A trip to Klang provides a whole day’s worth of meals … and then some.
I’M blessed that my fiance Rif would go the extra mile for me. And when it’s food-related, he puts in even more effort. He organised this eating spree after I talked about featuring good eating places in Klang, Selangor.
“Dress comfortably and ditch your high heels,” he said, before picking me up.
Our first stop was Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih House in Taman Berkeley, for some supposedly “really good” pinched pan mee. At about 1.30pm, the place was ridiculously crowded. Finding a place to sit was difficult and more than three-quarters of the customers had yet to get their noodles. Rif said there are fewer people on weekdays.
It took one hour and 10 minutes for our orders to come – probably the longest I’ve waited for a bowl of noodles. I never knew people were so crazy over pan mee and or why each bowl had to be cooked individually!
By the time my large bowl of noodles (RM3 – small, RM3.50 – large, RM4 – extra large) arrived, I was famished. The noodles had an incredibly smooth texture and each piece was just the right thickness and evenly cooked. To use a pasta cooking term, it was al dente. The pieces didn’t stick together, making the experience more enjoyable.The soup, although clear, was sweet and flavourful from the boiled pork slices, anchovies and choy sum.
For an extra 50 sen, you get an egg in your pan mee. I should have gone for the extra large bowl – to make the long wait worthwhile. In my opinion, the noodles were delicious, but I don’t think I’ll ever wait 70 minutes for a simple bowl of noodles again!
The pan mee at Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih House is very good but be prepared to wait.Fatty Mee Hoon Kuih House (non-halal)
19 Lebuh Bangau
Taman Berkeley
41150 Klang
Open 10am-10pm daily
After the pan mee lunch, we headed off to look for Cendol Klang. I don’t know if my sense of direction is poor, or if the signboards in Klang are confusing, but my navigation got us to all the wrong places! After 20 minutes of driving around, we finally found the cendol place. Like most famous eateries, the queue at this one was long. Rif looked for a place to sit while I waited in line for a bowl of the creamy concoction.
If there was one complaint about this place, I’d have to pin it down to how some people don’t know what a queue is, as one rather large man proved. He wasn’t someone anyone would want to mess with, though, so all of us held our tongues as he walked to the front of the long line and demanded four packets.
The young chap (I’m assuming he’s the son of the owner) who prepared my cendol did it efficiently. After 15 minutes, I finally got my cendol pulut (RM2.20) and a plain cendol (RM1.70) for Rif. Mine was pretty good. The green jelly strips were soft yet firm, while the palm sugar was adequately thick and of just the right sweetness.
I seldom come across cendol in the Klang Valley that has good kidney beans, but the ones at Cendol Klang hit the spot – they were tender, sweet and well seasoned. Another thing I liked about this cendol was the coconut milk, which was fresh and creamy. It had an almost silky texture. My nasi pulut was aromatic and softly chewy.
On the other hand, I found the rojak (RM3.50) very disappointing. The gravy, although spicy, was diluted and lacked flavour. I also didn’t like the prawn fritters as I found them more doughy than crunchy.
Sweet tooth: The queue at Cendol Klang may belong, but the vendor is efficient and you’ll get yourorders quickly. Cendol Klang (halal)
78 Jalan Nanas
41400 Klang
On our way home, we stopped at Restoran Ong Fah Meru to buy some roast duck. This isn’t the best roast duck I’ve eaten, but it’s still pretty good. What I like about the roast duck here is the good fat-to-meat ratio and crisp skin. The duck was also quite large – there was plenty of meat on it. Although we packed it to go, the duck tasted good after five minutes of light roasting in the oven.
For RM38, I reckon this is possibly one of the cheapest roast ducks around. The shop also sells siew yuk (roast pork), char siew (barbecue pork) and roast chicken. If you ask me, I’d say stick to the duck.
Cendol pulut (foreground)and cendol biasa sold at the shop.Restoran Ong Fah Meru (non-halal)
117 Jalan Cokmar
Taman Mutiara
Bukit Raja Off Jalan Meru
41500 Klang
Open 8am-7pm daily
In general, I found the food in Klang more affordable and with heartier portions. I’m planning to try the mee jawa, fried chicken and Klang famous pau on my next visit.
The roast duck from Restoran Ong Fah Meru is excellent.An avid foodie, Sue Lynn shares her food updates on her blog (bangsar-babe.blogspot.com) at least five times a week. Catch her tweets at www.twitter.com/bangsarbabe.
