When I read WMW’s blogpost on this place recently, I knew I just had to go and check this out a.s.a.p. There have been numerous posts by other food bloggers on Sim Hap Ke, and I had actually earmarked this place on my “Must Eat” list, since last year!
So, last weekend,we finally made our way there. I called ahead to book and made sure we were there early. When we sat down, I confidently gave our orders, based on what WMW has recommended. Now, this was when this amusing exchange happened…
After rattling out the first 5 dishes, I then told the service staff I wanted the “Butter Chicken”. She looked at me and said “no, we don’t have that”. I insisted that they do… but she adamantly stood her ground. I proceeded to explain how the dish is done, based on my memory of that delicious photo in WMW’s blogpost. I told her “… yes you have this dish, it’s cooked with butter and curry leaves”… visions of those curry leaves and buttery sauce were so vivid in my mind. But she still said “No!” OK, then I whipped out my iphone, loaded WMW’s blogpost and showed her that particular photo…then enlightenment kinda dawned on her and she said “oh, that’s our 3-Taste Pork Ribs”. So, I said “OK, give me the chicken version as what’s shown in this photo”. She glared at me and snapped “I tell you oredi, that’s pork ribs, don’t have chicken!” She gave me a dirty look and strode off.
Okayyy… here’s the photo of that dish in the entire dispute:
Now, what happened next was totally unbelieveable.
Somebody at the very next table in front of us turned around and said “hey, it’s you!”. Guess who it was? None other than WMW herself! Sheeeshh… talk about coincidents! That was so unreal! (Now I totally believe WMW dines here ALL the time, you know!) So, I was like “Hey WMW, you are just THE person I need here now!” And immediately I told her indignantly about the No-Chicken-only-Pork-Ribs incident… and that’s when she sheepishly told me the service staff was right as she had mistakenly labelled that dish as “chicken”… it was actually pork ribs (you can see WMW has now corrected her photo labelling in her post). Well, what can I say?! Nothing, right? I just had to hang my head a bit and hope that service crew didn’t come and smirk at me, like “I told you so!” 😛
Now, at that point of time, I wasn’t sure whether our order for this dish was taken because that service staff strode off, remember? But the fact that that dish eventually appeared on our table proved that the order was placed, so all is good, all is delicious… 🙂
I came here for their Salt Baked Clams and within minutes, the clams (lala) came. While they were very fresh, they were kinda chewy… I can’t fault them on that because “salt-baking” clams will result in chewiness. So, chewy or not, and as this was placed right in front of me, I made sure every clam was taken care of.
The stir-fried Lotus Roots had so much crunchiness … from the macadamia nuts, sweet peas, water chestnuts and of course, the lotus roots. Thin slices of toasted cuttlefish were tossed in to add some smokey marine flavour into this vegetables dish.
This was LL’s choice – crunchy chewy bits of “Sang Cheong” fried with dried shrimps and chilly padi… went very well with white rice.
A double whammie of cholesterol-laden sin… Squid Rings coated in salted eggyolks and deep fried. Sim Hap Ke’s version was faultless… fresh succulent squid, fried to a golden crisp. The batter was light and the deep-frying was done well enough that no visible signs of oiliness was seen on the plate when all the rings were polished off.
This Toong Poh Pork was unanimously anointed as the star of the meal. Soft tender wobbly pork belly on a bed of “mui choy” (pickled mustard leaves), with a thick aromatic gravy so that we can mop it up with the steamed mantou served on the side of the plate. This was really lips-smacking good.
Ahhh… here it is again – that 3-Taste Pork Ribs. The “3 tastes” came from the butter, curry leaves and lemon juice as the thick gravy had this lovely citrussy tinge to it.
Generally, the food here served is above average and warrants repeated visits (now I know why WMW loves this place!). Oh, I must tell you that service here is super fast! Fast in serving the dishes – they all appear within minutes… and they are also fast in clearing tables. Yep, within the blink of an eye, the next table was cleared of the used crockery and a new tablecloth laid out, all ready for the hungry hordes. Unbelieveable.
I need to go back there soon to try all the other dishes – their walls are plastered with countless photos, quite mind-boggling, really.
Restoran Sim Hap Ke
26 Jalan Waras 1
Taman Connaught, Cheras
56000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 012-319-3381/012-398-5688
I love this place – we dine here about once a week too:P
Baby Sumo, so this is also your fave place eh? Not surprising 🙂 the food is so good!
LOL. What a coincidence! 🙂
Ya, it was pretty funny actually 😀
Pork ribs, chicken, no difference whatsoever if it tastes good!! OK, this is going on my eat hitlist too!
Min, but i wanted chicken coz we already had ordered a couple of porky dishes! But the pork ribs turned out to be delish anyway, hehe!
*chuckle* what an episode! we loved this place too 😉
Babe, ahhh… another fan 🙂
Hehe…small world indeed! The tong poh pork looks really delicious.
LL: Oh yeah, that was everyone’s favourite… but it’s a dangerous dish because it screams for tons of rice, mantou notwithstanding 🙂
Haha, nvm, we all make mistakes in trying to recognize chicken and pork from time to time. Luckily you didn’t insist it was fish! 😀
Sean, but WMW said it’s chicken and I could have sworn her photo of it was really of the fowl kind, LOL! Ehh, me not so bad la… i know what a fish looks like la 😛
Heehehe……All’s well that ends well! Here’s to more food at SHK! Maybe we should get together and go try out the other dishes (but seriously…I still end up ordering pretty much the same old stuff) :o)
WMW, how come I didn’t see you when I walked in and you guys were already there before us, hehe! Yeah, let’s go makan there again soon – we should cover at least 1/3 of their wall menu, lol!
Oh your shots of the clam/la la would break the Devil’s heart. He loves the stuff! 🙂
LFB, jom makan – we order more lala, ok? 😉
hey girlfren, we’re so going there when i get back. see y’all soon!
Xara, sure we can go… just hope we have enough time & tummy space for all that you want to eat!
I could use a nice big plate of 3-Taste Pork Ribs now! 🙂
Bangsar Babe, yes I’m sure we can all use that 🙂
Hahaha, love the drama and suspense 😀
Thank you for the unforgettable meal!!! Plus a second round of unforgettable noodles!!
hey. let’s go this place when i’m back next week and let’s start Connie’s food trail:)
Haha… I thot your food trail started long ago?!
hey gurl we MUST start here on my next trip!! Xara’s Food Trail #2 …
Sure, Xara…anytime you’re back, we’ll go food-hunting, definitely! 🙂
Ahh!!! I miss the Shang Cheong now, and the every bits and chunks that go best with the rice
Slurppp
Ya I miss it too… must go back again soon!