The name of this place is Restoran Chong Thoong Kee. It is located along Jalan Wan Kadir 1, directly opposite the TTDI wet market car park. It is along the row of shops where Dewan Bandaraya KL has some offices. Parking is the area can be a problem in spite of its proximity to the wet market car park. DBKL has some designated parking lots along the road which are most times empty. I usually curi-curi and park in these lots while I nip in for a quick meal. I know one day I am going to be caught and slammed with a summon or something...
The place is modest and basic. Furnishings comprise of simple tables and plastic chairs. At the front is the chicken rice stall and at the back is where they prepare the drinks. The menu is equally basic - chicken, taugeh (bean sprouts), prawn wantan (生蝦雲吞) and Ipoh sar for fun (沙河粉). The chicken they serve is the genuine Hainanese pak cham kai (白斬雞) - they don't have the so-called roast chicken that you find in coffee shop chicken rice stalls.
The chicken they serve is smooth and tender. It is so very pleasant to the palate. It is not often I come across such delicious pak cham kai. It is covered in a rich oyster based sauce. However, I do find the oyster part of the sauce a little too heavy. I would prefer a milder sauce. But it is not a big complaint. With this style of chicken, small glitches are easily forgotten.
The taugeh (bean sprouts) are fat and stubby - just like those we find in Ipoh. We seldom get this type of taugeh in KL and PJ. I wonder if they get their supply from the north. They are lightly blanched and served with a light soy sauce and sprinkling of fried shallot and spring onion. Good taugeh.
The prawn wanton (生蝦雲吞) is delicious. The portions of prawn in the wanton is generous. And the soup is rich and sweet.
And so is the sar hor fun (沙河粉). It is prepared Ipoh style. The noodles are fine and smooth. The soup (same as that in prawn wanton) is rich and sweet. I usually opt for this noodle whenever I am there.
It does imply that the rice is any push-over. In fact the rice is quite genuinely Hainanese - unlike the greasy yellowish so-called Hainanese chicken rice we get in coffee shops. It has a mild chicken rice flavor. Good enough for me.
My favorite drink in this shop is the boiled sugar cane juice. I like its genuineness. And it is not too sweet. Taken cold, it is very refreshing.
Up to now, Chong Thoong Kee is my favorite place for Hainanese chicken rice and taugeh. I think it is one notch above Ipoh Lou Wong and Jalan Gasing. However I have been told that there is another chicken rice place in Ampang where the chicken is so good that "it melts in the mouth". It is rather far from my place, but I will make a pilgrimage there. The search for the ultimate continues...
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