Translator
There was an old cook of the East,
Who’s kitchen though old was complete,
He ate in between,
Whilst others served and cleaned,
He was the old cook of the East.
There was a young man whose eyes,
Where unusually small in size,
When chicken was served,
He’d open them wide,
People would stare in surprise!
There were two waitresses of yore,
Folks called out, real loud to, for beer,
They could juggle tea hot,
in a small teapot,
Just make sure you order real CLEAR.
There was a wise man with a pen,
his shrewd ways were known through the land.
He saved every penny,
Under lock and key,
So that future generations could spend.
There was an old man with a cleaver,
Who never wanted to take a picture,
So he cried ” Girl with the camera,
I’ll slay you , come nearer.. ”
That angry old man with the Cleaver!
- This limerick is entitled ” This old place”, by Ciki
. .
When A little Fat Monkey suggested visiting one of the oldest Chinese establishments in Kuala Lumpur, I nodded furiously in enthusiasm. How did he know that I was so sick of hawker food, that I needed some old-school magic to perk up my weekend? The guy has E.S.P. I tell you.
The place I am referring to is of course Sek Yuen Restaurant, on Jalan Pudu. Together will a couple of foodies who were free that weekend, KM (Life of Beginners), CK , Munkey (A lil Fatmonkey), S , Paranoid Android, my other-half Cumi, we traipsed down to the heart of Pudu for some ‘vintage’ service and food.
For years and years this lovely, somewhat musty old restaurant has been the venue for Chinese weddings, reunion dinners, birthdays etc.. and even Paranoid Android’s mum had her wedding dinner in this very restaurant! If the dusty black and white paintings at Sek Yuen had a voice, they would tell you of the many liters of whiskey , bottles of beer, barrels of laughter and tears of joy spilled in its very hall.
Sek Yuen, the icon.
Sek Yuen is famous for roast meats such as the ‘siew ngor’ (roasted goose) and ‘pei phar ngap’ (roasted duck).
A lot of the old favourites that require Love’s labour actually need to be pre-ordered so we were a little bit disappointed when they did not have that classic dish know as the Fishken (minced fishball wrapped in chicken skin and fried). Incidentally, this term Fishken was coined by non-other than the famous Fatboybakes himself.
Also on the pre-order list would be the four-season cold dish, pat poh ngap (eight treasure duck), crab balls, braised pork knuckles and the fish maw braised with sea cucumber. Needless to say, we had NONE of that, that day as we did not have the foresight to pre-order anything.
What we did have however, was spectacular in its own right.
Pei Par Ngap (roast duck)
Crab, Egg mince and Tung Fun (Glass noodle) with lettuce wrap
Steamed Chicken in Special Sesame Oil Soya Sauce with Kai Lan vegetables
Sing Kwa Tofu (Special Gourd vegetables with tofu, mushroom and baby corn)
Wu Tao Kau Yoke (Yam and Pork Belly with Black Fungus in fermented bean sauce)
Kah Heong Chap Choi ( vegetarian bean curd tofu special)
My favourite dishes were, .. mainly the meats! The roasted duck was amazingly crispy and the flesh had a slight smokiness to it that was just so pleasent on the palate.The other classic meat dish, the steamed chicken was as smooth and tender as you can imagine. I don’t normally eat the skin off chicken unless it is fried but this steamed chicken was awesome. I had no trouble popping the entire piece into my mouth, skin intact.
The piece de resistance , that good old fashioned yam and pork belly in fermented bean sauce was as pink (due to the fermented bean) as it was delicious. It was so aromatic and succulent I forgot where I was for a moment. What I appreciated most about the way they do this dish here is the fact that they don’t kill you will the fattest part of the pig. This sliver of pork had a soft segment of lean meat and just a modest top layer of fat. Add this to the full aroma-ed, powdery texture of the yam and you have a true winner.
Of the vegetables, my favourite was the Vegetarian bean curd tofu. The beancurd was exceptionally delicious – you hardly get such gorgeous, plump sections of curd in restaurants in Petaling Jaya, ever.
At the end of the day, our bill for 7 persons came up to just under RM200 (USD 57 total), which is peanuts really for the amount and quality of food ordered. What an incredibly satisfying meal!
If you have not been to, or perhaps have forgotten to visit Sek Yuen recently, we say DO SO .. soon!
There were the old ladies of Sek Yuen,
Who sit and gossip all day,
“We’ve slogged in the past,
our time now to play..”
So, how many grand children ?
Come, tell us we pray!
THE END.
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Very cool!! Wow what an inspiring post! With your cool blog buddies?
Really Nice one.
Juno.
thx sweetie! bring u here next time u come visit me in KL okies?
No wonder there’s the saying that goes “Old is Gold!!!”
how true.. so true!
Wah, you blogged so fast about Sek Yuen di ar? Very nice pics… I guessed I missed a lot by coming late hor?
LOL, i am so SURE you will find a really cool angle on the place! cannot wait;)
Oh, that’s a place I will absolutely have to see when I’ll come to KL (when?). I love discovering authentic places, where you can see local people and taste lots of traditional food. That’s one of the best part of the travel experience!
yes, and if you come, we’ll take ya!
clap clap, so poetic. well done.
thank u ahpa! means a lot, coming fm u.. yipee!
Ya, I wanna see the man come after you with the cleaver! LOL. Btw, you inspired us to write limericks today too.
really … I inspired YOU? Faint.. highest compliment laaa… thx LL
And can you believe that I still have not been there yet
serious?! me and cumi don’t mind going again if you are organizing!
I’ve only ever been here once … With my family when they visited for Chinese new year a few years back. Good meal
time to revisit?
Oh, I simply love this restaurant!
This is a great post, wonderfully dedicated to Sek Yuen! Thanks on behalf of the SY men in pagoda tees & women with side-pockets.
Just realised that I’ve never actually sat in the non-air-conditioned section. Will try for an added touch of nostalgia on my next visit.
+Ant+
yes, simple , old , still the best, a true icon!
this has to be the best post to date! thank you!
LOL, no.. thank u!
I agreed – this is probably the best post – for an era of restaurant business that is long forgotten and becoming a dying breed.
yea, we need to keep eating there to keep the faith alive!
Love the b&w shots! Such a nice nostalgic feel…
thank u Jay!
Oh NO! This is where I am aiming for!
Can we go again some other day?
Then you can order the Fishken.
CAN! just call la !
This is really old school – in time to come, all these restaurants will be gone. And every town has one of these. Reminded me so much of one in Ipoh (near Hume Street / Funeral Street) callled Ruby.
The food was chunky and not necessary ‘refined’ (in that era, AFC, celebritiy cooks and bloggers did not exist yet) and its objective was to feed, feed and feed (the patrons).
you must take me to this ipoh place!
Love the pics. Very old school indeed!
thanks bbabe!
WOW! You’ve done justice to the place with this post *faints* I’ll just sit back and forget about blogging it now.
stop it la.. munkey.. am counting on you.. wanna read ur post real SOON!
Sigh… it only this place is nearer to PJ and less congested.. I’d come here long time ago
but KL is really so much more fascinating than PJ right? Getting lost in KL (and I do get lost a lot, unless cumi is with me) is part of the charm on that crazy food hunt!
i like the B&W photos. very nostalgic just like the restaurant!
me to. this restaurant deserves B&W !!
i’ve been wanting to go there for the longest time!
[...] on Malaysian cuisine and travel in general, I definitely recommend you have a look. The recent “This Old Place” post is a great example of how great this blog can [...]
OMG! Great post – Sek Yuen is truly great food – let’s hope they have many grandchildren to keep it going! Fantastic post
xx
thank u aly, you are very kind:) i agree – really hope SY will be around for another century or so!
One word……HUNGRY!! My tummy actually growling! AM serious!!!
We go. And this time, we will pre-order everything that needs to be pre-ordered, k?
sounds like a gr8 plan Kat:)
love the witty poem!
we recently tried out this restaurant… really love the nostalgic old feel. the pei phar ngap is my favourite dish too. and that’s coming from someone who hardly ever eats duck!