King Hu Restaurant

My daughter shudders whenever we go to King Hu or Supertanker. But between the two, we both prefer King Hu, although lately we both need a lot of persuasion. King Hu is my in-laws' favorite spur-of-the-moment restaurant for casual meals and lazy days so we get to eat there quite often (Say 'Hi' if you see me there).

The best thing about King Hu is that prices are very reasonable. It is also the only place in town for 'northern' chinese food ('northern' in inverted commas because to real northerners, the food here is probably more southern Chinese, except for the potstickers) like fried potstickers (guotie) and boiled potstickers (suijiao) with Chinese cabbage and meat, unlike the more common "West Malaysian potstickers" with soy-sauce marinaded meat and onion filling, which my in-laws dismiss as unauthentic. Recently I've noticed The Incredible Transfomation Of King Hu's Potstickers, from oval and big to round and small, with hardly any meat inside. And on top of that they increased the price.

Whenever we eat at King Hu, we eat the same things. It's almost a sin to deviate from our standard order. In the past, they bring in seasonal Hong Kong veg like yellow chives and green soy beans but I guess with business so good (you very likely have to stand outside if you don't have a reservation) the boss just doesn't bother. The lady behind the counter and her husband started the restaurant more than 30 years ago. Her husband used to cook, then when he passed on, the son, who reputedly has a master's degree in aeronautical engineering fron the States (but couldn't find a relevant job here) now fries your mee and chow san see. I suspect though, after last Monday's dinner there, that the fella has some local boys doing the dirty work for him now because the food just doesn't taste the same anymore.


Guotie, pot stickers. Made just like we do at home, except for the filling which is miserable.


Suijiao, boiled potstickers, which have shrunk to half of their previous size.


Hot & sour soup, which really is just sour. You have to add the pepper yourself. I've complained to the lady about the chipped soup bowls but looks like it fell on deaf ears.


Fried 'oily' noodles, which I prefer to their ja jiang mien, bean sauce noodles.


Tied pork leg or je ti with pickles. My MIL makes a much much better version so remind me to do a post on this before CNY.


Steamed Chinese cabbage. King Hu tends to overcook their veg so only Chinese cabbage can withstand their style of cooking.


Goo lao roe or sweet & sour pork, Wey's favorite provided there's no sauce.


King Hu's version of Peking Duck is unique. The skin's soft instead of crispy and they serve it with lots of meat on. I think the chef just said, what the heck, it's so much work to make every duck crispy so just serve it any which way. And we the locals are happy with it this way because honestly, I find Peking Duck quite a pretentious dish, thin pancakes with a slice of crispy skin inside. When you order this, you get a duck soup, which is quite tasty.

I just realised I've been there so often I don't even bother to check their prices. I can always check it for you next week.

King Hu is in Tanjung Aru, next to the only supermarket there. Good place to eat if you need to catch a flight because it's equidistance to both airports nearby.