I wouldn't have thought of having lunch at this coffee shop that served authentic Hong Kong style roast delights if not for a blog i chanced upon during the planning stage of my Kluang itinerary.
It's a choice i didn't regret at all! Even though i am not so much of a roast pork (known as siew yoke) person and would very much prefer char siew, i couldn't help marveling at the chunk of rather charred roast pork on the chopping board and decided to add it to our order.
Place was only about half full when we arrived at 12.30 pm but the tables filled up quickly about half an hour later! Heng ah, i was under the initial impression that it might not be as popular as it claimed to be on the blog.
Honestly, the layout appeared to be quite similar to the original Kay Lee Char Siew store at Singapore's Paya Lebar Road and you can take as much chilli sauce as you want from the container placed on each table.
What caught my attention, after ordering, was the big bowl of homemade sour plum sauce which is typically used as a dip for roast duck. Rest assured, the operator would pass you a small serving when you order roast duck.
The first two items to reach our table was the platter comprising of roast pork and char siew! With its burnt skin, i was having two thoughts; it would either have an intense roasted aroma or smell of charcoal. Char siew appeared to be more aligned with my personal preference; juicy with burnt bits!
Let's start with char siew - fattening and would have benefited from a longer duration in the roasting oven. At first bite, it does bring back memories of you kee crystal char siew but chew further and you would notice the lack of caramelisation and tenderness that were literal the game changer for you kee.
Roast pork was the best i ever have in my whole life; it was amazingly crunch and i love how delicious it tasted coupled with the juicy meat! The meat hardly showed any dryness and it was extremely satisfying to hear the "crunch, crunch" sound as your teeth worked to chew through the roast pork!
It was supposed to be a three-meat platter but strangely, the roast duck was served separately on a plate which made sense as it was a rather decent portion.
The meat was plump and to be frank, i didn't feel that it was exceptional enough to take the trouble to travel back to Restoran Sin Keong Kee in the future for the roast duck. p.s. i would return for the roast pork though.
However, you must dip the roast duck into the homemade sour plum sauce as this move would dilate your eyes and made you crave for more! The sauce wasn't as sweet as commercialised one and there's a unique taste that made the combination of sauce and roast duck so irresistible!
We had such a fulfilling meal and even when i am back in Singapore, i kept raving to my friends about the roast pork in Restoran Sin Keong Kee!
Want to take back a bottle of homemade sour plum sauce?
It's available for takeaway at RM 3.00!
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Location
140, Jalan Raya Susur 2,
Kulai Besar, 81000 Kulai,
Johor, Malaysia
(near Johor Premium Outlets)
Google Map
Please search under day 2 for "Lunch @ Sin Keong Kee Restoran"
Operating Hours
From 7.00 am till 5.00 pm
(Closed every fortnight on a Tuesday)
Pricing
3-meat Platter - RM 39
Vegetables - RM 12 for 2 plates
To read more about my short 2-day, 1-night road trip to Kluang, click here!