I remember the days when food courts or ‘medan selera‘ were all the rage. Canteen style, with lots of seats in an open space, dozens of stalls to choose from, all sorts of food. It was the go-to place for tasty and cheap food. But as standards of living increase, and more people opt for the air-conditioned comforts of a shopping mall or a glitzy cafe,  food courts have slowly lost their charm, especially among the younger crowd. More recently, two very prominent ones – Asia Cafe in SS15 and Ming Tien –  announced their closure to make way for redevelopment of the land.

One of these surviving old food courts is the one in PJ Old Town. While I’m not sure how long it has been around, I think it is easily 30 years old as my parents used to eat here in the 1990s, when I was still a baby. Lunch time sees mostly an office crowd. Half of the stores only open for dinner, but there’s still a pretty good selection. I like how they have a Chinese, Malay and Indian section, and all the races can be seen eating together. Now that’s muhibbah! 

W suggested we try out the Yong Tau Foo (assorted items stuffed with fish paste) at a shop called Gerai Seong Kee. They hand you a chit, and you tick off the items you want, which are either fried or served in a soup.

AD’s stuffed lady’s finger, tofu, tofu pok and chilli in soup.

W ordered stuffed brinjal and fried dumpling.

I had deep fried tofu pok and foochok (beancurd roll). The fish paste was flavourful, with a smooth, bouncy texture, and I like the crunchiness of the tofu pok skin. The foochok was too greasy for me as the bubbles created little pockets that filled my mouth with oil when bitten into. But the real star, for me, was this…

Their fried chicken wings. I think I’ve found something I love as much as Jollibee, and that’s saying something.  Crunchy and golden, the skin was salty goodness with a hint of curry powder, while the inside was piping hot, tender and juicy. Despite eating several pieces, I did not feel like it was greasy at all. Each piece is RM3. I’m planning to go back and just getting like 10 pieces to snack on. Joke.

Or is it?

GERAI SEONG KEE @ PJ OLD TOWN FOOD COURT 

1, Jalan Selangor, Pjs 4, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening hours: 12PM – 9PM (closed Tuesdays)