Bak Kut Teh shops in Kuala Lumpur of late are going thru business transformation. They are involving into full fledge restaurant that not only serves Bak Kut Teh but some other specialty food like Steam Fish Head and other complimentary food to this famous dish. This is due to the changing taste of KL’ites which prefers to have varieties of dishes rather than just one or 2 dish for their meals.
One such restaurant that is undergoing this kind of transformation is Yu Yi Bak Kut Teh Restaurant located at 53-6, Jalan Barat, Off Jalan Imbi, Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.
We were invited to sample out some of these specialty dishes.
The night started with the first dish which is their Long Bean Rice, you don’t really get to savour this kind of rice in many places as some shops sells the Yam Rice. I had the opportunity to try this a couple of weeks ago at their branch shop in Jalan Kuching, but here in Jalan Imbi, the fragrant of the dried shrimp was perfectly blended with the long bean and rice.
The taste was mesmerising and you cannot help but go for a second helping. Like the saying goes, you can even eat it on its own. You have to go early in the morning to have this rice as it is a hot item and sells very fast.
Next we have signature Bak Kut Teh in Clay Pot. KL Bak Kut Teh is very different from the Klang version. It is normally serves as a clear broth and strong herbal taste which is what you get. The spare rib used to cook this Bak Kut Teh was, very bouncy and tender. Well, Yu Yi had been around from more than 30 years, since their humble beginning in Old Klang Road. The flavour does not change much as they have preserved the cooking style and ingredients used throughout these years.
Next we had the Hakka Yong Tau Foo. I tried the bitter gourd and on my first bite, I would say that the fish they had used as stuffing was very good and with the right mixture of pork, this makes a good Hakka Yong Tau Foo, Although each piece is at RM1.60 per piece, it is value for money as the filling was quite filled up. The Fried bean curd skin is a little short of expectation though.
For the vegetable dish, we had the Kangkong (Water Spinach) & Belacan Stir-fry. Taste wise, the belacan was very flavourfully mixed with the Water Spinach. The vegetable was still tangy but the chef had used a little too much of sugar, which makes this dish a little sweet, which should not be the case.
As mention, many of Bak Kut Teh shops sell Steamed Fish Head too. Here we had the Steamed Fish Head with Minced Ginger. I am very fond of Steamed Soong (Grass Carp) Fish Head. One of the biggest problems with serving this Soong Fish head is the smell of the mud in the fish. Here, the chef using a unique method (he did not want to tell us how he did it) have successfully overcome this fishy smell and therefore we are able to enjoy this dish which the fish head was very smooth and the flesh was bouncy too.
On a rainy and cold night, the next dish Pork Stomach in Pepper Soup will make your tummy relieved. Normally in other shops, the pepper used is not very strong but here at Yu Yi, your first slurps, will have your senses awaken. For me, it is a tad too strong. According to the chef, the extra strong taste is not due to the use of extra pepper corns put into it but rather than the quality of the pepper corns that are used by the chef in Yu Yi.
Another one of their signature dish is Yu Yi’s Signature Pot. The chef uses garlic soup which is prepared upon pre-ordering. For regular customers, they will usually called in and order this dish in advance as it will required about 40 minutes to prepare. He uses whole garlic and when you eat this garlic, it is very soft and silky too. The broth was very clear and garlicky.
“Drunken” Chicken in Huangjiu (Yellow Wine) is a dish served to women during maternity. This is yet another tummy warming dish. In this restaurant the wine used is a combination of Huang jiu and Hsiao Heng Wine. They do not add any water to cook this, 100% wine is used. So, if you like Chinese wine dishes, this dish will stir you up.
We had the opportunity to sample another creative dish by the restaurant which is called Stirred Fried Black Pepper Neck Meat. If you had been to Thai restaurant, neck meat is one of the choice meats used to BBQ. Here the chef had thinly sliced the meat which had layers of fats and meats and then stirred fried with black pepper. The result, the meat was succulent and it blended very well with the black peppers.
Recommended Dish(es): Clay Pot Bak Kut Teh
Date of Visit: 2013-10-30
Spending: Approximately MYR 25 ()
Date of Visit: 2013-10-30
Spending: Approximately MYR 25 ()
Our other Bak Kut Teh