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Meng Kee Soups, Taman Paramount PJ |
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Thursday, 17 February 2005 |
There are places that we frequent because the food is good and there are places we go because we like the atmosphere and there are places we go because it's just convenient.
However there's this one place that for me is a combination of all three plus one. It's a local neighbourhood restaurant called Meng Kee that's been operating for 17 years. Unlike some places where the proprietor has to have a nice shop so that people will visit his restaurant, Ricky the proprietor, believes that he should let his food do the talking. His "restaurant" is more of a road side stall just right outside the Giant supermarket in Taman Paramount. So you'll get to dine al-fresco Malaysian style and while some nights are hot, the night we were there a cool breeze was blowing.
Roy had been telling about this place for awhile and said that we had to experience this place. Roy & his wife, Rose - had been frequenting this place for years and at one point in time they were visiting Meng Kee a few times a week. As for me, I had never even been there. Such is the "muhibbah" spirit of Malaysia that a Malaysian of Indian descent can show a Malaysian of Chinese descent the way to good chinese food.
 For starters, we had Ricky's famous steamed soups. People come from far and wide to have his soups. And a word of warning, don't offend him by having a drink while taking the soup. Ricky is very serious about his soup and rightly so. Good soup should be the starter of a good meal, not a cup of coke.
For mains, we had assam fish head curry, pork rib curry, stir fried
lettuce, a petai dish and chicken with potato. Good food cooked with
passion and commitment by Ricky and his crew.
But that is not the highlight. Remember I mentioned about the plus one
factor? The plus one factor is really Ricky himself. He is not only a
veritable treasure trove of information but a delightfully charming
host as well (on his good nights - he does have bad nights too but
don't we all) To give you an idea of how wonderful a conversationist he
is - we finished our meal in about 45 minutes but stayed for another 2
hours talking to Ricky. Well, actually Ricky did most of the talking.
He entertained us with stories and facts about how our blood type can
actually affect the types of food that our bodies can take. And then he
taught us that if we have a headache that we should take chinese
ginseng soup because it will cool down our body's "heatiness"
I have seldom met a man who's so committed to constant self improvement
(not just on his food) but also his own general knowledge. Certainly I
have not personally met a cook who is so widely read. He actually
invested in a set of encyclopedia and spends his free time reading it.
He not only has read about the medicinal properties of the ingredients
used in his food but on varied subjects as well. Ask him about ancient
civilizations from Sumeria to Mesopotamia to the Aryans and he'll have
something to tell you about it. He was like that mechanic in that Astro ad, where the mechanic learned stuff through watching Astro. Well, we met our own real life Discovery Channel. It just goes to show that no matter
what our station in life is, there's still room to improve ourselves.
Thanks Ricky for being an inspiration.And thanks Roy & Rose for introducing us to this wonderful Malaysian treasure.
content is the copyright of www.waisikkai.com - home of malaysian food - 2005
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