RED ROOSTER
42-G, Block D, Zenith Corporate Park
1 Jalan SS7/26 Kelana Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Tel: 012-315 6024 (Selina)
Website: www.redrooster.com.my
Business hours: Mon-Sat, 9.30am-4pm (closed on Sundays)
Non-halal
RED Rooster is a newly-opened restaurant in Kelana Jaya, Selangor, that plans to continue the legacy of a well-known Hainanese chicken rice shop in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Its proprietor, Andy Loh, said he hoped that Red Rooster would keep the Loh family tradition alive and serve as the Peninsular Malaysia extension of his father’s Wiya Chicken Rice in Kota Kinabalu (KK).
“My father has been running Wiya Chicken Rice in KK since 1976, though he has since handed over the business to my uncle,” said Loh, 50.
Loh said that when the Kelana Jaya restaurant was planned, his wife’s nephew, Kent Yeoh, 30, was sent to train with his father, Loh Yut Pan, 87.
Red Rooster is a joint venture by a small group, comprising Loh and his wife’s families.
“My father was a very entrepreneurial man despite coming from a poor family in Guangzhou, China,” said Loh.
“He picked up his cooking skills in Pontian, Johor, and Singapore, before venturing to KK to open his own restaurant.
“It was a booming town at that time and he went there because of the opportunities offered.
“At the restaurant’s peak, he could sell up to 100 whole chickens per day!”
Loh said Yeoh trained intensely under the elder Loh for more than six months, learning the ins and outs of the trade, including Wiya’s signature steamed chicken, pyramid-shaped rice and chilli sauce.
Roasted chicken is one of the dishes served at Red Rooster.
Red Rooster serves steamed and roasted chicken, as well as char siu (barbecued pork) and siu yok (roasted pork).
These dishes are served with pyramid-shaped rice – a tradition at Wiya to resemble the shape of Mount Kinabalu.
“Our rice is fragrant and not too oily, while the chicken is tender and juicy.
“Our chilli sauce is a homemade recipe of red chilli, bird’s eye chilli and garlic that goes well with the chicken,” said Loh.
“Yeoh will start the food preparations, including steaming and roasting the meat, as early as 6am in the morning.”
Red Rooster recently included noodles in its menu to offer diners additional options.
The new additions are the Red Rooster Chilli Noodle and Red Rooster Black Sauce Noodle (wan tan mee).
“The Red Rooster Chilli Noodle is the Pontian-style wan tan noodles, also using a recipe derived from my father,” said Loh.
“Chilli noodles are popular in the southern states like Johor and Malacca.
“It’s like wan tan mee mixed with chilli sauce, which is made from a combination of chilli paste, tomatoes and sesame oil.”
For beverages, he recommends the lime drink with assam boi, and sa lei and apple juice with assam boi.
Located at Zenith Corporate Park, Loh said Red Rooster has been doing fairly well since its opening early this year, as it has been attracting the working crowd from the surrounding Kelana Jaya commercial blocks and residential towers.
“We picked the name Red Rooster as it is easy to remember.
“We plan to turn Red Rooster into a brand and open more branches, starting with another outlet in Damansara Uptown.
“We are in the midst of outlining our partnership model, but the challenge is to hire good and dedicated workers,” he said.
Loh added that his father has visited Red Rooster and is thrilled that the restaurant is thriving.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
