Tuesday 2 February 2010

OK Porridge - Imbi, Kuala Lumpur

Smack in the middle of downtown KL, there's Imbi - undeveloped and more than a little seedy. Beneath the shabby exterior lies a wealth of good Chinese food and none more so than the little gem that is OK Porridge. If you're prepared to trot straight from your car to the restaurant and ignore the parade of ladies of the evening who use the premises as their meeting point before their business day begins, you're in for a treat.

Prawn Porridge - OK Porridge, Kuala Lumpur

Their house specialty is porridge - good, old fashioned rice stodge cooked to order in a claypot with the seafood of your choice. On this visit we had two pots - the fish was subtle with a pleasing clean palate and the prawn had bolder, sweeter flavours from the cooked crustacean shells and heads. Garnished with ubiquitous spring onion and coriander for hints of freshness and for bite, yau char kway.

Corriander - OK Porridge, Imbi

Spring Onion - OK Porridge, Imbi

Yau Char Kwai - OK Porridge, Imbi

Another must is the silky smooth Ipoh poached chicken. Deliciously succulent meat served on the bone and topped with soy sauce, a splash of oil, cucumber pieces and topped with sliced spring onion and coriander. This would be perfect with garlic rice but steaming hot rice gruel would have to do.

Ipoh Chicken - OK Porridge, Kuala Lumpur

Ultra thin and crispy choy boh (small pieces of preserved turnip) omelette - the perfect accompaniment to porridge.

Choy Boh Omelette - OK Porridge, Kuala Lumpur

There seems to be a craze at the moment for anything cooked with salted egg yolk. On my last visit I had never heard of it but it was love at first taste when I had it cooked with crab. It was to die for - literally if you have a wee bit too much. Those yolks can induce a heart attack quicker than you can say "haam daan wong"(salted egg yolk)!Dad looked a little guilty when asked what our obligatory vegetable was ... aubergine with salted egg yolk. Deep fried thin slices of aubergine in a salted egg yoke batter and tossed with dried chilies and curry leaves.No wonder he looked guilty ... this dish was beyond sinful. Crisp and aromatic, vegetables are never this good.

Deep Fried Aubergine with Salted Egg Yolk - OK Porridge, Imbi

On a previous visit we had kam heong lala (clams). Whilst kam heong is not my choice style for cooking seafood, this was a sight better than the dish we had at Robson Heights. The integrity of the clams (tiny, yes) were, at least, preserved and not overwhelmed by the sauce. On this occassion we also had an extra dish of sotong assam (no photos, I'm afraid). Nice tender squid with a slight crunch cooked in a lovely spicy assam sauce - beautiful with a nice big bowl of rice, which we didn't have so we resorted to dipping our chewy fried bread sticks into the sauce instead.

Fried Clams with Chili - OK Porridge, Kuala Lumpur

OK Porridge serves some very good food but visit on at your risk. * Entertainment is also provided - see the latest trends in tight, see through and gaudy designs brought to you courtesy of Sungai Wang.

5 comments:

Su-Lin said...

Oh, I love porridge served with all the bits and pieces (Teochew style?). Prawn porridge sounds so decadent!

Rafleesia said...

ohhh what a luscious post! the pics are so kitschy with the pink tablecloth! i think i'll have dinner there tonight!

Luscious Temptations said...

Su-Lin - I believe Teochew porridge is usually the watery variety that is left plain to ensure that the enjoyment of the flavour came from the dishes. However, we were little piggies, hence Teochew meets Hong Kong (thick, smooth, flavoured porridge). The best of both worlds! :)

Rafleesia - Gotta love the fluorescent plastic dishware - goes so well with that tablecloth. Go try that porridge on Jalan Silang I sent you that review about, I definitely want to try it the next time I'm back.

Kenneth Mah said...

Hello,

may i know where is the location of this shop located? imbi can say big aso can say small? can give me the address or any landmark near it?

Luscious Temptations said...

Hi Kenneth,

My sense of bearing is pretty bad when it comes to Imbi and the fact I've only ever been to OK Porridge at night has meant I'm never quite sure where I am. My sister tells me it's on the row of shops opposite Imbi Palace, which means it's on Jalan Imbi. Hope this helps :)