Hakka Restaurant @ Jalan Raja Chulan specialises in...what else....authentic Hakka cuisine, of course! This restaurant has been around for more than 50 years (since 1956) and is a popular place for outdoor dining with foreign tourists staying in hotels in the area. Foreigners love this kind of al fresco dining under the stars.
We've been here a couple of times (for lunch) but the ambience (at night) is definitely more eye catching, with lights strewn on the roofed canopy, when we came here for a family dinner last Sunday.
The Salt & Pepper Baby Squids @ RM30 that followed were delightful morsels of joy. The tiny baby squids have been salted, peppered, battered, fried and tossed with bits of chilli and spring onions...it was crunchy (but just a tad hard). It was an ok dish and my son liked it. [#Tip: Especially good as a snack to go with a glass of cold beer (for the many foreign clientele who throng this place).]
Taste wise, the prawns were decent but the presentation and garnishing left a whole lot to be desired. The fried noodle basket (in which the prawns were served) tasted rancid ("chow yau yik" or stale oil taste) and the vegetables (lettuce and cucumber) the basket was sitting on were past its prime. Although we don't normally consume the garnishes, but at a price of RM90, I expected more.
Last but not least, I feel I need to comment on the apparent lack of service. No-one refilled our Chinese tea and water throughout our meal there (we had to self-serve ourselves with a pot that was left behind on their counter)...wondered if it has got anything to do with our (cheap) choices :( haiz, maybe we might have gotten better service if we ordered some fish and crabs, perhaps??? When we left, I did see a lot more wait staff attending to the (mostly) foreign customers outside since most locals choose to dine in the air-conditioned environment inside.
The only time the waitress offered us some kind of service (when no service was needed then) was when we asked for the bill. She offered us wet towels that were already stacked on a plate and laid out on the table since the beginning of our meal. Why? Because we had to pay for each wet towel used...how kind of her (to pressure us to take a towel)....and, of course, yours truly steadfastly refused!
My Personal Opinion
The place is rather quiet in the afternoons but I noticed that there's a sizeable crowd (especially foreigners) during dinner service due to the many hotels in the vicinity. But then again, you know what people say about 'touristy" places, if it attracts tourists instead of locals, the food cannot be very good.
The place is rather quiet in the afternoons but I noticed that there's a sizeable crowd (especially foreigners) during dinner service due to the many hotels in the vicinity. But then again, you know what people say about 'touristy" places, if it attracts tourists instead of locals, the food cannot be very good.
Our dinner for 10 came up to RM360 which is reasonable considering we didn't order much seafood (except prawns and baby squid, no fish or crab). Whether your dining experience is going to be good (or bad) depend on what you order actually as the menu here has its hits and misses. Overall, taste wise, I would say it's average fare at best.
Likes: Surprisingly, I enjoyed all the 3 vegetable dishes very much (especially the refreshing jungle ferns).
Dislikes: The braised pork belly with mui choy, the fried Hakka noodles and the non-existent service!
Hakka RestaurantNo 90 Jalan Raja Chulan
50200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2143 1907
I like the sound of the deep fried baby squid dish. I will never eat here because I seldom eat at local tourists restaurants. For Hakka food I usually go to Ying Ker Lou.
ReplyDeleteThe deep frief brinjal sounds good too but I am cutting down on fried food. Paku dish is my favourite dish. Will always order this dish at nyonya restaurants. I am surprised to ser this Hakka restaurant serving a paku dish.
I guess it's more Nyonya if you cook it kerabu style...or simply one of those fusion dishes which happens a lot these days.
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