Restoran Kim Lian Kee, Kuala Lumpur

Restoran Kim Lian Kee, Kuala Lumpur (6 July, 2016)

Restoran Kim Lian Kee (GPS: 3.14417, 101.69748) is a Chinese restaurant in the Petaling Street Chinatown area of Kuala Lumpur. It occupies a 3-storey Art Deco-style building at the corner of Jalan Hang Lekir with Petaling Street. The front of the building is lined with stalls selling handbags and other goods. Patrons to Restoran Kim Lian Kee have the option of dining indoors or alfresco.

The specialty of Restoran Kim Lian Kee is its Kuala Lumpur-style Hokkien Mee (which is very different from Penang's Hokkien Mee) According to information gleaned from its menu, the restaurant started as a Hokkien Mee stall before expanding and transforming into a proper restaurant. It is therefore not surprising that Hokkien Mee is the signature dish on the menu.

Some websites claim that Restoran Kim Lian Kee is the birth place of the KL-style Hokkien Mee, but the restaurant menu does not make such mention, so it is probably an unsubstantiated claim. It is less hard to accept the menu's claim, that the restaurant started as a Hokkien Mee stall.

I visited Restoran Kim Lian Kee on 6 July 2016 and decided to order the Hokkien Mee, to find out how it tastes like. The price is RM9 for small, RM17 for medium and RM23 for large. So, I ordered the small, which is for individual meal. My wife opted for the Pork Soup Mee Hoon (RM10). Together with one glass of herbal tea (RM2.00) and Chrysanthemum (RM2.50), our bill came to RM24.90, inclusive GST of RM1.41. Personally I felt the Hokkien-style mee nothing much to talk about. The portion wasn't big, so before long I was feeling hungry again (but luckily I have snacks with me).