• 2/5 for cleanliness
• 3/5 for atmosphere(eating amongst the buzzling night activities like a tourist)

A few weeks ago, we had made arrangements with Ken to go in and around KL for a one day food trip. First on the itinerary should have been Nippi Noodle at Kuchai Lama, but it was too early for them, I guess.

Therefore, we went to next item on the list, Chili Pan Mee. It is your usual Pan Mee with just a twist or in other words, spice! Ken took us to Super Kitchen instead of the original Chili Pan Mee founder in KL. He was worried that we might not be able to tolerate the hygiene at Kin Kin, which is just opposite the Super Kitchen base camp.

The Pan Mee are made to order. Stacks of dough are ready for the press whenever there is an order. The dough is put through and noodle press to get the thickness, length and diameter /width of the noodle strands. The size and shape will have considerable effect on the texture and taste of the Chili Pan Mee. Ken mentioned that he had tried a few shape and sizes and it does determine the amount of and how the chili clings to the noodles. Too much or too less would, as I put it, potong steam(roughly translated, kill the climax).


The cooking time of the noodles are also an important factor in Pan Mee. Overcooked noodles would feel like soggy bread.

It is a normal Pan Me minus the soup or gravy. The condiments are poach egg, minced meat, fried shallots and anchovies. The anchovies taste like baked rather than deep fried, as it did not have that oily feeling. The egg is poach to just the right consistency and firmness. As mentioned, it is chili pan mee, thus it is a must add condiment. Be warn, try with one spoonful first. Choose the bottle of chili that is moisten with the chili oil. Ken, like is dry though.

I guess my first try was only one scoop, but I escalated to three because its was simply not enough. Remember to get the chili oil! Mix everything together and enjoy. The crunchy anchovies and shallots gave it the fragrant aroma, the mince meat gave it the meaty taste and moisture, the poach egg yoke gave the bowl of noodle the rich creamy taste. The half cooked poach egg is a very important part of the chili pan mee, it is the catalyst to bind the chili on to the noodle strands. So, don't ask for cooked egg with the noodle.

The special chili is made of dried chili sauteed in oil to get the fragrant and spicy hot taste out of them. There is something else in the chili that we will get to the bottom of in our next trip there in December. The after effect of three spoonful of chili can be seen here with the presence of spicy hot 'ma yuen cheong'(double layer sausages) on my face. To counter the after effect of the chili, Ken's advice was to hose it down with warm Chinese tea. And for the daily waste control the next day, be prepared for a 'fire in the hole' feeling. WARNING! Do not try the chili pan mee with an empty stomach if you are a person with gastric problems past or present.

On average, I would give this place:

• 4/5 for value (with added entertainment when you see the antics from people burnt)
• 3.8/5 for taste & texture
• 3/5 for service
• 3.5/5 for cleanliness
• 3/5 for atmosphere

The last trip to KL, we had the opportunity to dine at this particular Cantonese Restaurant in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, Elegant Inn. This restaurant is owned by E I Foods Sdn. Bhd. They have another unit, which is the main or original, at Taman Connaught in Cheras.

The one in Cheras , is just your typical restaurant, but don't be fool by its appearance, it will cost an arm and a leg to eat there. It is no difference either here in KL, but the ambiance is a lot more classier and presentable. I remember one saying from a neighbour in KL, "Ngm Siek Tuck Dou Tai Tuck lah". Easily translated to "although the food is not good, at least it is presentable".

The KL restaurant is located in Menara Hap Seng on Jalan P.Ramlee. Quite near to Bukit Bintang. It's location and view, gives it the only or at least one of the Chinese Restaurants with the best views in KL centre. And the ambiance in the restaurant is something to look forward for. It has a warm setting with some framed wood carvings on the wall, plush and soft carpet, well equipped function rooms (Big LCD Screen, DVD) with balcony and special place for the romantic couple.



An Oasis in the middle of concrete jungle.

Clean see through Kitchen .

Ambiance in the restaurant.

View from their function balcony.

That day we had 5 dishes and some desserts. The first course was "Chu Thou Thong" or pig stomach soup. The soup was sweet and light with a hint of the fragrant of Chinese Ham (For Thui). The soup contain lots of ingredients; Chicken & Feet, Pork Ribs, Dried Scallop, Chinese Ham, Pig Stomach & "Gai Choy", which were tender and light taste. But the pig stomach that they used were not fresh or came frozen as the pieces were a bit chewy and lacks the firmness. Anyway it is a good soup dish!

Rating: 4/5 for taste


"Chu Thou Thong" or Pig Stomach Soup.

The dish that came was the starter platter. In it it had deep fried battered Silverfish, Fresh Scallop and Bacon Roll, and Stir Fried Softshell Crab with Cuttlefish. It is mixture of experience in one plate, crispy, fragrant, freshness, smokey, sweet and saltiness (ham heong).

Lightly battered silverfish deep fried to perfection and sprinkled with salt. Something light to get the pallets going.

Rating: 4/5 for taste

The scallop and bacon roll is to die for! Fresh and juicy scallop wrap/rolled in smokey and salty bacon cooked in its own fats and juices. Imagine those taste combine, it is making my mouth water writing this piece.

Rating: 4.5/5 for taste

The sweetness of this dish is from the caramelised stir fried softshell crab and cuttlefish. Deep fried softshell crab and cuttlefish coated by stir frying them in a sugary syrup to caramelised the outer surface.
Rating: 4.5/5 for taste

After the starter, came the fresh mud crab cook in claypot with vermicelli. I can't remember how it was cooked. But what I remember is the sweet and firm crab meat accompanied with mouthful of fragrant, rich and crabby vermicelli. The vermicelli had already soaked up the crab juices and the richness of the crab roe. But I can't help to think to myself, why so little vermicelli!
Rating: 3.8/5 for taste

Before we could have enough of the crabs, they were already serving the Honey Baked Pork Spare Ribs. The ribs were not extraordinary or may be it was already for some us who are still struggling with the crabs. The ribs were a bit hard though. It taste sweet ( a bit too sweet for me) and charred.

Rating: 3.5/5 for taste

Any meal must be complete with a dish of vegetable. As my brother-in-law is crazy about bitter gourd, thus we had light stir fry bitter gourd with salted vegetable. From his comment, the slices are a bit thick, or else it would be good.

Rating: 2.5/5 for taste



After the scrumptious dinner. We ordered some dessert to cleanse or pallets. I had glutenous balls with red bean soup and Gill had 'Fu Chuk Yee Mai' (Barley with Yee Mai Thong Sui). The desserts were our of expectation from a fine cuisine restaurant. The glutenous balls were soggy/soft and the fillings were not sufficient, and the red bean soup was slightly near to tasteless. That goes the same for Gill's 'Fu Chuk Yee Mai'. Those sold at normal road side stall would even taste better theirs.

Rating: 2/5 for taste

Overall it was quite a nice experience, there were just a few short coming on certain dishes. The service provided by the restaurant manager and the waitress was efficient and friendly. The manager was helpful in the dish recommendation and the waitress, although a Burmese Chinese, knows the dishes well and well verse in Madarin too. If you are thinking of a classy and cosy place to entertain clients, Elegant Inn would be a nice place to go. But be prepare to lighten your wallet! The meal that we had for six adults, cost us RM 604.65. It would be money well spent on ambiance and service, food wise near average.

We have a great food hunt experience with Ken Chan from foodpoi.com on that whole day started from the morning till late noon, and each meal put us up to brims! If we were not back from the hunt, the elegant's potion will never fulfill out stomach!

We purposely show the bill, and have you see the bill seperates the food items like below before? let say, the Crab vemicilli dish, and the dish have seperated out each of them in the bill. Live Mud Crab RM176 & Vemicili cost us RM10 per pcs!!! that would be the most costly bihun we ever had...haaaaa

On average, I would give this place:

• 3/5 for value


• 3.8/5 for taste & texture


• 4.5/5 for service


• 5/5 for cleanliness


• 5/5 for atmosphere