Kuala Lumpur - Porky Goodness at Zheng Jia (正家) Bak Kut Teh

[klyeoh]

Ah, the quintessential pork-rib soup meal comes to KL all the way from Klang (KL's port city). As usual, my local colleagues wanted to induct me into one of KL's greatest taste pleasures here in Puchong town: pork-ribs simmered in a Chinese herbal soup for hours & hours, then beancurd sheets, pig's intestines, strips of pig's stomach, golden needle mushrooms & lettuce leaves were added to the boiling little claypots before being served straight from the stove to the table!

One can add Chinese crullers into the soup, where the hollowed-out dough soaks up the rich, herbal soup and turns into a golden, dripping chunk of deliciousness. Consume with a bowl of yam rice (steamed rice flavored with purple Asian yam, dark soysauce, dried shrimp & pork) and you really are in culinary heaven!

Other side dishes we ordered include:

- a block of soft steamed tofu drizzled with a tasty dark, mixture of sweet beanpaste-based sauce and Chinese oyster sauce, then topped with finely-sliced red chillis, scallions and crisp, golden-fried onion bits. Utterly yummy!

- A claypot of slice pork cooked with strong-smelling dried cuttlefish and some dark soysauce, spiked with dried chillis. They called it "dry bak kut teh". A bit too salty for my taste - first experience for me, and I didn't quite like it as much as the soup version.

- Stir-fried "yau mak" (Romaine lettuce) topped with oyster sauce & crisp onions. Very nice indeed!

Best lunch I'd had in KL this year! :-D Amazing bak kut teh, and it's not even in Klang!

Address details
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Restoran Zheng Jia
121, Jalan Kenari 23
Bandar Puchong Jaya
47100 Puchong
Tel: [phone]

[huiray]

Have you had any "non-herbal" (or minimally so) BKT in KL or environs?

[klyeoh]

None at all! Looks like Teochew-style bak kut teh is VERY rare here in KL.

[penang_rojak]

How I envy you, klyeoh! Eventhough bak kut teh is a Hokkien dish, we don't get very good bak kut teh here (strangely) in Penang, where most of our population on the island are Hokkien-Chinese. The only places in Penang which are better-known for bak kut teh are Zealand and Song River in Gurney Drive. But Song River has since changed their recipe to the Teochew pepper-and-garlic sort which you find in Singapore.

Do continue to write about KL's dining scene, makes an interesting read for Penangites like me: amazing how two cities in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Penang) can have such different food cultures.

By the way, Klang is always seen as the bak kut teh capital of Malaysia.

[OneBigMouth]

penang_rojak, have you tried the bak kut teh at Parma Hawker center on Burma Road. To me, it is the best tasting bak kut teh in Penang but pricey. They are stingy with the soup, usually no second helping. Opens in the morning till about noon.

There is another stall that sell fried bee hoon with fish which is good too. Btw the main business hours for this hawker centre is in the evening, only a few open in the morning.

[penang_rojak]

You must be referring to Foodmaster Bak Kut Teh at Pakma Food Court which used to be called Golden Eagle Food Court. Yes, I tried it before and it was quite good. But I didn't quite like the surroundings, as the place did not look very well kept.