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Sweating it out on pepper (Star Metro August 30, 2002)
Story and photos by CHIN MUI YOON
KEDAI MAKAN SEKMECHOY
No 199 Jalan Besar
Salak Selatan
Kuala Lumpur
Tel No: 03-783 4080 / 782 3132
Opening hours: 9am to 9pm daily
Non-halal. Turn in at the junction of the old temple; the restaurant is opposite the Salak South police station and is a five-minute walk from the Salak Selatan LRT station across the road.
Every day during lunch time, groups of people can be seen at Kedai Makan Sekmechoy sweating over claypots of steaming hot Pepper Sparerib Soups.
The dish is almost everyone’s favourite here. At only RM7 per portion, the dish comes with generous portions of pig stomach, intestines and ribs, string and black mushrooms and fresh green vegetables.
The Claypot Pepper Sparerib Soups, better known as Ngah Poh Wu Chiu Quat Tong, is a recommended dish during the wet and cold season.
Sekmechoy means Tin Mine Choy in Cantonese. It was started in 1986 by tin mine dealer Chan Kin Chai.
Since his involvement in the tin mine industry in 1959, Chan used to cook simple meals for friends and business associates, which eventually led him to open his own restaurant.
As there were various Ah Chais in Salak South, Chan became known as Sek Mai Choi, hence his restaurant name.
The outlet dishes up delicious home-cooked food like the Stewed Duck in Young Ginger (RM6 per portion), which comes with aromatic rich, creamy gravy. The slices of duck are tender and goes deliciously well with the mild ginger tang.
Sekmechoy’s latest speciality is the old-fashioned Steamed Salted Chicken (RM30 each) prepared the authentic way.
A whole chicken is marinated with salt and seasoning, stuffed with eggs and grated ginger before it’s wrapped with lotus leaf and rice paper. Then it’s slowly cooked in giant woks of coarse salt that draws out the chicken’s unique flavour.
“Although we can certainly cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, we encourage diners to reach out and just take whichever part they want and eat with their hands; it’s hing fun (merry), and you enjoy it much more!” said Chan.
It’s certainly interesting to tear out a drumstick, dip it into the ginger sauce and eating it with a piece of fresh, crunchy lettuce! The chicken has an unusual flavour – salty, yet very appetizing with its ginger sauce.
The chicken is said to be good for post-natal women as the ginger “warms” the body. Those who prefer take-away should place their orders a day in advance.
While you can enjoy your dishes with steamed white rice, the restaurant’s Kai Choy rice (RM1.50) makes a lovely change.
Kai Choy is a type of preserved vegetables and, in this dish, it is cooked with finely chopped siew yuk (roasted pork), shrimps, shallots, black mushrooms and garlic.
A platter of Mui Choy Kau Yuk (a type of preserved vegetable with pork meat) at RM8.50 does the job for those who are fond of pork. The slices of pork are deep fried and air-dried. It’s then cooked with mui choy, which has been soaked for half a day and steamed for over six hours, so it’s very soft.
We were taught the “correct” way of eating the dish, by blending the fat and lean parts together and eating then with vegetables, which offer delicious mouthfuls.
An order of fresh greens, such as coarse lettuce topped generously with fresh onions, accompanies the meal nicely.
Sekmechoy’s other specialties include Wong Chau Kai (Yellow Wine Chicken), Steamed Kampung Chichen and Steamed Kampung Chicken in Ginger. So if it’s old fashioned, home-styled food you’re seeking in town, Sekmechoy caters to those whims perfectly!
