Saturday, December 15, 2007

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

16 comments:

Kenny Mah said...

Hehe, I can attest from my last meal in Munich that this "German" pork knuckle appears to be nothing like the original.

(Which is not necessarily a bad thing; they might want to re-label it as Kaki Babi Masak Merah though... LOL)

JOjo said...

HiHI! Just realise that u r a KL Boy in Singapore. Haha, i'm fr M'sia, a little small cosy town called Kluang in Johor now studying in NTU.
And both of us, LOVE FOOD! and i love taking picture of food too! Fits ur bill of interacting =p

Sugar Bean said...

I've tried the German pork knuckles some time ago, don't remember where though. But it was really good! You reminded me that I should go look for this next time in Chinese restaurants! :)

ling239 said...

the fish looks good...
u got a map to that place ? :p

Big Boys Oven said...

Lovely food ....kepong is a place for food doscovery.... price also very accomodative!

HairyBerry said...

Kenny - Yupe, i agree. localization (not imitation) should always be the way to go...if German has its pork knuckles, we'll have our Kaki Babi Masak Merah! yippee!

Jojo - Thanks for stopping by! I'm also studying part-time too...in your rival-uni...hehe...glad to have found another foodie! looking forward to more interactions with you! do you post your pics?

Wenching & Esiong - This version is so much different from the original German type. Yeah, these days, Chinese restaurants are so experimental! good news for us :>

Ling239- Yupe, the fish tasted good...but not the best asam fish that I've tasted though :) I've uploaded a map for yr reference. not so clear but hope it helps. Enjoy and let us know yr review, ya!

Big Boys Oven - haha! kepong is more than KTZ, hehehe! there are many restaurants and hawker stuff here, not forgetting restaurants in the nearby metro prima, manjalara and bkt maluri...worth a try :>

KellytheCulinarian said...

Interesting preparation of pork knuckle.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

wwahaha..good boy indeed..

ling239 said...

Tks for the map ~ ^_^

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

"Why you so liddat?"
I ask the fake'good' son
"You eat da pork knuckles
"And only tell me when you're done?"

"You know I like d'babi
Whether German or otherwise
With Guinness Stout? You must be kidding
Should be Paulaner my favourite Weiss.

hehe.

JOjo said...

Food pics are the main subject in my photo taking other than friends and ppl.
Yup, i do post my pic but friendster blog only allow 50 pics/mth. Thinking of shifting =( any recommendation?
Rival uni?haha,not so much of rivalry. Healthy competition?hehe...

HairyBerry said...

kelly - Yupe, despite the name, the flavour was quite local. How i wish it was spicier! that would have been great!

joe - haha! i am a good boy, no doubt. with a big appetite too!

ling239 - you're welcome! hope u'll enjoy the food :)

lyrical lemongrass -

U like that fried pig?
Thought only char siew you dig,
With knuckles that big,
Next time, share with u that pig :>

Never knew my beer,
I'd just grab what's near,
Guiness is what I cheer,
Paulaner I think taste less severe.

Hehe...

HairyBerry said...

Hi Jojo - Just join blogspot :) How about flickr? I'm quite conservative, so I just get a new hard disk instead of relying on the pic sites..hehe :)

love@kinki86 said...

haihai....friend !!! im restaurant mei gai hup "shi tou poh"!!!!

pang said...

tis rest is very popular in Kepong. Now extended 2 three shop lots. Forget bout going 4 dinner on weekend provided u r seated b4 5.30pm. Price is reasonable n food is fairly good too. U shld try their signature honey baked pork nxt time around. But, I still prefer Rest Robsons Height's honey baked pork..
yum....

HairyBerry said...

love@kinki86, cool stuff! :D

pang, wow! looks like business is good, eh? i've not been back there since then. ooooh, i've heard so much about robson heights. the crabs are kinda good too, right?