Sek Yuen

There’s no written menu at this old-style restaurant in Pudu, and not many of the staff speak English. Don’t worry, muddle through specifying your preference (rice or noodles, pork, chicken, fish, prawns) and let the staff recommend dishes and you’ll be more than fine.

They just don’t make kitchens like Sek Yuen’s (100 per cent fired by wood) anymore, nor the delectable items that come out of it: crackly fried pieces of fish (or a whole specimen), covered in a sweet and sour sauce that’s not the least bit cloying; gailan stir-fried with garlic that’s so sweet and fresh you’d swear it was just pulled from the garden; a savoury egg and crab concoction to spoon into lettuce cups and eat with a drizzle of black vinegar; steamed belly pork layered with yam the evinces five-spice flavour. There’s a reason this place is still packed after more than 50 years.

Awards

Food 40 is our monthly, definitive guide for where to eat in the Klang Valley. No entry into the Food 40 has provided any Time Out team member with a free meal or other incentive. If you have eaten somewhere that you think should rank amongst KL's top 40, email us and we'll check it out: [email protected].