KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — Tucked inside a housing area in Jinjang Utara, corrugated zinc roof and all, is a shack serving up homestyle Chinese snacks.
The parking situation is abysmal, and the neighbour is a fairly noisy motorcycle workshop.
Still, plenty of locals swing by for takeaway: mainly 生煎包 (sheng jian bao, a pan-fried bao that’s a Shanghai speciality), 萝卜丝饼 (luo bosi bing, a shredded radish “pancake”), and 锅贴 (guo tie, potsticker dumplings).
This is 中华小吃店 (zhong hua xiao chi dian), an incredibly generic name that translates to “Chinese snack shop” – and that is exactly what it is.
It is run by a woman who hails from Fujian province, home to the Minnan region and Hokkien culture.
In addition to the rest of the snacks, she also sells mee sua kor, or 面线糊 (mian xian hu) – long, thin handmade noodles that she proudly sources from her hometown.
The noodles are served in a thick, starchy broth flavoured with lala clams.
Traditionally, this dish is made with oysters, but she said local oysters here are too big and not sweet enough.
At RM4 a bowl, these make for a delightfully slurpy breakfast: the noodles are so thin and the broth so thick that you only need a spoon, while the lala clams provides small bursts of sweetness.
A dash of black vinegar from the table is essential – it, along with the handful of fresh cilantro leaves, lifts the entire experience.
Of course, we had to try a few of each snack.
If you’re lucky, you’ll arrive just as she’s frying up a fresh batch.
The difference between the sheng jian bao (RM2) and guo tie (RM1.20) fresh from the pan versus after they’ve sat under the lid is night and day.
Her sheng jian bao, unlike the broth-filled Shanghainese variety, have a simpler filling of seasoned pork, onions, and chopped mian xian strands for texture.
The thick, bready dough forms a beautifully crisp crust on one side, with a soft, slightly chewy pull on the other – great with a dash of vinegar.
The guo tie, with a classic pork and chive filling, were decent, though the crust on the flat end wasn’t as crisp as I’d hoped.
They’re marginally tastier with a bit of chilli oil and vinegar.
The luo bo si bing (RM2) tastes fine cold; it has a deep-fried, flaky sort of biscuit quality to it, with the carrot and radish filling ending up quite sweet.
It can easily be a sweet bite to end the meal, but I think there’s something far better.
In this rustic shed is a big old machine in the back, where she makes fresh soy milk from scratch every single day.
Some are bottled and kept cold with no sugar, but if you order it hot, you have the option to add sugar – and I wholly recommend it.
A glass (RM2.50) of this stuff is a fantastic way to start your day.
It’s creamy, mildly sweet, and extremely smooth, with none of the grainy or beany texture you might expect.
Later, I saw her making a whole block of tofu, prepared only for special orders.
Watching her work, it’s clear that everything here is a labour of love – especially the soy milk, which lingers as the perfect finishing note after a morning of snacks.
中华小吃店
1645, Jalan Jinjang Damai,
Jinjang Utara, Kuala Lumpur
Open daily, 6.30am-3pm. Closed on Thursday.
Tel: 016-269 9036
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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* Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more musings on food and mildly self-deprecating attempts at humour.
