60s nostalgia in Kuala Lumpur

Still on the subject of food, I must say that Penang folks are spoilt for choice when it comes to good local food of any type. Take Nyonya food, for instance. There are so many restaurants on the island that serve good Nyonya food. That's why when I go to Kuala Lumpur, I don't care much about Nyonya food there, knowing that any craving for Nyonya food can always be satisfied by coming home to Penang within a few days! 

So when my daughter took us to dinner at a place called Old China Café somewhere in the Petaling Street area of Kuala Lumpur and I discovered that its menu includes Penang Nyonya dishes, I was a bit hesitant at first. However, my daughter was adamant that we went there and I couldn't blame her because she stayed in Kuala Lumpur and to find a gem like this café meant a lot to her. Anyway, I found that their chicken curry kapitan was one of the best that I've come across for a long while. We also ordered their sambai petai sotong and belachan puchok paku. For dessert, we shared a bowl of their bubor chacha topped with a generous dollop of mashed durian. For the record, the owner of this café speaks Hokkien and I can only presume that he is from Penang like us.

After dinner, we walked around the corner into an alleyway which led to the entrance of a place known as Kwai Chai Hong (鬼仔巷). Why it is named such, I don't know. But I do know that this is in the Cantonese dialect which was mainly used in Kuala Lumpur during the olden days. Maybe less so now in KL In the Hokkien dialect, Kwai Chai Hong will most probably translate into Kooi Knia Hung: hung meaning lane and kooi knia referring to children who are as naughty as little devils! 

By the way, the very prominent pre-war Panggong building there is not actually a cinema. Rather, it's one of those new-style eateries or cafés. And this alleyway is actually a back lane that has been privately restored about four years back. Obviously, it is now a tourist attraction in KL. Walking through this back lane and looking at the art installations - murals, decorations and wall paintings - gave me an unmistakable feel that I had wandered through a time tunnel to the 1960s. We saw some interesting eateries there but having finished our dinner at the Old China Café, there was no more eating for us that night but only to take in the sights! Coming out of the place, we lingered near a camera crew that was filming a scene outside the Panggong building.

Sambai petai sotong

Chicken curry kapitan

Belachan puchok paku

Durian bubor cha-cha