Al Fresco Dinning in China Town

By Sharmini Jayawardena

Yesterday night we went into the area bordering China Town: Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 🇲🇾

Hmmm 😋 the food was good. Especially the Chinese vegetarian fried rice with everything vegetable in it – Chinese cabbage, carrot, snow peas, types of mushroom, and in abundance, making into one big portion.

All the food cooked by two chefs outside the restaurant hawker style, this place draws an unending number of customers for its good gourmet food though charging restaurant prices.




The mixed fried rice with char siew (sweet barbecued pork) was also good. Though we have had better sweet and sour pork.

In particular, mention should be made of their fantastic ketchup or Chinese light soya sauce! Whoa  it is beyond! Especially when you add it to the sliced green chili! Man, it’s out of this world. I think they brew the soya sauce themselves some where in their back yard or something.

This place is known as China Town Seng Kee and is on Jalan Sultan, Kuala Lumpur. It has already got a whopping 118 reviews as being one of the oldest restaurants in KL. It is supposed to serve food as well as beer 🍺 into the wee hours 🍻

So there you go no wonder we were drawn to it.

Walking about towards the end of the street we came across this very hip restaurant and possibly a back packers haunts called ‘Mingle’. It’s refurbished interior and exterior decor with the old Chinese coffee shop furniture immediately caught my eye. They have done a superb job with it. An example for others to follow in resurrecting these old souls.

In the adjacent area opposite Leaf & Co is where the Yan Keng Benevolent Dramatic Association (as stated at the top of the building) used to be. Today the building houses a tea shop selling tea leaves and other establishments below.

Most probably the Benevolent Dramatic Association was a place where they practiced Chinese Opera in the past brining together like minded people. We can only imagine how exciting this place might have been.

Towards the end of this street on Jalan Hang Jepat there are old buildings still remaining and we hope they will not be brought down, for of all things, parking lots! Baaaaaaaah!

“When will they ever learn/When will they ever learn”*! 

*Where Have All The Flowers Gone. Song, by Peter Paul and Mary



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