Medan Selera PJ Old Town

Remember how it was love at first bite when I had chicken wings at Gerai Seong Kee in the PJ Old Town Food Court last week? Well, I’ve been pining for them alllll week. So like a true blue friend, S suggested we go there for my birthday eve dinner. Although I had to drive. Lol.

As I mentioned in my previous post, there are many stalls at the old food court. Have yet to try all of them, but I’ll share with you my top picks so far!

1 ) YONG TAU FOO @ GERAI SEONG KEE

The last time I came, I tried their fried foochok and taufupok. The foochok was really oily; This time around, S tried it and had the same opinion, so maybe give that a miss. Try the sui gao (fried dumpling) instead: it’s crunchy and fried to perfection. Do note that some people might not like the skin coz it has a kansui (lye) smell.

I got my taufupok and fishball in a clear soup, which was really good. The fish paste had a great bouncy texture and good flavour, which is everything when it comes to good yong tau foo. All items come served with chilli and sweet dipping sauces.

2) Fried Chicken Wings – also from Gerai Seong Kee

THERE. THERE IT IS. My last trip was with colleagues and they said I ate a lot (I only had two pieces wtf) – so now I can really eat to my heart’s content. 😀

S and I ordered 6 pieces to share. It came to our table in a glorious mountain of crunchy golden perfection. Taste wise, it was consistent, as good as my first visit: not greasy, crispy skin that had a fragrant curry/kunyit flavour to it, with juicy and tender meat on the inside. Chicken was fresh too. Sometimes you get that bloody, old chicken smell that restaurants try to mask coz they think after frying it’ll all be the same (I’m looking at you, KFC!), but no such problem here. We easily polished off the 12 mini wings without feeling like we’d throw up from the grease: the mark of awesome chicken wings.

3) Satay from Gerai Satay Cina Thoo Yuen

This stall is just next to the yong tau foo place and is manned by an elderly husband and wife. I was piqued by the Pork label – not many places serve those these days – so ordered 5 of that and 5 skewers of mutton. The uncle grilled them over a small charcoal fire on the side. Unfortunately he gave us chicken instead of pork, so I didn’t get to try pork satay after all.

The portion was rather small but they made for perfect bite-sized snacks. Chicken wasn’t that great but the mutton was done well, with a slightly chewy texture and just the slightest hint of gaminess, with a nice balance of lean and fat. RM1.60 per skewer.

4) Cendol from Weng Kee ABC

I think this stall is pretty legendary: just look it up on the net and you’ll find tonnes of positive reviews + nostalgic reminiscences. Apparently they have been operating since 1961, and are famous for their cendol/ABC (N calls it ‘Malaysian halo-halo’). Of course we couldn’t pass up on having a sweet ending to our epic chicken/yongtaufoo/satay feast, so we ordered one for each of us. Unlike places where they serve the dessert in a bowl, Weng Kee’s cendol comes in a tall glass, with the green bits at the bottom alongside red bean (optional – they’ll ask if you want that added), topped with a mountain of shaved ice and drenched with palm sugar and condensed milk.

I thought it’d be difficult to eat but it wasn’t. Once the ice melted a little, it became a really nice, refreshing drink that you can sip up from the fat straw (I call it a fat straw coz it’s fatter than your usual straw :D). It wasn’t cloyingly sweet and had a nice mix of textures and sweet nuances: thick, rich and caramel-ly from the palm sugar, lightly creamy from the condensed milk, dense red bean and chewy cendol. One of the best versions I’ve had so far!

So there you have it: my top picks for things to eat at PJ Old Town Food Court! Of course, there are many more stalls to try( I heard the chicken rice there is phenomenal too) but that’s for another visit.

PJ OLD TOWN

Jalan Othman, Pj Old Town, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Opening hours: 7AM – 11PM

Note: Not sure if the Pork Satay stall is open for lunch, probably only for dinner.

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)

Tag: Medan Selera PJ Old Town

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