PETALING JAYA, Dec 21 — It's perfect timing with the Dong Zhi festival falling on December 22. The Chinese festival sees families enjoying tang yuan at home to celebrate the Winter Solstice.
The Mandarin name of the glutinous rice balls is a homonym for reunion hence it's eaten for Winter Solstice celebrations and even on Chap Goh Meh.
If you can't be bothered to make the glutinous rice balls, opt for the famous Port Klang Tang Yuan that recently opened a new outlet in Petaling Jaya on December 11.
Started in the 1980s as a stall next to Port Klang's Econjaya, they have made a name for their soft, supple tang yuan. You had a choice of plain dainty sized traditional glutinous rice balls or those with fillings.
The larger tang yuan would have black sesame or peanut fillings. This would be served with ginger or gula Melaka syrup.
The menu remains the same all these years later except they only serve ginger syrup.
In the 2000s, according to The Star Guide to Malaysian Street Food, they also used to serve a Hainanese kuih known as bek tak buak.
It's similar to yi bua except this version is plain boiled dumplings rolled in a mixture of grated coconut cooked in gula Melaka, roasted peanuts and sugar.
Nowadays, they offer mua chee instead, a variation with either roasted peanuts or grated coconut cooked in gula Melaka.
Back in those days it was operated by a father and daughter duo. The daughter has carried on her family legacy with her own daughter and son, Matthew Lee, helping out in the business.
After the stall at Econjaya closed, they moved around. They even took a hiatus for nine years in the 2000s, as business dropped with many residents moving out of Klang.
The family members also operated various stalls all around Klang. One of the popular places they were at for some time was Restoran Pin Chou.
They also had a shop at Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang. Eventually they closed the stall at Restoran Pin Chou and just focused on the Bandar Bukit Tinggi outlet.
This stall in Petaling Jaya opened as many of their customers had requested for an outlet nearer to them, explained Lee. The 30-plus-year old juggles an office job in the day and manages the stall at night with the help of his friend. Since he was young, he has been helping out in the family business.
The dough is made from their secret family recipe. It yields glutinous rice balls that have a soft bite that melts in the mouth.
Select from the traditional rice balls that are plain without fillings for RM3.50. With the two fillings, I find the black sesame one to be more fragrant while the ground peanuts are just a shade less tasty.
They are served in a ginger syrup that is rather mild tasting. It's also not so sweet, making it easy to drink. The ginger soup tang yuan with filling is RM3.50. You can also mix it with the traditional rice balls for RM4.50. Additional rice balls can be added for RM1.30 per piece.
The mua chee with roasted peanuts is good too. If you want a milder taste, there's also an option of grated coconut. I paired a mixture of both which saw the coconut being drowned out by the peanuts. You have a choice of three sizes from a small portion for RM5, medium for RM6 and the large portion for RM7.
According to Lee, he noticed that most customers order the mua chee since they are more familiar with it rather than the tang yuan.
You can also enjoy dinner or supper at the corner coffee shop that is right behind the popular Restoran O&S. There's Hokkien mee, claypot chicken rice (up to 9pm), siu chow and satay served at night.
Customers for the tang yuan stall either pack home the glutinous rice balls or dine at the restaurant for dessert. Takeaways are levied with an extra 30 sen for the packaging.
If you wish to book the glutinous rice balls and mua chee, you can call ahead.
Port Klang Tang Yuan, Kedai Makanan MT Pak Lok, 40, Jalan 20/16A, Paramount Gardens, Petaling Jaya. Open: 6pm to 10pm. Closed on Sunday. Tel: +6011-16207687. Facebook: @profile.php?id=100054471999581
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