Well after two o'clock on a recent Saturday we were growing desperate. In Kuala Lumpur, arrive anywhere in search of lunch after 2:30 and you're pushing your luck; favorite dishes are usually sold out and vendors are starting to pack it in for the day. We'd already made a couple of passes up and down Jalan Klang Lama, a wide and frustratingly clogged divided road somewhere in KL (like most residents I couldn't tell you where I am in relation to the city center at any given moment; KL's confusingly intertwined, curvy roadways render directional navigation all but impossible) and were no closer to locating a recommended eatery than we had been when we'd started 30 minutes prior.
In a bid to escape the traffic Dave made a random left turn up a hill. The surroundings looked vaguely familiar. Another turn, right this time, took us past a couple of mobile roast duck vendors and spit us out in OUG, a gem of a mostly Chinese neighborhood that's home to a lively, sprawling wet market and seemingly more coffeeshops and restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the city.
Despite the late hour (2:40, now) clusters of prospective eaters roamed streets still thick with double-parked cars. We breathed a sigh of relief. We would not go hungry this day.
Seafood porridge tempted; one glimpse at the contents of this vendor's styrofoam cooler and we knew we'd found lunch. A 'normal' eater might opt for porridge with several prawns, or a few squid, or a whole pomfret. We chose all three.
Freshness is the name of the game here, where seafood (or, if you wish, frog) is prepped a la minute. For our order vendor Hian started by dipping thick, long-cooked Hong Kong-style porridge (aka congee) from one of the hulking stainless steel vessels lined up on her stovetop into a traditional clay pot. She added a generous glug of of hua tiao jiu (Chinese rice wine) and then left the pot to cook over a low flame while she shelled shrimp, cleaned and sliced squid, and hacked the pomfret - head, fins, bones and all - into chunks.
Next, she blanched the fish et al by placing it in a small pan and drowning it in boiling broth drawn from another of the metal pots. After quickly draining off the liquid she added partially cooked seafood to porridge.
After a quick stir or two,
she cranked up the flame and allowed the concoction to boil for a minute, then removed it from the heat.
Ginger matchsticks, coriander leaves, and chopped scallion greens were added at the table.
Chopped fresh red and green chilies, soy sauce, and white pepper were also on hand to dress up individual servings.
Thick and creamy, sweetly fortified with rice wine, flavored with the seepage from fish bones and prawn heads, this must be one of the best bowls of seafood porridge in KL. Hian's quick blanch assures that every morsel of piscene goodness is cooked just right - curled squid pieces are tender, fish is moist but not mushy, and prawns are toothsome. A nice touch here is the two-layered hit of ginger, from thick coins slow-cooked with the rice and delicate shreds added at the last minute. This porridge's flavors were so exquisitely balanced that I downed my first two bowls sans additional seasonings, only bringing in soy, chilies, and white pepper when we hit the bottom of the by now seafood-less pot.
Crisis averted. Yet more proof that in KL, goodness lurks around every corner, just waiting to dazzle when you least expect it.
Hian's Seafood Porridge, Restoran Hoong Pin, Overseas Union Garden (OUG). Early morning till 3pm.
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