a day ago
Eat like the locals at Cheras' Restoran Wing Seng known for Chinese ‘kampung' style dishes
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — Homestyle food has a bad reputation.
It's not hip. Nor will it boost your social media views.
And horrors, it may be an ugly brown shade; no camera light or four-figure handphone can save its looks.
We may be starry eyed for the latest bowl of ramen or even willing to queue for a hypercritical fictional character's plate of fried rice, but at the end of the day, it's always homestyle food that has a lasting appeal.
Steamed Pak Soo Gung Fish featured fine flesh with a light soy sauce flavour. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
That magnetic force pulled me all the way to Cheras at the peril of being stuck in traffic on a Friday night, all because a friend wanted to share Restoran Wing Seng, her regular place for 'kampung' style food.
Spanning two plots of land, the restaurant not only feeds hungry diners but it also houses political party MCA's local office.
Dig through the golden brown mountain of crispy bits of 'choy poh' to reach the fried beancurd. —Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Ambience isn't the priority here. Instead what's on tap is sincerity and a community spirit, making you feel welcome.
Our meal was built all around porridge or jook fan as a base, with various dishes on the lazy Susan, giving us a variety of light to strong flavours.
This porridge is not the gloopy type but more soup forward, with distinct plump rice grains as a side character.
Various add-ons boost the light flavour like sliced pork, salted egg yolk and on occasion, pomfret fish for an even sweeter flavour.
Steamed fish is always a must for any homestyle meal and this Steamed Pak Soo Gong Fish hit all the marks with delicate flesh, lightly sweet with the soy sauce.
The push-and-pull flavours from the lighter tasting steamed fish, continued with the slightly stronger flavoured Choy Poh Beancurd.
One needs to dig through the mountain of crunchy bits of choy poh, to find the treasure of golden fried beancurd underneath.
Greens are a must for a meal with a Bitter Gourd Omelette (left) and Mixed Vegetables (right) stir fried with prawns and pork. — Pictures by Lee Khang Yi
Flavours reach a higher level with a plate of Sesame Ginger Chicken, a mixture of chopped chicken with the bones, fried and coated with a savoury dark sauce with a hint of sweetness, punchy with ginger in the form of golden brown shreds.
The restaurant also acts as the political party MCA's local office at one section that is surrounded by fans and portable air conditioners. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Both dishes show off the kitchen's superb skills—controlling the fire perfectly when cooking—as each plate didn't have any telltale pool of oil.
A balanced meal needs vegetables but no one said we can't cheat a little by putting it with other items like the Bitter Gourd Omelette to create a hybrid greens-protein combination.
We did play it safe with the second choice, a plate of mixed vegetables dotted with sliced pork and prawns.
The meal set us back by RM185 for six of us.
Dining here is a leisurely affair as there's no time restriction, allowing us to kick back with a few beers and catch up with the gossip.
In fact, we found out another friend remembered dining here before—from lunch to an early dinner—after a hike!
Restoran Wing Seng
93, Jalan 8,
Pekan Baru 9 Cheras,
Cheras.
Open: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30pm to 9pm.
Closed on Wednesday.
Tel: 016-9959424
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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