Mei Gai Hup Restaurant

The good son was "good" last Sunday. He stayed at home almost the whole day until he boarded the bus back to Singapore at night. His folks were very much delighted, without realising the fact that the reason being his buddies were busy with work that day. The good son was extremely bored.

Until his cousin called up for dinner at Mei Gai Hup. What a pleasant surprise! The good son has never heard of this place but was in desperate need to get out of the house and of course, to explore a new restaurant. Located in the culinarily interesting Kepong, this place was already crowded at 6.00 pm. However, parking was not a problem.

The wait was quite long, due to the overwhelming crowd. The Stir-Fried Kangkung or water spinach (RM10) received much applause, not because of the taste, but the fact that everyone's hungry. The cooling weather made it worse. To give credit, the portion was huge and the spinach was fresh. The well-cooked Stir-Fried Celery (RM12) was also quite generic in terms of ingredients used, such as carrot, garlic and cuttlefish.

The German Pork Knuckle (RM18) was both affordable and interesting. The good boy cannot decipher the German factor in this dish except that both are deep fried. Labelling aside, the good son enjoyed the crispness of the skin and tenderness of the meat. A dish that can do without rice. A glass of rich Guiness Stout at this point would have elevated the palates. The fiery-looking tomato paste-based sauce was rather sweet and mild, but was still flavourful, nonetheless. The good son was reminded of Ayam Masak Merah.

If the Wooden Basket Tohu (RM10-small) tasted as interesting as its presentation, it would have scored high. Despite the many ingredients used such as minced pork, scallions, shitake mushroom and carrots, the dish failed to excite the tastebuds. The gravy was starchy too. However, the tofu sitting on top of the banana leaf was smooth though.

The Steamed Assam Kam Fung Fish or Tilapia in Spicy Tamarind Sauce (RM21) was commendable as the fish was fresh and the sauce was flavourful. A tangy and spicy sauce never fail to whip up the good son's appetite. Vegetables were aplenty too, such as okra, long beans and aubergines.

Feeling rather gluttonous that night, a plate of Sing Chow Mai or Singapore-style Fried Rice Vermicelli (RM12) was added to complete the meal. The tomato sauce-flavoured vermicelli was al dente while other ingredients such as char siew (sweet roasted pork) and beansprouts provided extra textures and flavours. A typical dish but nonetheless, flavourful.

The bill came up to RM92.40 for 7 pax. Quite an affordable dinner, that was.

A simple Chinese restaurant with much enthusiasm for new dishes. However, the good son wished there was less MSG.


Mei Gai Hup Restaurant
No. 20, Jalan Ambong Kiri 1,
Kepong Baru,
52100 Kuala Lumpur.
(11.30 am to 10.30 pm)
Tel: +6012-370 1382/ +6012- 333 5118 / +6012-213 2798