Thong Kee @ PJ Old Town, beside the “smelly market”

Thong Kee area

I’ve always believed that the best and most delicious food is found in the dirtiest of places. It’s a Malaysian thing. Heh! The places with great food aren’t really big on hygiene. Jennifer and Wye Meng told us about this awesome dai chow place beside the “smelly PJ Old Town main pasar” and we all headed down for lunch.

Thong Kee pasar

It was better than I expected – overflowing rubbish bins, the smell of pork and fish from the main wet market, flies buzzing around. I was very pleased…the ambience is unbeatable! πŸ˜‰

Thong Kee stall

The stall you want is called Thong Kee – just look #47. Thong Kee is very popular, so look out for the teeming mass of hungry customers congregating there.

Thong Kee cendol

Wye Meng told us that the stall beside Thong Kee serves up a mean bowl of cendol. I ordered mine with extra gula melaka and fu yoh, it really is something wicked on a hot afternoon. It’s one of the best cendol I’ve had.

She’s quite familiar with this place so she ordered all the signature dishes:

Thong Kee hokkien

This is 福建米 (fuk kin mai) otherwise known as Hokkien style fried bee hoon.

Thong Kee hokkien dish

The rice vermicelli doesn’t look like rice vermicelli at all, but it more than makes up for it with the amount of seafood present. It’s an aquatic celebration! I ate quite a few marine species and pronounce it good!

Thong Kee wat tan hor

This is ζ»‘θ›‹ζ²³ (wat tan hor). It’s kwong fu style fried kueh tiaw. I obviously didn’t write the Chinese characters – those were kindly furnished by Wye Meng. I can’t write Chinese.

Thong Kee wat tan hor dish

The wat tan hor is starchy and they’re quite generous with the seafood too. Marine treasures abound inside the dish – everything from cuttlefish to prawns. Wat tan hor does not have a “taste” per se – it’s a rather plain dish, but it’s good to balance out the two salty dishes. I also like how they cracked a raw egg into the wat tan hor. Authentic!

Thong Kee pai guat

This is ζŽ’ιͺ¨η‚†η”Ÿι’ (pai guat man sang meen) – stew pork rib fried with wantan noodles. It’s called Specialty Sang Mee on the menu and it’s their flagship dish.

Thong Kee pai guat dish

The cook is magnanimous with the pork ribs – just look at the CHUNKS of pork ribs in the dish. The noodles is done well, chewy and slurp-ilicious! I like the gravy too. Mmm…salty. Two thumbs up for this one; it’s the best dish at the place!

Thong Kee end

The food was so good that I ate four (4) plates…and it nearly sent me into a post-lunch coma. I would definitely go again; it’s seriously first-rate hawker style food. Thanks to Jennifer and Wye Meng for buying us lunch. Next one on me! πŸ™‚

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48 thoughts on “Thong Kee @ PJ Old Town, beside the “smelly market””

  1. ah, a food post! hahahah i’m actually in the midst of eating a lousy dinner so the food post really help! I’ll just imagine i’m eating what I am looking in my screen πŸ˜›

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  2. looks tasty!
    Great.. My air ticket to kl next week won’t be wasted this time =D
    But then I guess it will take me forever to find the places you mentioned. I dont even know how to get around there =(

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  3. HB, sometimes the best meals come from these hole in the wall places. We have that also in San Francisco Chinatown. Used to hang out alot at Tong Kee a hole in the wall cafe. Best beef stew with tripes and other organs in it. They served old Chinese style food which reason people enjoyed it very much.
    Glad you showed these special places to all in your entry.

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  4. That nice your friends treated you for lunch. Awesome meal. Erica mention of Tong Kee well it now closed due lease up for a few years now. I used to go there for their down home cooking and stuffed tofu. There another place call Sam Wong where rude waiters is part of charm of the place.
    I called it extra and get the deluxe extra and friends get the number one or two depend on much the waiters cant stand them. Tourists like the rude waiters as part of Chinatown.

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  5. That’s inadvertently the best ABC/Cendol/Bubu Chacha in the whole of PJ? The next time you drop by there, dont forget to also order a Pink Lady. A great thirst quencher in a hot hot afternoon.
    *2 thumbs up!*

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  6. coma from all the binge? hahaha .. good one.
    wat tan hor if fried with enough wok hei, and enough ‘liu’ (ingredients), it’s very, very tasty.

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  7. Anthea: Of course! I most definately will. Just gimme a buzz. πŸ™‚
    KY: Chicken rice eh? I will check it out next time. Cheers!
    cynthia: Hehe! I can never understand this elusive Cantonese phrase called wok hei? Heat from the wok?
    It doesn’t have a Chinese equivalent. πŸ™‚
    chefmel: Then you must also let me listen to coins dropping. πŸ˜‰
    You remember that story? A very poor man was outside a rich man’s kitchen with his bowl of plain rice to smell the food and the rich man got a judge to get the poor man to pay…by dropping coins but not paying them. Got moral of the story one, I think it was Aesop’s Fables. πŸ™‚
    headsteadi: Yup, it’s good! πŸ™‚
    Jan: OK! I’ll bring you next time. πŸ™‚
    PinkPorkChop: That one still WIP (Work in Progress). πŸ˜‰
    kamen: You’re not fat la…come this weekend we go someplace to eat. πŸ™‚
    Shirley Snow: Haha! Haven’t written about food for a long time dy. πŸ™‚
    Ryan: Hmm…I was the same when I first came to KL too, but after driving around for about 9 months or so, I can do the major places dy (but not out of the way artery roads). πŸ™‚
    Erica: Yeah, some of those places really have the best food! πŸ™‚
    Michael (Mike): Rude waiters eh? I heard of one in London where people pay to be insulted by the waitresses. If you order a coke, they’ll just ask you to get it from the fridge yourself. Very popular and novel concept. πŸ˜‰
    Kelvin: Pink Lady? One of my favorite drinks in Kuching. Hey, I thought that was a Kuching drink. πŸ˜‰
    I’ll try it next time! πŸ™‚
    J2Kfm: Yeah, too much carbohydrates. Heh!
    Interesting, I shall seek out this elusive wok hei. πŸ™‚

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  8. Wonderful food review, I had been to PJ Old Town a few times, but only patronize the Claypot Chicken Rice at a restaurant (right opposite the pasar).
    Next, will be this ζŽ’ιͺ¨η‚†η”Ÿι’!

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  9. Hey there, nice write up. You know what, I grew up around here and have seen the changes over the last 30 years. Old Town use to have this really huge roundabout where the current bus terminal is. Most of these stalls were not there back in the day. But there are some who are still doing business after 30 years.
    The Claypot Chicken Rice opposite this place is one of the best around too.
    Regards,
    David
    http://www.jrhogan.blogspot.com

    Reply
  10. crappy booze: Claypot Chicken Rice! I was supposed to eat there today after a meeting (you know with who since you were there last time) but I had to finish up something urgent. πŸ™‚
    eiling: I think it’s also called wat tan hor over here. πŸ™‚
    David Jr: Interesting…I’m from Sarawak so I’m pretty clueless about PJ. I’ll try the Claypot Chicken Rice next week! πŸ™‚

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  11. Welcome to my neighborhood! Next time you go back there, you should try Yut Yut (literally means everyday) hakka yong tau fu stall. It has one of the best tasting hakka “vinegar pork leg” and curry. If you are a fan of Indian rojak, try the stall outside of Magnum 4D shop. You will come back for more.

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  12. Aiyo brother, why la you go put a post on Hokkien Mee la, one of my most fav food all time. My mouth is watering already. And there is a place that cooks godlike Hokkien fried bee hoon in SS17, ITS THE MOST AWESOMEST MAN! Tried alot of places all over, but have yet to find someone who can match up to him.

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  13. PJ Old Towner: I love pork leg! Vinegar pork leg sounds awefully good. I must try it. Thanks for the tip! πŸ™‚
    Marlboro Guy: The best hokkien mee I ever had the pleasure of eating is in KL itself:
    http://www.sixthseal.com/2005/05/mun-wah-hokkien-mee.html
    Mun Wah Hokkien Mee
    It’s seriously good…haven’t found done that topped this one. Where is SS17? πŸ™‚
    caihong: Ya, hawker food beats most pretentious restaurant food anyday! πŸ™‚
    Iron stomach? LOL! Reminds me of this girl in Melbourne who calls me the person with the iron-clad stomach coz I can eat anything and have no ill effects. πŸ˜‰

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  14. HB, that’s not the BEST hokkien mee in PJ Old Town Medan Selera.. there’s anothe stall which i forgetten what name lor.. Haha.. probably can set a date to eat together since i only know the location..
    that medan selera is awesome! yong tau foo there is good, the Ng Tiew Lei char kuay teow, and another stall that sells pork satay is must try!

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  15. Whoa, if there a chance, I’d definitely try Mun Wah. SS17 is sorta between Eastin Hotel and Tropicana Mall, that whole area sandwiched between is SS17. Ask anyone who lived in PJ long enough, they will know where.
    But unfornately, I’m not very sure where is the stall now(he always change his stall location). If I’m not mistaken, his current stall is at a corner of a Cyber Cafe and isn’t a proper restaurant, just a zinc roofed shade, and it’s facing the old SS17 cinema which was burnt down ages ago(now an open air parking lot)

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  16. yuetmui: Can! My cell phone is 016 888 2069 – text me. I’ll drive, you give directions. πŸ™‚
    Let’s go on a food expedition! =D
    Marlboro Guy: Mun Wah is just about the best Hokkien mee I’ve had in KL.
    Oh, okay, I know where it is now. I look for landmarks too. I know both (Eastin and Tropicana).
    However, the SS17 cinema might be a bit tricky, will have to ask someone more familiar with PJ for that. Cheers! πŸ™‚

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  17. Its pretty easy finding out where SS17 is but for the Hokkien Mee, a wee bit harder.
    The cook looks like a grumpy old man (around late 50s to 60s) who drinks Guiness Stout and his wife is usually the one taking orders.

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  18. But then again, you must pray real hard before heading there, firstly is to hopes he opens. Secondly, hope for he cooks his signature dish (hokkien mee hoon) at his best, as he is know to be inconsistent at times (not enough stout I guess?) Good luck and if all goes well, be prepared for a mouth-gasm

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  19. Marlboro Guy: Grumpy old man eh? Sounds good. I know someone EXACTLY like that (grumpy old man who drinks a mixture of Guinness and beer every night with the wife taking orders) in Sibu who makes a mean plate of kampua mee.
    Inconsistent eh? Maybe I buy him some Guinness FES first. πŸ˜‰

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