KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 — At night, Jalan Gelang and its surrounding lanes are some of Pudu's quieter roads, though they are just a stone's throw from the bustling Jalan Pudu and its lively wai sek kai (food street).
One of these lanes is home to Restoran Cai Ji, popular for steamed fish head, but I’m more interested in what’s on the corner: Restoran 满满818茶室 x 人生大事火锅.
I wouldn’t bother translating the name – it's crucial that you use this for finding it on Google. Located at the corner of Jalan Gelang and Jalan Chin Chin, it’s a kopitiam during the day, transitioning into a dai chow in the evening.
The dai chow, 十美夜市, is a one-man show led by Ah Kit, affectionately known as Fei Lou (Fatty) by his regulars.
The Sungai Siput native has been in the neighbourhood for years, previously operating out of another kopitiam along Jalan Gelang before moving to his current location in May.
Local regulars come for his simple, inexpensive dishes, and he also delivers to the many nightclubs in the area.
The real treat, however, lies in whatever he’s got cooking on any given night.
Years of working in Chinese restaurants around the United States (San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York) and learning the trade from some of the best chefs from Hong Kong means Kit’s repertoire stretches far beyond his simple menu.
He’s always experimenting with and tweaking traditional dishes, so I highly recommend letting him choose what to serve – much like an omakase experience.
In Kit’s hands, soup is elevated from a mere formality to a commendable highlight. He serves a variety of 老火汤, or lou fo tong in Cantonese which changes daily – truly, soup du jour.
On one visit, it was radish soup (RM30 for a large portion), brimming with collagen-rich goodies like chicken feet and pork trotters, and enhanced with savoury flavour boosters like dried cuttlefish, oysters and scallops.
Sai yeung choy tong, or Chinese watercress soup (RM30 for a large portion) is easy enough to find elsewhere, but his version is very, very good. The delicate flavour of the watercress is translated beautifully, and it’s hard to argue with the hulking bit of fatty, rich trotter that’s thrown in there for good measure.
Perhaps no dish better exemplifies the familiar, but unique experience of eating Kit’s food than the humble salted fish and pork patty.
Steamed or fried, ham yu zhu yoke beng is a staple of Chinese home cooking, but Kit’s version takes it to another level with a simple tweak. The patty is flattened into a thin disc, increasing its surface area to maximize crispiness when frying — much like a smashed burger.
At RM25 a patty, it is one of the slightly pricier items on his menu, and deservedly so, as it is the best, bar none.
Each bite of crispy, craggy pork is bursting with salted fish — just good old deep-fried salty action that we all know and love.
Other dishes are simply a result of Kit messing around with whatever he finds at the market – or as chefs like to call it, “seasonal specialities”.
On one visit, we called ahead, and he had acquired a 3kg Muscovy duck (RM250), which he prepared by lightly curing it in salt before steaming it with ginger and Shaoxing wine.
Although he typically uses chicken, he was eager to experiment with Muscovies, known for their lean and mildly gamey meat. The result was simply superb.
The duck meat, firm and tender, clung to the bones in a glistening pool of steaming juices. The flavour was divine – intensely savoury with remarkable depth, so much so that I found myself tempted to drink it all.
Kit isn’t shy with his use of salt and other seasonings – a quality that’s sadly lacking in many places these days as cooks are forced to cater to the demands of health-conscious diners.
Instead, you’re in assured, confident hands, and are unlikely to need any extra soy sauce. Even with simple vegetables, he layers multiple sources of savouriness to flavour the greens, like kai lan stir-fried with braised abalone slices (RM38) and Romaine lettuce stir-fried with fermented beancurd (RM22). Simple, unassuming vegetable dishes, but executed masterfully.
The same goes for other dishes we tried. Wok-fried ma yau in an addictive black bean sauce (RM40) combines red fermented beancurd with black bean sauce to amplify the funky, fermented flavours.
Braised duck (RM40) in a thick, luscious and dark sauce is similarly irresistible, with the meat falling off the bone from long hours in the sweet and salty gravy.
Fried noodles are something of a signature for Kit, including Shanghai noodles (RM38) tossed in an ocean of lard and topped with a cornstarch slurry with pork slices and cabbage.
The oil coats the thick wheat noodles like an expertly made aglio olio, keeping them slick and well-oiled even 15 minutes after they arrive at the table.
Last but not least is kau yuk mee hoon (RM22), a dish I’ve eaten countless times, but Kit adds a special touch.
True to form, he doesn’t use the canned stewed pork like most places do. Although pandemic-related supply disruptions initially prompted him to start making it himself, he continued even after supplies returned as his regulars preferred his version.
The result is every bit as rich and unctuous as you’d expect, but with a unique twist: dried chilli adds a touch of balance and extra edge to the pork and noodles, a testament to Kit’s creative cooking.
十美夜市大炒 (肥佬杰) – 满满818茶室 x 人生大事火锅
68, Jalan Gelang, off Jalan Sungai Besi, 55200 Kuala Lumpur
Open daily, 4pm-2am
Tel: 012-631 9893
Facebook: @Restorankopila
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
