Singapore-Malaysia Trip: Kim Kee Bah Kut Teh in Jalan Ipoh

When I was a teenager, I used to wake up my parents in the middle of the night when I was hungry. No matter what time of the night, they would just bring me out for supper. Sometimes it is as late as 2am in the morning! We would always go to Kim Kee for Bah Kut Teh.

So, the night I am back in Malaysia, I asked that we go out for dinner at the same restaurant. It was reminiscent of the time we had then … the late night drive into downtown and the empty streets. It felt good. The brightly lit Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Tower looked beautiful.

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Kim Kee used to be one of the most famous Bah Kut Teh restaurants many years ago. They were opened 24 hrs. Today, they are no longer what it was then. The restaurant no longer operates 24 hrs and it is not as busy anymore.

The original chef is no longer with them anymore. The quality is not the same as it used to be.

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Singapore-Malaysia Trip: Aeroline Bus Trip

After staying for two days in Kuala Lumpur, I had to get to Singapore for the next four days on work. I decided to take the bus from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and booked for a seat in the Aeroline website (https://www.aeroline.com.my/index.html). The trip costs RM80 (about USD $22) for the 5hr journey from downtown KL to downtown Singapore.

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I took the bus just half a block from the KLCC, or better known to the world as the Petronas Twin Towers. The Twin Towers was the tallest buildings in the world.

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Singapore-Malaysia Trip: Bah Kut Teh for Breakfast

Bah Kut Teh is a Malaysian dish originally eaten at breakfast. Nowadays, you may get Bah Kut Teh at any time of the day. Mum and dad brought me out for a Bah Kut Teh breakfast one morning in a neighborhood shops.

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Bah Kut Teh is a soup concoction cooked in a claypot with parts of a pig. The soup consists of several herbs and spices (such as cinnamon, cloves, garlic, etc) which is boiled with the meat for several hours. Soy sauce is added to provide taste and colour to the soup.

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There are many variants of Bah Kut Teh. The one above is the thicker version of the Bah Kut Teh. Bah Kut Teh is best eaten with rice. As you may see, Bah Kut Teh is not a healthy dish at all. There are a lot of meat and most of the meat served has a thick layer of fat. Of course, you could order parts that had lesser fat, such as spare ribs.

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Singapore-Malaysia Trip: Homecoming Dinner

Food had always been central to the Chinese Malaysian culture. There is always food in almost every event. We celebrate birthdays by eating out. Weddings almost always involved a banquet for lots of people. Many times business deals are concluded over dinner. Believe it or not, even in a funeral, there are lots of food.

I knew this would happen when I got home. The first thing the family would do would be to go out for dinner. It had been years since I got to sit down for a dinner with my parents and my brother and sister. And it sure felt good for me — I just enjoyed such a setting catching up with each other.

My brother and sister paid for the dinner today. It was quite a spread and what more, the total damage just came up to about USD$80 for 12 people. I can’t remember the name of the restaurant but it’s somewhere Taman Maluri.

Here is what we had:

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Deep fried Pork Spareribs with honey. I love these things. I like wiping whatever little meat gravy on the rice — give a good flavour to the rice.

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Hotplate Tofu. This was served sizzling — the sizzling, the aroma really entices you to reach for one.

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Sambal Kangkung is a very Chinese Malaysian dish. It is wok-fried in a belacan (a pungent shrimp paste sauce) and hot chilli peppers. (more…)

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