Yut Kee - Hainanese Kopitiam

Hainan is an island off the coast of Guangdong. The Hainanese who migrated to Malaysia in the early 1900's to British Malaya were considered "newcomers" when compared with the early Hokkiens from Fujian and the Cantonese, Hakka, and Teochews from Guangdong. Because they "missed the boat" and couldn't get a foothold in other key economic sectors like tin mining or agricultural plantations, the Hainanese found themselves employed as cooks or kitchen hands in British military bases and ships, the households of the officers, and in restaurants or hotels.

Thus, they begin experimenting and incorporating Western cooking methods into their Hainanese fare, melding British condiments with Chinese sauces. Many Hainanese families went on to set up the first 'kopitiams' across Malaysia, serving fusion food we have all come to love. One of the most iconic Malaysian-Hainanese dishes is Chicken Chop - and Yut Kee Restaurant in the vibrant hub of Chow Kit, KL has been serving up tasty Hainanese Chicken Chops since 1928.

Yut Kee's de-boned chicken thigh is battered and deep-fried (at some other places it is breaded), then a sweet, salty, tangy onion gravy that's typically a blend of tomato ketchup and some soup stock with a touch of Worchestershire sauce is poured over top. The chicken chop is served with a side of steamed peas & diced carrots as well as wedged potatoes. My colleague and I dropped by for lunch on a drizzly afternoon and I found the warm, slightly fatty dish to be super comforting. Service was very quick, and it made up for the 10-15min wait time, and at RM15.30 it was a pretty satisfying meal.

Yut Kee is a popular breakfast spot and the tents set up in the front yard of the shophouse is testament to the lunch crowd that it draws through its doors. Elements of the building's vintage kopitiam architecture has been maintained. Marble table-tops and mismatched wooden chairs, minimalist patterned tile floors, and pretty windows fitted with stained glass that look out into the alleyway towards a wall-painted idyllic kampung scene.

What I thought was most precious was the antique-looking cake display case - fully functional and stacked full with boxes of Yut Kee's renowned kaya swiss roll and marble cake. Relatively chunky homemade kaya is spread in an even layer onto pillowy sponge and the perfect spirals of the swiss roll slices are particularly satisfying. The buttery but dense marble cake brings a touch of surprise through the occasional hidden bits of candied orange peel. The biggest Chinese compliment I can probably pay these cakes is to say they were "not too sweet" :b Subtly sweet desserts to wrap up a meal or dabao for afternoon tea.

Yut Kee is open Tuesday to Sunday, 7.30am to 3pm. They also serve a variety of other kopitiam favourites I will be back to try, and I'd recommend visiting with a group to try abit of everything.

YumCheers,

Nat