Stall stands the test of time

FOOD TRAIL
By SAM CHEONG

Porridge still as good as it was in the good old days

CHUK, or porridge, has been a long-standing breakfast dish among the Chinese.

Prepared from rice, there are least three or four variations of chuk (among them Teochew porridge and the chap fan porridge) and one of my favourites is the chee chap chuk (pork parts porridge).

Decades ago, there were at least a dozen well-known makan places in Kuala Lumpur’s city centre that specialised in porridge.

But, as time went by, many of these places shut down and have become fond memories.

However, if you search hard enough, there are a few stalls left that serve a good bowl of chee chap chook.

Popular: The stall has been around for years and has stood the test of time.

I would like to make special mention of the Hon Kee porridge stall at Jalan Hang Lekiu.

This is one makan place that still serves chee chap chuk and you can get it as early as 5am.

Back in the days when I was a secondary student at a school on Jalan Hang Tuah, I used to frequent the stall with my buddies KF Chia and Bob Lew.

Even in the mid-1980s, a bowl of porridge would cost about RM3 for a small helping and RM4 for a larger bowl.

And, throughout my working life, I have been eating at this stall and I must say that after more than two decades, the standard and quality of the food served here is still consistent.

Recently, my wife Michelle and I took a trip to town to try out the porridge.

We were rather late when we had lunch at midday and the lady owner of this stall came out and greeted us with a smile as she took our orders.

Since Michelle had never eaten there before, I recommendeded their chee chap chuk with additional char cheong (deep fried pig’s intestines).

Service was prompt as we were seated at a table in front of a bank, which ironically, is the ‘safest’ place to makan.

Satisfying: The food at Hon Kee has remained consistent over the years.

Anyway, getting back to the porridge, I was surprised to see the bowl filled to the brim with char cheong and as I tucked into my late lunch, I was very pleased to find that the quality of the food had remained the same.

Apart from the normal chee yuk chuk (pork porridge) and yee chuck (fish slice porridge), Hon Kee has also improvised by adding several other porridge dishes such as the century egg and chicken floss porridge.

However, when it comes to pricing, I guess inflation must have taken a huge toll.

For my karr lieu (extra side dishes) order, I paid RM7.50 a bowl but I guess the good taste made up for the price.

What was missing from my order was a piece of raw egg, because by adding that, it’ll give more ‘ooomph!’ to the porridge dish.

Hon Kee opens daily from 5am to 3pm and, if you want to g ive it a try, be sure to get there early as seats and tables are limited.

For the gadget geek, the lat-long coordinates for this stall are: N 03 08 663, E 101 41 883.