PETALING JAYA, April 18 — When I first visited Bilal Nasi Kandar in the PKNS flats in PJ's Section 17, I noticed their unassuming next-door neighbour.

The shutters were still down but I took note of the small, albeit charming sign that was mostly obscured by parked cars, and made out the words "川香客小吃”.

By the powers of deduction — and Google — I gathered that one might find a mixture of Sichuanese and Hakka dishes here, which is exactly what I found when I finally visited Restoran Chuan Xiang Ke.

Inexpensive, rustic and comforting are words that come to mind in describing the food here, with rice and noodle sets that start at RM11 proving the most popular.

This goes a long way in explaining the restaurant’s popularity with students from nearby Universiti Malaya: on one particular weeknight, we cramped ourselves in the tiny little space with groups of students in tees of various university clubs and societies.

Bringing my parents along meant our group likely raised the average age in the room by quite a few years.

Since then, I’ve been back numerous times, trying almost half the menu. Spicy pickled shredded meat rice noodles (RM12) was a great, big bowl of soft and slippery mi xian, pickled mustard greens known as zha cai and strips of pork cooked in a spicy and sour base.

The broth itself was clear but got a big punch of flavour from the topping of zha cai and pork. It’s a remarkable bargain at RM12, seeing as you’ll hardly be able to eat much else after a single bowl of this.

This hearty and filling motif continues in the rice sets, with a great example in the braised pork knuckle rice (RM16). Yes, the bone accounts for some volume, but there were still a good few chunks of fatty pork in the bowl, braised in a dark soy base with spices like black cardamom and star anise.

All rice sets come with a bowl of soup, which seems to change by the day. On one occasion, it was an egg drop and tomato soup; on another, it was seaweed — both of which were delicious and decidedly heartwarming.

Kampung preserved vegetables minced pork rice (RM14) was as homey as it was tasty, and featured a steamed pork patty with mui choy, a classic Hakka ingredient.

Other notable sets include the minced meat capers rice (RM11) which feature pickled long beans — not capers — stir-fried with minced pork and dried chili, and the garlic pork chop rice (RM13), lightly fried and tasting heavily of garlic.

Better still was the 1/4 Sichuan steamed chicken (RM30), which is as mouth-watering and moreish as its name suggests. 口水鸡 or kou shui ji is a classic Sichuanese dish of cold poached chicken dressed in chilli oil, and the version here is one of the very best.

Tingly and teasing, the smooth chicken is rounded out with crunchy peanuts and cucumber, leaving one with plenty to salivate over.

Under the snacks section, the preserved egg salad (RM8) and Japanese cucumber salad (RM10) sees century egg and cucumber tossed in the same spicy oil. Cold, spicy and slightly numbing, they're a real treat. Handmade fried dumplings (RM10) are also delicious, plump and filled with a juicy pork filling.

Restoran Chuan Xiang Ke 川香客小吃

80, Jalan 17/1a, Seksyen 17, 46400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Open Monday to Saturday, 11am-3pm, 5-9.30pm

Tel: 018-233 3488

*This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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