KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — I have a soft spot for places where everything else surpasses the main, signature dish.
It’s almost always a pleasant surprise, much like when a lead artist brings out a surprise guest who ends up stealing the show.
Think Lana Del Rey bringing out Billie Eilish at this year’s Coachella, or the novelty of Eminem performing "Stan" with Sir Elton John at the 2001 Grammy Awards.
The venue for the show I have in mind is not quite as suited to large crowds, but the set is no less star-studded.
Along Jalan Development, Kepong, one will find four bak kut teh spots in a two-block stretch of shops.
This area is one of the many pockets of Kepong with a notably higher density of bak kut teh per capita.
Here, you’ll find Chong San Bak Kut Teh, a branch of the 35-year-old Chung Sun Bak Kut Teh in Sungai Buloh. It’s run by the second generation of the family, with the daughter opening and managing this location while her parents continue to take care of the original.
Aside from the eponymous bak kut teh, which was far too light and subtle for my liking, Chong San is renowned for the same few things that Chung Sun is famous for.
The dry bak kut teh (RM20), which I previously considered sacrilege, instead taught me the importance of never saying never.
Save for the name, the dish bears little resemblance to actual bak kut teh, but it is hard to deny the joy of eating this sticky and intensely savoury stuff.
Very little about this is herbal and soupy; instead, you’ll find pork ribs and okra smothered in a heavily reduced sauce boosted by shreds of dried cuttlefish and chilli.
Dry-fried yellow wine chicken (RM36) is another signature one cannot miss. Pieces of chicken are coated in a dark, rich and viscous sauce that leaves your lips stuck together.
The core characteristic of this dish is the use of yellow wine, which provides plenty of sugar that’s caramelised and reduced down into a sweet, sticky substance.
The morsels of chicken are mere vessels for the sauce, which is a better representation of "finger-lickin’ good” than any piece of KFC ever could.
Completing the trio of standout non-bak kut teh dishes was the braised pork (RM20). It glistened in the light, winking at us as it promised tender, fatty pieces of pork belly that pulled apart under the slightest bit of pressure.
The luscious sauce tasted like a blend of different types of soy and was best when ladled over a bed of steaming white rice.
This is a theme together with the rest of the dishes: when you come to Chong Sun, expect to eat many, many bowls of rice.
Eating here brings to mind one of my favourite quotes from Jeremy Clarkson during that notorious episode of The Grand Tour featuring the Rimac Concept One.
Interjected with guttural oohs and ahhs, he exclaimed, "Brown food. Brown drink. Woah... calories.” I can’t think of a more apt way to describe the satisfaction one gets from dining here.
中山瓷煲肉骨茶 Chong San Bak Kut Teh
16, Jalan Development, Taman Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur
Open daily, 9.30am-9.30pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
Tel: 012-274 2765
Facebook: @ChungSunBakKutTeh2ndBranch
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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