The Royal Town of Klang, which also functions as the seaport for Kuala Lumpur, a mere 20 miles away, has always been known throughout the country for its Hokkien-style herbal bak kut teh pork-rib soup.
But on our last trip to Klang before the COVID lockdown in March this year, we discovered another dining gem there: the Hakka Food Fair, a casual eatery which specializes in the food of the “guest people”, the Hakkas, a departure from the cuisines of the mainly Hokkien populace.
What attracted our attention initially were the Hakka-style chung displayed outside the eatery - pyramid-shaped parcels of glutinous rice, flavored with 5-spice and soy sauce, with stewed pork-belly and mushroom filling - wrapped in bamboo leaves and boiled. These turned out to be pretty tasty - well-marinated meat filling and well-seasoned sticky rice.
We decided to order its pork meatballs, braised with dried oysters and mustard leaves. It turned out to be the tastiest thing we’d had in quite a while!
The proprietress-chef cutting up the meatball table-side. Traditionally, the Chinese will cut cooked meats and vegetables up into bite-sized pieces, so they can be easily picked up using chopsticks.
We ordered the house specialty beverage, as we saw almost everyone else in the eatery having it: mugs of chilled juice, made from barley, gingko nuts and foo choke (tofu skin).
We really wanted to try the Hakka abacus beads - little discs of taro pasta, braised with minced pork, salted black beans, garlic and pork-lard, but were too full from an earlier breakfast, plus the substantial rice and meat dumplings. Have to make a return visit another time!
Hakka Food Fair opens from 7.30am to cater to the Eng Ann Gardens’ morning market right outside its front door.
Address
Hakka Food Fair Restaurant
No. 34, Jalan Kasawari 8
Taman Eng Ann, 41150 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +6013-311 1798
Opening hours: 7.30am to 4pm Tue to Sun. Closed on Mondays.
