SUBANG JAYA, July 24 — Picture 1996.
The KL Tower was inaugurated. Michael Jackson performed two shows at Stadium Merdeka.
The internet was fast becoming part of daily life, and everyone and their kids danced along to the Macarena, gleefully crossing their hands on their hips to the tale of poor Vitorino getting two-timed by Macarena herself with two of his friends!
Fast forward to today, and things sure look different.
At night, Lian Kee is the only stall operating in Restoran Meisek — Picture by Ethan Lau
The KL skyline now bears the intrusive silhouette of Merdeka 118, the second-tallest building in the world.
The internet is no longer just an essential part of our daily lives; for some, it is their entire life and livelihood.
And poor old Vitorino can maybe finally find some solace in the fact that these days, we have Chris Martin of Coldplay to put adulterers on blast, deliberately or otherwise.
But what about the constants?
For folks living around USJ 14, Subang Jaya, one constant comes in the form of Lian Kee in Restoran Meisek, serving comforting poached chicken, bean sprouts, hor fun and porridge since 1996.
Bean sprouts, some of which are short, fat and crunchy — Picture by Ethan Lau
Those familiar with the area will recognise the address as the corner where the incredibly popular Aroma Burger stall is set up, widely considered the best spot for a Ramly burger in Subang.
Elsewhere, Lian Kee has another location under the same name in Taman Subang Permai, and an additional outpost known as Tian Kee in Kota Kemuning.
Lian Kee opens for business at four in the afternoon.
One of the speciality dishes, Teochew-style braised tofu and egg — Picture by Ethan Lau
They’re the only stall in the kopitiam that operates at night, and their setup reflects that.
Large signs tell diners to find a table and sit.
A staff member will come to take their order, rather than having people walk up to the stall and get in the way.
Drinks are self-service, and there is also a separate counter for payments and takeaway.
It is an extremely well-organised system, clearly developed over the years of operating this way.
The menu spans poached chicken (both the regular and kampung variety), bean sprouts, rice, hor fun soup and porridge.
The plain ‘hor fun’ gets a squirt of prawn oil — Picture by Ethan Lau
It also goes further with a few specialty dishes, including Teochew-style braised pork and tofu, Hakka-style braised pork with yam or preserved vegetables, and even a Thai-style fried fish to boot.
Talk about diversified offerings.
We ordered half a regular white chicken (RM33), which was smooth and moist.
I never order kampung chicken when eating poached chicken because I find it’s firmer, leaner meat gets in the way of achieving that slippery, supple texture.
If you’re the kind of health nut who worries about the fat content of regular chicken, then why bother?
Just go full Rambo and boil some unsalted skinless chicken breast.
Otherwise, stop letting your algorithm make you feel bad and live a little, man.
And the best bit? The salty bit.
The seasoned sauce was a winning mix of sesame oil, soy sauce, and maybe even a bit of shallot oil, all coming together in a medley of sweet and savoury that tied everything on the plate together.
A similar tasting sauce adorned our large portion of bean sprouts (RM12), which were the short, fat and crunchy variety, much to our delight.
Out of curiosity, we also tried the braised Ipoh tofu (RM3.50) and egg (RM2.20).
Covered in a thick braising sauce, they made for an alright snack, but the prawn wantan (RM10) were what gave us real joy.
Each wantan was firm and absolutely brimming with fresh, springy prawn flesh.
The prawn ‘wantans’ were positively brimming with fleshy prawn filling — Picture by Ethan Lau
They came in a simple chicken broth that carried maybe just a whisper of prawn oil.
Something far richer and more intense came in the form of a bowl of plain hor fun (RM4.50).
The broth was fairly savoury, with just a hint of sweetness from the prawn oil, and it seemed to appear on nearly every table in sight.
It was clearly more popular than the rice (RM2).
But the carb perhaps most worthy of being ordered is the porridge.
Classic Cantonese-style porridge, complete with pork mince and both salted and century eggs — Picture by Ethan Lau
It’s smooth and velvety, classic Cantonese style, so it was only right to get it with the holy trinity of Cantonese porridge toppings: salted egg, century egg and minced pork (RM9).
It might not be the most congruent pairing with poached chicken.
It might even feel a little strangely tacked on.
It isn’t even exactly the kind of porridge most people are used to having with poached chicken.
But as we’ve seen across the rest of the menu, Lian Kee goes far beyond just bean sprouts and chicken rice.
When you’ve been around as long as they have, you’re bound to pick up a few things along the way.
That’s life.
Lian Kee Bean Sprouts Chicken Rice 连记鸡饭 in Restoran Meisek
12, Jalan USJ 14/1 K,
UEP, Subang Jaya
Open daily, 4-11pm
Tel: 016-323 9499
Facebook: Restaurant Lian Kee
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
* Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
* Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more musings on food and mildly self-deprecating attempts at humour.
