By Caleb Ho, writer and editor for
Dine Out Malaysia | 3 July 2014
I was
fourteen years old when I first stepped into Hing Ket Grill House. Back then,
my family and I were regulars at this laid-back seafood restaurant, just a few
minutes away from my home. Most seafood restaurants offer the usual steamed or
fried varieties but Hing Ket tops those up with their own special grilled menu.
If it’s one thing about being a regular for such a long time, it’s that you know whether the standard has dropped over the years or not. Well, for the twenty-two years that I’ve been a regular, their food still tastes as great as they did back then. Being the writer and editor for Dine Out Malaysia, I guess it’s fair to say I’m qualified enough to judge.
I came here with my photographer, Justin, to thank him for his work on my new logo.
Instead, we were both treated to a wonderful selection of mouth-watering dishes by the owners. I should’ve known better as they’ve always been generous.
To start off with, we ordered the must-have ‘kat chai shi mui’. This concoction of blended lime, sugar, water and a floating tamarind is a rarity these days. Most restaurants use a pre-mixed concentrate but Hing Ket makes their own. Be warned though, it’s sour! (but oh so refreshing!)
After a few
sips of ‘kat chai shi mui’ to get our appetite engines started, we had our
first dish - the grilled spicy squid (RM 6 / 100 gm). Two succulent squid lay
tantalizingly on a banana leaf before us and though I’ve eaten this a million
times, I never get bored of it. For anyone who’s tried to cook squid, you’ll
know that just over-cooking it by the slightest, it’ll turn rubbery and dry. Hing
Ket prevents any disappointment on texture by glazing the squid with a thick
sauce. Give this one a try and you’ll know why I never get bored of it.
Another one
of their specialties is not any sort of seafood but rather, it’s imported New
Zealand lamb (RM 8.50 / 100 gm), grilled to perfection for that earthy crust.
Complimented by Hing Ket’s own mint sauce and slices of cucumber and pineapple,
these tender pieces are juicy heaven!
Another one of my favourites is
grilled spicy stingray (RM 6 / 100 gm). Now you might think, “But I can get
this at almost any road side food court.” Well, yes but wait till you try the
ones at Hing Ket. Slightly charred for that crispiness on the edges while
retaining a moist and flavourful centre, I brought an ex-student and her
siblings here recently when they returned from Australia and their eyes opened
wide once they took the first bite. They absolutely loved it!
Next, I was
surprised with two huge grilled spicy prawns (RM 13 / 100 gm); something I had
never ordered before. I was pleasantly wowed by the fact that they were sweet
and moist. I’m definitely going to order this again!
After
sampling so many grilled items, we took a break and dug into some fried lala
bee hoon (RM 12 / small). In English, that’s fried rice vermicelli with Asian
clams. My idea of a fried lala bee hoon is to have the flavours of the lala
carry the dish with only bits of vegetables as compliments. Here, there was too
much bean sprouts, cabbages and spring onions getting in the way. It could be
better, in my opinion and Justin thought likewise.
Our next
dish did not disappoint however. Beautifully glazed pieces of Stout chicken
wings (RM 5.50 / piece) – Oh my! They were absolutely to die for! Justin and I
couldn’t stop telling the owners how delicious they were. Crispy yet completely
covered in sticky sweet Stout glaze, this was one of the highlights of our
evening.
Still
wanting to try something other than grilled, we went for the fried oyster
omelette (RM 16 / small). Hing Ket’s version reminds me of Taiwanese pizza,
with a thin layer of crispy egg covering a moist explosion of oysters and
spring onions. What’s even better, my curiosity helped me discover that dipping
some of the omelette into the steaming hot sweet and sour crab sauce elevated
the taste levels to awesomeness!
The owners
had been tempting us all night with our star dish of the evening. This was what
we came here for – crabs! The owners source their own crabs from the market in
the early mornings daily, so you get the local variety, as well as the larger
species from the ocean, depending on what’s fresh that day. While the smaller
ones are cheaper (RM 48 / kg), we decided to go for the larger ones (RM 68 /
kg). We wanted to make sure our evening ended on the best possible note and
Hing Ket did not disappoint – they rarely do.
Feeling very
full and satisfied, it’s no surprise that I’ll be back here again soon, either
with a friend or a large group of ex-students. Whatever it is, I know that Hing
Ket will put a huge smile on my face.
