Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Klang is undoubtedly known for their bak kut teh but that’s not the only title this town holds. To my surprise, I discovered that a restaurant specialising in Hakka cuisine— Peng Heong Hakka Paikut holds the delicious coveted title of ‘King of Spare Ribs’.
Determined to see if the restaurant was worthy of such a title, I took along a hungry friend to Peng Heong Hakka Paikut for lunch. To those of you unfamiliar with this restaurant, it’s practically an institution in Klang. Having operated for decades, it’s known for its affordable prices and of course, pork ribs.
Located just a block away from the Klang Royal Town Mosque, it’s pretty easy to find this restaurant. The ambience was rather interesting— you’ll notice classic Chinese oldies from the 60s crooning in the background. There are quite a few of their signature dishes, namely, the must-order spare ribs king, asam fish, meatball, mutton curry, vinegar pig feet (pork knuckle), asam mustard and much more.
What I tried at Peng Heong Hakka Paikut
I started off with none other than the Famous ‘Paikut’ Spare Ribs King (RM14 per piece). To be honest, I was picturing bony ribs with very little meat around them — so when a whole plate of meaty looking ribs arrived at my came to the table, I was pleasantly surprised.
I took a bite. These ribs turned out to be super soft pork fillets with aplenty meat in them. I later found out that it was because the restaurant uses boneless spare ribs cut. I was overjoyed as this meant zero time wasted trying to pick meat off the bones. The ribs were definitely the highlight, juicy and perfectly grilled. The tender meat is served with a rather sweet sauce, perfect to go on a bowl of steaming white rice. In fact, I felt that the portion was pretty generous for the price.
Eat noodles in a bowl 10x bigger than your hand at Chew Jetty Big Bowl Noodles
Next was the Peng Heong Hakka Meatball (RM2.90 per piece). Whether it’s bursting meatballs, meatballs in spaghetti sauce, or a meatball sandwich, I’ve never said no to a delicious ball of meat. These fried meatballs were my personal favourite. Rather chunky looking, they did not disappoint in terms of flavour and texture. Crunchy and fried to crispy perfection. I polished this plate within minutes.
I couldn’t resist ordering the Famous Asam Fish — I mean it had the word famous right on the menu so it had to be good, right? I took a spoonful of the asam gravy, hoping for that familiar sourish taste but this was instead rather sweet. This was quite a turn off and even my dining companion agreed that the sauce could definitely be taken up a notch in this aspect of taste. But the saving grace of the dish was that Kembung fish was soft and went well with the rice.
How can it be a Malaysian meal without the quintessential Seafood Tofu (RM8) and Kangkung Belacan (RM5)? But to my dismay, the tofu was just subpar— it had a very clean taste but there was nothing to shout about. Unfortunately the kangkung belacan turned out to be a disappointing fare as well— there was zero hint of belacan. To quote my horrified friend, “It tastes like kangkung cooked with pure sambal.” I was a little heartbroken as kangkung belacan has never let me down.
Final thoughts
As I eyed the last spare rib on the plate, I felt like I had learned quite a bit about Hakka cuisine. And dining at Peng Heong Hakka Paikut made me feel like I just had home-cooked food. There was nothing pretentious about the meal and the flavours, simple.
I looked at the menu, and this particular sentence stood out:
“And always remember to not price it too high, it has to be affordable to everyone!” This was the advice given to the restaurant proprietor, Yong Yoke Pin from his grandfather.
Chewing on my last spare rib, I’d have to agree. Want delicious, sticky spare ribs on hot rice? Peng Heong Hakka Paikut is the place to be. But best to stay away from the kangkung belacan or you’ll be in for a crushing disappointment.
People also read:
