I had porridge for dinner last night at HonKee Porridge Restaurant. This is the 5th branch of the famous congee stall in Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur which spans three generations since 1949. Fresh Sliced Fish Porridge has been their specialty over the past 60 years. It is located just a few doors away from Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Taipan USJ, Subang Jaya.
Even though HonKee is just opened a week ago, people just seems to know of its existence since the day they started their business as you can see the shop is constantly packed! My friend and i were there around 7.30pm and there were only 3 tables available. By 8pm, people have started queuing outside the shop waiting for vacant table.
Not long after we have ourselves seated, we heard a young lady screaming from behind. It turned out that a waiter had accidentally spilled a glass of drinks on her. She should count herself lucky because it's not the super HOT porridge that spilled on her. The shop is in a chaotic state due to overwhelming customers and (maybe) inexperienced waiters.
From then onwards, i dare not take out my camera to take pictures of the shop and food. Even my blackberry was kept intact in my handbag. It's just that i'm scared the same thing will happen to me. That's why there is no picture posted about food in this post. Honestly, i would not want to be part of the training object for those waiters.
My friend ordered Cooked Fish Porridge (RM5.00) whilst i ordered Minced Pork and Bitter Gourd Porridge (RM6.50). Both of us ordered fresh Soya Bean Milk (RM2.30 per glass) and You Tiao (fried dough stick) (RM1.00).
In conclusion:-
Cooked Fish Porridge - Quite a lot of fish bones, must eat with extra care.
Minced Pork and Bitter Gourd Porridge - The minced pork is extremely salty.
Fresh Soya Bean Milk - Very diluted, no "home-made" taste.
You Tiau - It's not freshly-made and hence not crunchy. The portion is extremely little.
With HonKee started to expand their business by opening branches like this, one cannot help but comparing them to I Love Yoo (老友鬼鬼) which sells similar food. If you asked me, here are my two cents worth:-
Porridge - Both have great quality porridge. But HonKee's portion is bigger than I Love Yoo.
Soya Bean Milk - I Love Yoo's soya bean milk is very "home-made". This is lacking in Hon Kee.
You Tiau - I Love Yoo's You Tiau is freshly-made. Hence, it's very crunchy and you'll not get those "greasy" smell. Did i mentioned to you that the You Tiau at HonKee have this "greasy" smell that i think it spoiled my delicious porridge?
Anyway, i'll still patronize HonKee Restaurant, just for their delicious porridge but nothing else.
Meanwhile, you can visit their website at
www.honkeeporridge.com for
more information. I presumed the website is still under construction as the person who claimed to have a BSc. (Hons) IT (UK) can do far much better than this.
List of Outlets:-
Petaling Street: (5am - 1.30pm)
No. 93, Jalan Hang Lekir, 50000 Kuala Lumpur.
Lot 10 Hutong: (10am - 10pm)
Lower Ground Floor, Lot 10, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
Damansara Uptown: (7am - 10pm)
No. 71, Jalan SS21/1A, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Bandar Puteri: (7am - 10pm)
No. 52, Jalan Puteri 2/4, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong, Selangor.
Taipan USJ: (7am - 10pm)
No. 59, Jalan USJ 10/1A, UEP Subang Jaya, 47620 Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: 012-238 0362 (Mr. Wong)
[Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here are based entirely on personal taste buds, view and preference and may vary from others.]
