[Non-halal] Restoran Yuan Kee is one of our favourite dinner spots whenever we are in Kepong.
Having not visited the restaurant since the pandemic, we were surprised that Yuan Kee had moved from its old place on Jalan Kepong Baru (aka Kepong Wai Sei Kai where Kepong KTZ Desserts is located) to Taman Bukit Maluri.
Despite the new location (only a 9-minute drive or 3km from the old spot), we were happy to find that the food remains as good as ever. We arrived at 5.45pm on a weekend, shortly before the dinner crowd streamed in.
Restoran Yuan Kee in Kepong
There are a few dishes that we like to order at Yuan Kee.
The Cantonese Ginger Spring Onion Noodles (RM13) here is one of our favorites on this side of Kepong.
The beef slices here were cooked tender but not slimy (we’ve eaten slimy beef slices at other joints due to the addition of baking soda to tenderise the meat), and the noodles are not too salty or dry.
We find that the egg gravy here has sufficient wok hei, with the right amount of starch so it is not watery or too thick. The ginger here also has that nice spicy kick when eaten with the noodles.
Soy Sauce steamed pork belly
A dish not commonly found at Chinese dai chows (stir-fry restaurants), we also enjoyed the Soy Sauce Steamed Pork Belly (RM22) here.
While simple, this dish is well executed here at Yuan Kee and is our go-to dish when we visit.
The sliced pork belly is steamed to highlight its freshness – the meat is sweet with no “porky smell”, and fat that is soft to the bite.
The dish also comes with braised soft peanuts which are flavourful and go so well with the pork belly.
The pork belly is topped with minced fresh garlic and crispy garlic as aromatics, but the highlight here has to be the high-quality soy sauce served with the pork belly.
The soy sauce is very fragrant – which simply accentuates the sweetness of the pork belly. This dish is best eaten with a generous amount of white rice.
The flavour profiles of the pork belly, peanuts and garlic really complement each other when eaten together.
Petai prawns
For this visit, we ordered the Petai Prawns (RM30) for the first time.
A fan of petai, Ming enjoyed this dish as Yuan Kee is very generous with the stink bean portions.
While the stink beans are usually cooked with spicy sambal belacan, this dish is not too spicy and leans on the sweeter side due to the addition of onions. The prawns were succulent too.
Good stir-fry spinach
For additional vegetables, we ordered Stir-fry Spinach (RM13).
Whilst a simple dish, not many places can dish out a decent plate (too oily, not enough salt, overcooked!) – the one here was surprisingly good.
The spinach was fresh and not fibrous – and definitely not overcooked. The vegetable had wok hei, with the right amount of salt and garlic to make it delectable. We lapped this one up.
Summary
As you can tell, we were very content with our dinner here at Yuan Kee.
We highly recommend the Cantonese Ginger Spring Onion Noodle and Soy-Sauce Steamed Pork Belly here.
It can get quite busy during the weekends, so we recommend coming early to secure a table (or make reservations if you’re coming in a big group).
Restoran Yuan Kee 源记
Address: 39, Jalan Burung Jentayu, Taman Bukit Maluri, 52100 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 10.30am-10.30pm Daily (Closed on Wednesdays)
Phone: 016-653 3365
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