No surprises in the title there. My well documented 'journeys' in search of good stuff to eat - crossing the length of Italy for a Pizza, a trip to Delhi just for the food - have already established it. However, there has been another instance of going to great - some would say unreasonable - lengths to get what promised to be a great lunch, and it hasn't been put on this blog yet.
So, in March last year, a colleague came up with the idea of going to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian grand prix. It was a last minute plan but apparently there were great package deals (flight tickets + F1 tickets + accomodation) on offer. Now, I'm not a big F1 fan, and there's an Indian Grand Prix now as well. But when I heard Kuala Lumpur, reason promptly made way for temptation. It was gonna be 3 days in KL and my thoughts went straight to - not surprisingly - all that I could eat there. So I was game and we convinced another colleague to come along. The plan was on.
The first season of No Reservations had an episode in Malaysia in which Anthony Bourdain spends a few days in KL before heading off to Borneo. A hawker centre, Torpedo Soup (won't elaborate, check it online) at a Mamak stall and Steamed Fish Head at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese joint in KL's industrial neighbourhood is what was covered. I wanted to try all of these things and more - and I did - but the Steamed Fish Head is what caught my attention the most. A hole in the wall in the back of beyond, that serves an exotic speciality to regulars, most of whom belong to the local Chinese community? You can't go too wrong with that.
The first day in KL turned out to be quite hectic. Window shopping in Bukit Bintang, dragging my colleagues for a kilometre to eat Vietnamese, and partying the night away at Asian Heritage Row. The fish head would have to wait till tomorrow.
Waking up with a hangover did not help. Moreover, my colleagues were smart and slipped out to go shop at Mid Valley Megamall....there goes the iPhone with the GPS. Thankfully I had a Google map printout of the locality. By the time I took a shower and was ready to go, it was already past noon. The fact that this place is located in what I would call 'The Mira Road of Kuala Lumpur' also did not help. But mass transit came to the rescue and it was one monorail and one LRT ride before I reached the station at Chan Sow Lin. And this is where the fun part begins.
The map was not what I would call self explanatory and the road outside the station was near-deserted. So on the road parallel to the LRT line, I started walking in hopes of soon finding someone, who would help with directions. That took more time than I thought it would, and when I finally reached a bus stop, the few people there either did not speak much English or had no idea where this goddamn 'Fish Head Stall' was. Worse still, I couldn't locate any of the diagonal roads or bylanes from the map after 15 mins of walking in the oppressive KL heat (and humidity). I finally found a guy in a car repair shop who spoke enough English and said he thought I had walked in the wrong direction from the station - Wow!!
So what basically lay ahead was a 10 minute walk back to the staion, and 10-15 minutes in the other direction, not knowing for sure if I would find the place. Well, "so be it" I said and started marching. Thankfully, post Chan Sow Lin station, I began to realize that the car repair guy was right after all. I had walked in the opposite direction initially coz now, the road signs started matching with the map. Finally, almost 30 minutes after I got off the LRT, I finally turned into the lane off the main street that led to my destination.
But the fun does not stop here. This was a grid of bylanes and the fish head stall was on the peculiarly named Jalan 2/89 C. Asking for this location in an industrial hell-hole full of welding shops where everyone seemed to be Chinese?? After a few attempts at pointing on the map and sign language, I gave up. Couldn't really turn back after all this effort, so i kept walking and finally found a sign that said 'Jalan 2/89 C'. Bless the KL authorities that put signboards for the smallest of bylanes! I turned into the lane and there it was.
In addition to the steamed fish head, I wanted to try the Stewed Chicken Feet as well. But when I asked for it, "Ovaa!!" is the response I got. So i settled for the Boiled Choy Sum Vegetables with Oyster Sauce and of course the fish head. The fish head comes in two varieties, the lighter ginger garlic sauce or the darker soy and oyster sauce. I picked the latter with a bowl of sticky rice.
The vegetable thing was quite bland and I could only gulp a few morsels while waiting impatiently for the fish.
The Steamed Fish Head however, was another story. A giant carp head (more than the head actually) steamed and drenched in soy and oyster sauce combination along with ginger, garlic and bird's eye chillies. And it looked like this.
It was more like the upper half of a gigantic carp. But it was really good. And I was really hungry. It went really well with the sticky rice. There was coke to wash it down. Yes, I finished the whole damn thing, and loved every bit of it. Finishing off the last bit of that salty/pungent sauce and scraping the leftover flesh off the skeletal remains of the carp was a pleasure that reminded me of Sunday lunches at Grandma's and the effort it took to get to Chong Yen Steamed Fish Head Stall was all but forgotten.
Dragging myself back to Chan Sow Lin station was less than fun, given the overeating and the heat and humidity. All I could do after I got back to the hotel was hit the sack.
Moral of the Story - If a place makes you work hard to get there, it's almost always worth it!.
If you ever find yourself in KL, check the place out.
Chong Yen Steamed Fish Head Food Stall
No. 22-24, Jalan 2/89C
Off Jalan Chan Sow Lin 4
55200 Kuala Lumpur
So, in March last year, a colleague came up with the idea of going to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian grand prix. It was a last minute plan but apparently there were great package deals (flight tickets + F1 tickets + accomodation) on offer. Now, I'm not a big F1 fan, and there's an Indian Grand Prix now as well. But when I heard Kuala Lumpur, reason promptly made way for temptation. It was gonna be 3 days in KL and my thoughts went straight to - not surprisingly - all that I could eat there. So I was game and we convinced another colleague to come along. The plan was on.
The first season of No Reservations had an episode in Malaysia in which Anthony Bourdain spends a few days in KL before heading off to Borneo. A hawker centre, Torpedo Soup (won't elaborate, check it online) at a Mamak stall and Steamed Fish Head at a hole-in-the-wall Chinese joint in KL's industrial neighbourhood is what was covered. I wanted to try all of these things and more - and I did - but the Steamed Fish Head is what caught my attention the most. A hole in the wall in the back of beyond, that serves an exotic speciality to regulars, most of whom belong to the local Chinese community? You can't go too wrong with that.
The first day in KL turned out to be quite hectic. Window shopping in Bukit Bintang, dragging my colleagues for a kilometre to eat Vietnamese, and partying the night away at Asian Heritage Row. The fish head would have to wait till tomorrow.
Waking up with a hangover did not help. Moreover, my colleagues were smart and slipped out to go shop at Mid Valley Megamall....there goes the iPhone with the GPS. Thankfully I had a Google map printout of the locality. By the time I took a shower and was ready to go, it was already past noon. The fact that this place is located in what I would call 'The Mira Road of Kuala Lumpur' also did not help. But mass transit came to the rescue and it was one monorail and one LRT ride before I reached the station at Chan Sow Lin. And this is where the fun part begins.
The map was not what I would call self explanatory and the road outside the station was near-deserted. So on the road parallel to the LRT line, I started walking in hopes of soon finding someone, who would help with directions. That took more time than I thought it would, and when I finally reached a bus stop, the few people there either did not speak much English or had no idea where this goddamn 'Fish Head Stall' was. Worse still, I couldn't locate any of the diagonal roads or bylanes from the map after 15 mins of walking in the oppressive KL heat (and humidity). I finally found a guy in a car repair shop who spoke enough English and said he thought I had walked in the wrong direction from the station - Wow!!
So what basically lay ahead was a 10 minute walk back to the staion, and 10-15 minutes in the other direction, not knowing for sure if I would find the place. Well, "so be it" I said and started marching. Thankfully, post Chan Sow Lin station, I began to realize that the car repair guy was right after all. I had walked in the opposite direction initially coz now, the road signs started matching with the map. Finally, almost 30 minutes after I got off the LRT, I finally turned into the lane off the main street that led to my destination.
But the fun does not stop here. This was a grid of bylanes and the fish head stall was on the peculiarly named Jalan 2/89 C. Asking for this location in an industrial hell-hole full of welding shops where everyone seemed to be Chinese?? After a few attempts at pointing on the map and sign language, I gave up. Couldn't really turn back after all this effort, so i kept walking and finally found a sign that said 'Jalan 2/89 C'. Bless the KL authorities that put signboards for the smallest of bylanes! I turned into the lane and there it was.
In addition to the steamed fish head, I wanted to try the Stewed Chicken Feet as well. But when I asked for it, "Ovaa!!" is the response I got. So i settled for the Boiled Choy Sum Vegetables with Oyster Sauce and of course the fish head. The fish head comes in two varieties, the lighter ginger garlic sauce or the darker soy and oyster sauce. I picked the latter with a bowl of sticky rice.
The vegetable thing was quite bland and I could only gulp a few morsels while waiting impatiently for the fish.
The Steamed Fish Head however, was another story. A giant carp head (more than the head actually) steamed and drenched in soy and oyster sauce combination along with ginger, garlic and bird's eye chillies. And it looked like this.
It was more like the upper half of a gigantic carp. But it was really good. And I was really hungry. It went really well with the sticky rice. There was coke to wash it down. Yes, I finished the whole damn thing, and loved every bit of it. Finishing off the last bit of that salty/pungent sauce and scraping the leftover flesh off the skeletal remains of the carp was a pleasure that reminded me of Sunday lunches at Grandma's and the effort it took to get to Chong Yen Steamed Fish Head Stall was all but forgotten.
Dragging myself back to Chan Sow Lin station was less than fun, given the overeating and the heat and humidity. All I could do after I got back to the hotel was hit the sack.
Moral of the Story - If a place makes you work hard to get there, it's almost always worth it!.
If you ever find yourself in KL, check the place out.
Chong Yen Steamed Fish Head Food Stall
No. 22-24, Jalan 2/89C
Off Jalan Chan Sow Lin 4
55200 Kuala Lumpur
