The news of Yut Kee getting evicted from its humble shoplot on Jalan Dang Wangi created a ripple of shock & raised indignation among foodies & friends yesterday.
Source of story here: HERE
Truth to be told, I thought Yut Kee’s food was average at best & its quality has seen better days; and my sentiments was echoed by many fellow foodies & friends. Hence obviously I wasn’t that “affected” by the news.
Still, Yut Kee is institutional, and rarely would one see the humble coffee shop empty during breakfast or lunch hours. The queue is pretty epic. And uncomfortable too; as it stretched out to the main street under the hot sun.
Having said all that, where else can I find tender savoury pork chops, roti babi (a personal favourite thought I didn’t quite like Yut Kee’s version), and all that traditional kopitiam fare & variety of Hainanese food under one roof in Selangor/KL?
Hainanese Pork Chop.
Roti Babi (Pork Bread/Bun).
And not to mention our traditional breakfast favorites; the humble half boiled eggs & toast.
Plain toast with crisp, slight charred flavour. Simple & satisfying.
The kaya spread infused with the aroma of the egg and coconut milk has a thick & lumpy texture that I like. The bottled version is a popular takeaway item too.
The eggs were perfectly done here.
Yut Kee happens to be the perfect place to bring your travelling guests from other countries too, as the ambiance is hard to beat; old-school charm, nostalgic & simple. The signboard, the chinese calligraphy, the old ceiling fans all adds character to the place.
(Credits to Wilson for the 2 pics below as per watermarked.)
Tables are the traditional marble tops ones which I love. If I do have my own place in the future, I’ll definitely have one of these in the dining room. It bought back much memories for me. 😉
Patrons sits on simple wooden chairs. The floor is those nostalgic tiled marbles. It reminded me so much of my grandma’s old house on Hutton Lane, Penang. Old photographs and newspaper articles dotted the walls.
Nothing beats drinking from these green flower motif cups. Not much can be said for the drinks/coffee here, but it’s really about the vibe.
The chicken chop is pretty popular as well. The gravy for both (pork & chicken) is similar, which is served with lots of potato wedges, onions & mixed vegetable in a flavorful brown sauce. Both varieties of chops & the roti babi comes with Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce.
I personally liked the Hai Lam noodles. It came loaded with prawns, vegetables, pork slices, bean sprouts & CRAB meat in flavourful gravy.
This however, was pretty ordinary.
One of the reasons why I didn’t like Yut Kee’s roti babi was simple because I felt it was not well prepared.
There were barely any meat for the fillings. To top it off, it was dry & bland.
I mean, look at this below. The bread was thick & the fillings was measly.
I’m not sure why would anyone would order porridge here but one of my friends did during one of my makan trips. We were pleasantly surprised though; as it was actually pretty good! For RM5, there were plenty of fish slices & the congee was smooth & thick.
Yut Kee’s is also famous for their marble cake, butter cake and kaya (coconut egg jam) rolls. One can either buy them whole or by slices.
All cakes are freshly baked daily at the premise itself. So while you are enjoying your meal, your senses are assaulted with the wondrous smell of butter; which translates to a high probability of you taking home a whole cake like I did.
But that won’t happen again. While it wasn’t bad, my vote goes this one at the OUG morning market.
Tried the kaya rolls too. (RM0.80 per slice). Again, I didn’t like it.
For an earlier entry of Yut Kee’s Weekend Roast Pork – HERE
Prices: Mains – Noodles, pork chops, roti babi are about RM8-RM10.
Yut Kee Restaurant
35 Jalan Dang Wangi
50100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603 2698 8108
Business Hour : 8am till 5pm.
Closed on Mondays.
GPS Coordinates : N03° 09.416′ E101° 43.351′
Haven’t been there before although I’ve heard of it and its food. I guess the queue and the pack-ness of the crowd puts me off. Hehe.
Yes, sometimes its so annoying to queue & put up with the heat, discomfort etc and you’re paying for your food somemore!
i never try any roti babi. 🙁 I WANT!!! lol! the eggs really perfectly done indeed!
You’re in KL soon! We can go together!
My family and I went there twice six years ago. Did not really like the food despite two visits. My dad said that he used to go to that place when he was in his 30s-40s.
Well, was it better when he was in his 30s-40s versus the time you guys went 6 yrs ago?
The roti babi has seen better days, unfortunately – but overall, I love Yut Kee for all that it is… 🙂
(A rare n precious part of our food heritage unheld by 3 generations!….)
Yea, like i said, the vibe is all it’s got going for it!
as u know, this place is just a 5-minute walk from my office, but i’ve only eaten here once! yeah, the lunchtime queue is a bit too long, and they don’t open for dinner! i remember the food was decent porky fare 😀
Decent yes! Can eat. Just doesnt justify the queue. LOL.
But i heard it was much better last time (god knws how long was that ago ;p)
I didn’t expect the butter served is in such ‘hotel’ style? 🙂
LOL! Exactly! I was taken back too, But if I were to complain, then how should the butter be served? It makes sense to have it served this way i guess.
We dont have malaysian made butter hor?
my first time coming here was in the morning of my 29th birthday.. of course with Jenn! We were staying overnight at Imperial Hotel using the Starwood card… and we walked here just for the roti babi and pork chop! My suggestion? Come here earlier than usual… I hate queueing and no matter how good the food is, I’d still turn away if I have to wait for a long time
Well.. queue aside, the food wasn’t great enough for me to drive from PJ on a w-end! ;p
Walked down to yut kee on friday for lunch..was crowded as usual..my chicken chop was ok.agree with u that yut kee has seen better days.i find the portions have become slightly smaller and . hope their new kopitiam keeps the prices low and not be like paparich/old town or so..
PappaRich and the new kopitiams different! For one, you dun hv to queue!
Then got WIFI!
more spacious seating as well. So you’re paying for all that extras
Gonna miss the old yut kee spot!
Pete, it’s just gonna be a few doors away ;p
Chinaman’s pork chop…salivating….loving it…making me so hungry now..Damn
I wish I could find atr place that serves this … and a tastier version if possible!
I remember Taiping got a certain quaint shop that serves good pork chop, but I dun remember where now
ahhhhh.. miss those roti babi, used to work makan there for lunch 😛
The roti babe in Pg is more my type. Here’s it’s miserable bread & onions more than anything!
Very dissappointed for the Food. :negative:
This is my 1st time visit with my parents “Excited”. go there on sunday.
We order Roti Babi, Chicken Chop, Hainam Mee & Butter cake.
The roti soak with oil and i can taste is onions “Babi 2 poor small pcs”,
Chicken chop any food court can cook better. The sauce are Tasteless.
I can’t believe the food can be serve nowadays. Oh My gosh.
The place is nice and clean but the food is not good. Go and try and see.
Although my dad and the restaurant owner “J**K” were classmate.
My dad mention the food is good in 20/60yrs back. Now cut cost cut ingredients.
The Food are poor indeed. No disrespect. This is Overrated. Go for atmosphere only.
The shop will be move few months later. Move to somewhere behind.
You got it right! That’s exactly how I felt too! Esp on the roti babi. Spot on.
Just do not know why it’s stil so popular. For myself, I would normally order the noodles, whc is not too bad.
I think is popular because its old school. I quite like the chicken chop. The pork burger is lousy… too oily.
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Valuable info. Lucky me I discovered your web site accidentally, and I’m stunned why this twist of fate did not took place earlier! I bookmarked it.
Currently blogging about our quick afternoon snack at YKR. Hungry now! 😛
Hahah I look forward to reading it! 🙂
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