Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — Anyone who frequents Sentul for its wealth of Chinese dai chow spots will no doubt be familiar with Lau Heong, an enduring icon of the neighbourhood that has been around for over 50 years, since 1973 to be exact.

The restaurant is known for its takes on staples such as clay pot curry fish head and fried chicken wings, but what sets it apart are a handful of unique dishes, most famously the “German” pork knuckle and “Sichuan” steamed stingray, which have become its calling cards.

That kind of popularity means securing a table for dinner on a weekend can be next to impossible, so what are the rest of us who don’t live in Sentul to do?

The answer now lies in Lao Heong in Bandar Menjalara.

Lao (with an ‘o’) Heong is located in Bandar Menjalara.

It has, in fact, been possible to get your fix here for the last eight months since the branch opened, and while Bandar Menjalara and Kepong are not exactly far from Sentul, parking here is certainly a lot easier.

Lao, spelt with an “o”, Heong, the staff tell me, is Lau Heong’s first branch.

The menu is exactly the same, with clay pot curry fish head, fried chicken wings, German pork knuckle, and Sichuan steamed stingray all present and accounted for.

They are strictly playing the hits here.

The thick, tangy sauce is a perfect match for the crispy yet fatty knuckle.

The biggest hit, the “German” pork knuckle (RM55 for half a portion) here is a faithful reproduction of the original, with half a deep-fried knuckle that is crisp, craggy and a beautiful shade of brown on the outside, sitting on a thick, bright orange sauce.

The sauce has the consistency of aioli made from scratch that’s been left out a little too long; not clumpy or split, but instead of being silky smooth, it forms soft peaks like a dip, which it is.

A perfect match for the crispy-on-the-outside, fatty-on-the-inside knuckle.

Beneath that craggy exterior is a porky reservoir of collagen and gelatin, soft meat and fat that coat the mouth in the richness of lard, cut through by the sauce’s distinct tang, which I suspect comes from some kind of fruit like pineapple, or maybe even ketchup.

Sichuan steamed stingray isn’t a ploy to capitalise on the province’s recent popularity; the dish has been around since I first started going to Lau Heong.

The other unique dish here is the “Sichuan” steamed stingray (RM45 for a small portion).

No, this isn’t some new invention to cash in on the recent boom in Sichuan cuisine; I remember eating it as a little tyke more than a decade ago.

Wings of stingray are simply steamed with a thick, dark sauce that is spicy and savoury from chilli and fermented bean paste, with just the slightest hint of a tongue-tingling buzz.

The stingray itself is extremely fresh, with no ammonia odour, and the moist flesh peels away with remarkable ease. A winner with rice.

Also ideal for devouring with rice, the clay pot curry fish head (RM45 for a small portion) comes with all the usual suspects: tau foo pok, green beans, eggplant, okra and chunks of fish head.

One can’t go wrong with a rich and flavourful clay pot fish head curry.

You can opt for slices of fish instead, though I quite like the texture of the odd bits and bobs you get from the head.

Like most Chinese-style fish head curries, Lao Heong’s is pretty lemak with carnation milk, but balanced with enough savouriness that it doesn’t feel heavy or cloying.

Finally, the crowd-pleasing fried chicken wings (RM5.50 per piece) are an exercise in simple things done right.

Simple, but executed well, Lao Heong’s fried chicken wings are full of ‘belacan’ flavour.

Too often, fried chicken wings that are purportedly marinated in nam yu or belacan are found lacking in the main seasoning. But that’s not the case here, as these crispy, moist suckers burst with the salty, funky flavour of belacan.

As a branch, Lao Heong has successfully achieved what a branch should: it has transported the flavours, textures and aromas of the original and faithfully recreated it in a slightly different setting.

They stick to the hits, and we, the eager audience, are thankful – and frankly relieved – that they do.

Lao Heong Seafood Restaurant

10, Jalan 4/62a,

Bandar Menjalara, Kuala Lumpur

Open daily, 11am-2.30pm, 5-9.30pm.

Tel: 03-6261 6751

*This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.