Category Archives: Food Type: Hawker Fare

O & S Restaurant, Paramount Garden, PJ

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I come from Penang. Okay, so I spent only the first 9 years of my life there and my memories are restricted to eating flavoured toothpaste in kindergarten, playing hopscotch in primary school, eating koay teow th’ng at the market with mum, and swimming naked at the beach. But I still like to lay my claim over that island and all its wondrous food offerings.

Nowadays, I visit Penang once a year for my annual “makan” trip. The one dish I crave for constantly is the humble chee cheong fun.

You either love it or hate it. Chee cheong fun with prawn paste. Some are turned off by the strong fermented prawn smell. I, on the other hand, get delirious with pleasure.


Well, now I don’t have to travel all the way to Penang to fulfill my desires. I can get penang chee cheong fun less than 20km from where I live. That’s a marked improvement, I must say. I suppose there are a number of other restaurants in KL that serve this, but for now, Restaurant O & S will be a favourite. The chee cheong fun here is served with thick prawn paste and lots of fried shallots and sesame seeds sprinkled on top. Chilli is served on the side so you can control how spicy you want your meal to be.


The only problem with this restaurant is that it is so popular that finding a table at breakfast or lunch is hard work. There are a number of stalls serving a variety of food that will definitely satisfy one’s appetite, even if one is turned off by penang chee cheong fun (horrors!). Pretty Pui belongs to the Penang Chee Cheong Fun Hate Club so she ordered another favourite at this restaurant, asam laksa. I tried some of her soup which, despite having huge chunks of fish in it, tasted like the turmeric had not completely dissolved in it. But I’m willing to give this stall the benefit of doubt as I’ve tasted better asam laksa from this stall before.


We tried the prawn noodles, but we were not impressed. The thin soup lacked flavour.


Since our orders were rather small (translated: we’re gluttons), we also ordered a plate of yong tau foo to share. It wasn’t too bad, but I wouldn’t order it as a main course. I’d still go for the chee cheong fun! Call it an obsession!

O & S Restaurant
Paramount Garden, PJ

Brickfields – A Journey down Memory Lane

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Mention Brickfields and one immediately thinks of a bustling, chaotic neighbourhood with cheap food, drinks and brothels. I suppose the addition of KL Sentral brings about some semblance of respect to Brickfields, but I wonder, does Brickfields really need that?


What I like about Brickfields is the appearance of uncomplicated life.

Where the uncle selling newspapers greets you every morning, whether or not you will be getting the papers for that day.


Or where the aunty selling roast pork at the wet market sells you that small portion of roast pork at a privileged price of just RM2 for your breakfast.


Where the man at the chicken rice stall asks you where that curly haired friend who normally frequents the stall has gone.

Where the uncle at the teh tarik stall in front of the Petronas petrol station takes the time to sit down with you to have a chat while you enjoy a packet of packed nasi lemak with your usual ginger tea.

We decided to go to the Lido kopitiam at Brickfields for lunch today. This is the kopitiam that is located behind the old Lido cinema, now the site for Public Bank, and opposite the YMCA. There are two dishes which I find particularly delicious at this kopitiam: char koay teow and pan mee.

The char koay teow is fried with crunchy bits of lard, lup cheong (chinese sausages) and kerang (cockles). It is hard to find a good char koay teow, and this place gets the thumbs up from me.

The pan mee stall has a strong following too. Be prepared to wait before you are served as the queue is pretty long. What makes the pan mee special here is the sambal belacan which is hot and sour. The aunty who dishes out the pan mee is quite generous with the ikan bilis (anchovies), minced pork and sweet potato leaves.

After wolfing down our lunch, we made our way across the road to a stall selling kuih and other savoury treats. The husband and wife duo have been running this stall for as long as I can remember, and it always gets crowded at lunch time. They sell an amazing variety of kuih and I hardly ever notice the aunty taking a break.


I am always filled with a sense of nostalgia when I am at Brickfields. The familiar faces remind me of simpler times.