Madam Leow Penang Koay Chap @ SS2 PJ

A few of our go-to breakfast places to eat like Loong Seng (dim sum), Chan Meng Kee (wantan mee) and BBQ Soon Hing can be found nestled on this one street alone (in SS2/66).

And the last time we were here at one of these places, we noticed a new restaurant, Madam Leow Penang Koay Chap @ SS2 PJ in the same row.  New in the sense that we have not been there before but not new like it was just opened (it has been around since August last year).

The restaurant specialises in Penang koay chap, a dish that's quite rare in these parts of the Klang Valley. Besides koay chap, they also offer other Penang staples like Penang char koay teow and duck meat koay teow th'ng together with a few variations of fried rice (yong chow, sambal or salted fish), nasi lemak (plain, with curry chicken or pork rendang) and tong shui (sweet soups/desserts).

There was also a separate menu (this must have been added on recently) listing rice sets with black vinegar or braised angelica root pig trotters, braised chicken & bitter gourd in black beans, ginger duck, Chinese wine chicken and steamed minced pork with salted fish.

Of course we had to start with the famous Penang Koah Chap @ RM9.90...that's what they're known for and that's what I was here for.

The bowl of goodness came with a couple of pork belly slices, pork intestines, some scant slices of duck meat, hard-boiled egg and crispy pork lard in a steaming hot, darkly-coloured broth.

The mellow koah chap broth wasn't too herbal in taste with fragrance from the fried garlic bits and daun sup. I don't eat koay chap very often, so I'm not sure how this soup ranks in terms of taste but I certainly enjoyed it for its clean-tasting, mild flavours (since I dislike overly herbal tastes anyway).

But the thing I enjoyed most were the noodles, unique as they were, not the usual kway teow that you'd get elsewhere in this kind of dish, but rolled up rice flour sheets that's thicker than the texture of thin kway teow.  I liked the slippery smooth texture...it was nice.

The Pork Rendang Nasi Lemak @ RM11.50 was served with pork rendang (of course), half a hard-boiled egg, some decent quality ikan bilis and peanuts with cucumber slices and sambal.

This being a Chinese-style sambal, the sweetness from the plentiful onions resulted in a sweetish, non-spicy rendition.  The good thing was that the sambal was not oily.

The pork rendang had good flavours reminiscent of a good (Chinese-made) rendang but not quite in the same league as a Malay-style rendang (of course).  The pork could probably have benefited from being cut into smaller pieces to render more flavour into the meat + make it a tad more tender but still a successful pork rendang.

The Nasi Lemak Biasa @ RM6 comes with a whole hard-boiled egg but sans the pork rendang.  Overall, it's a pretty decent Chinese-style nasi lemak I have to say.

I was intrigued by Igor's Penang Char Koay Teow @ RM11 (with duck egg, RM9.50 with chicken egg) when I saw it on the menu on my maiden visit (and smelled it in the air when it was being fried).  Now who is this Igor?  Sounds Russian...haha! :D  On googling, there is indeed an Igor Penang Char Kuey Teow in Damansara Perdana.  Not sure if it's related to the one here.

Anyway, the plate of CKT arrived with all the trappings needed for the making of a good CKT...fresh and good-sized prawns, slices of lap cheong (Chinese dried sausage), crispy chee yau char (pork lard), crunchy beansprouts and fragrant Chinese chives.  Only thing lacking was the teeny-weeny see hum (cockles) we got that day (it was so tiny, you can't even see it) + I wouldn't mind the noodles being fried a little longer for a bit more charring/wok hei.  Nonetheless, it was a pretty good plate of CKT. ^o^

Over two visits, we also managed to try some of their rice sets starting with the Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Fish @ RM10 served with plain rice.

This is a very homey dish that many households make at home as it's an easy dish to cook.  This one, with probably some tung choy (preserved cabbage) in it, wasn't quite salty enough...it needed more salted fish (and I wouldn't mind more of that saltish chup (soupy gravy) too to pour over the rice! ^.^

I also tried the Chicken with Whole Garlic & Chinese Wine @ RM10.  It came with 4 good-sized pieces of chicken and I loved the lightly browned garlic cloves that were immensely soft and garlicky.  The sauce did have a hint of wine but it was pretty muted though (overall) the sauce was very tasty.  I scooped every last drop into my rice.

The latest addition that's not on the menu (yet) but plastered on the wall is Tau Yu Bak (braised pork belly in soy sauce, RM11).

The side dishes (or add-ons) here are mostly the same ones you'd get with the koay chap like braised duck, pork belly, small intestines, tofu and egg.  But there's Orh Kueh (Yam Cake) @ RM4 which my husband loves but says this one doesn't have that much yam bits in it...and I have to agree.  It can't hold a candle to the old lady's yam cake (in Paramount Garden) though but it's still alright by my standards.  I liked it because of the contribution of those fine crispy bits on top together with the fried shallots.  I'm not sure what they were but they had a saltish aftertaste, so I'm guessing it's dried preserved radish.

They also offer tong shui (or sweet soups/desserts) of peanut, red bean, green bean, mak chuk (bubur gandum), fu chuk, barley & gingko, black glutinous rice, sweet potatoes & ginger, white fungus & lemon and bubur cha cha.  I had the Bubur Cha Cha @ RM4.50 which had big chunks (I would have preferred them cut into smaller cubes) of yam and sweet potato cooked till soft together with sago.

The sweet soup was mildly santan-ish and suitably sweet.  Would I have liked it thicker?  Sure...but not overly thick until it's cloying.  Some would definitely prefer it with a more robust coconut milk flavour.  But this one was missing the tapioca flour cubes that I love (not many bubur cha cha I've eaten have these coz they're pretty time consuming to make).  My late father-in-law was very good at making bubur cha cha.  His was one of the best I've ever eaten...and his had tapioca flour cubes in it!  I tried making these tapioco flour cubes once but failed miserably! :P

My husband had the Fu Chuk, Barley & Gingko @ RM4.50.  Of all the tong shui, this happens to be my least favourite as I don't like gingko.  I would even fish out the gingko from my chawanmushi. ^_*  The other thing I don't like is white fungus.

For drinks, you're limited to Lemongrass & Ginger @ RM2.70, Pandan Barley, Chinese tea, water and canned soft drinks.

My Personal Opinion

On both my visits here in the mornings (on Sundays), I noticed that the place isn't swarmed with customers, usually only 3 - 4 tables are occupied, compared to the always full 'occupancy' of the other eateries on this street.  The near empty place isn't, by any means, a true reflection of the taste and quality of the food served.  I'm surprised that we don't have to jostle for a seat here at breakfast time since the food isn't half bad.

If I were to guess, it's probably down to one of two reasons...the higher average prices of RM10 - RM12 for a dish may be a deterrent for some (especially when there are cheaper alternatives on this street) or the food offered (mostly rice dishes with the exception of 3 noodle dishes of koay chap, koay teow th'ng and char koay teow) seems more suited for lunch or dinner.  Well, they do open closer to lunch time (@ 11) on other days except weekends.

I'm leaning towards the latter.  Hopefully that is the case coz it'll be a shame really as I thoroughly enjoyed the food here, maybe not the best around but certainly better than average.

Hmmm, I'm already thinking what I'll have on my next visit...probably the braised duck, intestines, tofu and egg with rice (or maybe the duck koay teow th'ng)...and another bowl of tong sui! ^_~

Update: Madam Leow has since relocated to Chow Yang Kopitiam (as a stall) at No 44, Jalan SS2/10, 47400 PJ, Selangor

Madam Leow Penang Koay Chap
No 30 Jalan SS2/66
47300 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Tel: 012-480 0970