Restaurant review of Old China Cafe in Petaling Street
As we can’t travel for the next coming months, we are doing other fun things here in Malaysia. Most of the time we are having a great time… with food! At the weekend we took the subway to Pasar Seni and tried some local delicacies at Old China Cafe.
Central Market
Pasar Seni means ‘central market’, and this part of Kuala Lumpur is not only visited by tourists but is also popular with locals, especially for its food. Visit Central Market, closed for renovation for the next three months, for unique souvenirs, and walk down to Petaling Street where you’ll be pulled into every shop for the finest ‘brand’ of clothing and shoes. When you walk more into the streets you’ll come across authentic Chinese houses and restaurants. The contrast between these old buildings and the new PNB 118 is enormous. Would we still see these cute colorful houses in ten years or has this made way for the skyscrapers in the meantime?
Pasar Seni
We don’t visit Pasar Seni very often because it’s very busy with tourists and traffic at weekends. Now that tourists are not allowed to enter Malaysia, you notice this immediately. Not only the restaurants look a lot more empty, but also on the streets it is much quieter. Very nice for us, since we could walk around here at our convenience and have a look at the Chinese buildings.
Nyonya kitchen
The menu offers Southeast Asian and Chinese dishes, the favorite dishes of the café’s founder. These delicacies were served to him by a Nonya cook. The Nyonya cuisine or Peranakan cuisine comes from the Peranakans. These were descendants of Chinese migrants who settled in Malacca, Penang, Singapore, and Indonesia and then married local Malaysians. At Old China Cafe they serve specialties from the Malacca and Penang Nonya community. These meals have evolved since the 15th century with influences from Chinese, Malay, Portuguese, English, and even Dutch cuisine!
Coconut rice
The extensive menu looks beautiful and offers a glimpse into the history of this Chinese Malay cuisine. Because Jeroen and I hardly eat meat and fish anymore, the choice is sometimes limited. Luckily we had enough choice in this restaurant, and we ordered the ‘Hot plate tofu’ (€3,27). Silken tofu in a creamy sauce with vegetables, this was very tasty because we don’t eat tofu this way very often. The ‘Chinese mixed vegetables’, was a big bowl for which we paid €2,23. We love to eat an omelet with rice and vegetables. You have a lot of different kinds of omelets, but often meat is added. The ‘Onion omelet’ (€2,03) is just big enough for two people. We haven’t seen the ‘Coconut rice’ (€0,39) on a menu before. The blue rice jumped out immediately, and the scent of coconut made a great addition to the vegetables and tofu.
Old China Cafe
We thought it was time to say goodbye to the famous restaurants we visit every week and try more local restaurants. After some research on the internet, we ended up at Old China Cafe. From the outside, it might look like a somewhat old restaurant where there is not much to see, but wait until you enter. This building used to be the guildhall of the Selangor & Federal Territory Laundry Association. In the 1920s the guild moved to this part of Chinatown.
Feng shui
Most of the architectural details of the building have remained unchanged. And that is quite special since buildings nearby have either been demolished or renovated to keep up with modern times. This Cafe tries to maintain the old social life of the Chinese community. Inside the wooden doors, you can see framed pictures and huge feng shui mirrors. These two traditional mirrors face each other, which the Chinese believe will bring good luck.
Gula Melaka
After this delicious meal, two more local desserts were waiting for us, namely the ‘Bubur Cha-Cha’ and ‘Sago Gula Melaka’. We know a dessert usually as a cold dish consisting of a scoop of ice cream or a piece of cake. The Bubur Cha-Cha is a sweet broth that is served hot. The sweet potato is cooked in coconut milk and sago and then flavored with pandan leaves. This was fun to try and incredibly sweet! Vegetables in a dessert felt a bit strange to eat, but actually, it tasted pretty good! Sago Gula Melaka is a pudding made from sago (palm flour) in coconut milk and gula Melaka palm sugar. I first took a bite of this pudding, and my first reaction was that this dessert is quite salty. Fortunately, a staff member quickly came up to us to tell that the syrupy palm sugar belongs in the pudding, and that’s what gives it its sweet taste. And indeed that saved a lot and made this local dish a lot tastier!
Old China Cafe
11, Jalan Balai Polis, 50000 Kuala Lumpur
Within walking distance of metro station Pasar Seni
Open every day from 11.30 am – 10.30 pm
Reservations
Restaurant review of Old China Cafe in Petaling Street
As we can’t travel for the next coming months, we are doing other fun things here in Malaysia. Most of the time we are having a great time… with food! At the weekend we took the subway to Pasar Seni and tried some local delicacies at Old China Cafe.
Central Market
Pasar Seni means ‘central market’, and this part of Kuala Lumpur is not only visited by tourists but is also popular with locals, especially for its food. Visit Central Market, closed for renovation for the next three months, for unique souvenirs, and walk down to Petaling Street where you’ll be pulled into every shop for the finest ‘brand’ of clothing and shoes. When you walk more into the streets you’ll come across authentic Chinese houses and restaurants. The contrast between these old buildings and the new PNB 118 is enormous. Would we still see these cute colorful houses in ten years or has this made way for the skyscrapers in the meantime?
Pasar Seni
We don’t visit Pasar Seni very often because it’s very busy with tourists and traffic at weekends. Now that tourists are not allowed to enter Malaysia, you notice this immediately. Not only the restaurants look a lot more empty, but also on the streets it is much quieter. Very nice for us, since we could walk around here at our convenience and have a look at the Chinese buildings.
Old China Cafe
We thought it was time to say goodbye to the famous restaurants we visit every week and try more local restaurants. After some research on the internet, we ended up at Old China Cafe. From the outside, it might look like a somewhat old restaurant where there is not much to see, but wait until you enter. This building used to be the guildhall of the Selangor & Federal Territory Laundry Association. In the 1920s the guild moved to this part of Chinatown.
Feng shui
Most of the architectural details of the building have remained unchanged. And that is quite special since buildings nearby have either been demolished or renovated to keep up with modern times. This Cafe tries to maintain the old social life of the Chinese community. Inside the wooden doors, you can see framed pictures and huge feng shui mirrors. These two traditional mirrors face each other, which the Chinese believe will bring good luck.
Nyonya kitchen
The menu offers Southeast Asian and Chinese dishes, the favorite dishes of the café’s founder. These delicacies were served to him by a Nonya cook. The Nyonya cuisine or Peranakan cuisine comes from the Peranakans. These were descendants of Chinese migrants who settled in Malacca, Penang, Singapore, and Indonesia and then married local Malaysians. At Old China Cafe they serve specialties from the Malacca and Penang Nonya community. These meals have evolved since the 15th century with influences from Chinese, Malay, Portuguese, English, and even Dutch cuisine!
Coconut rice
The extensive menu looks beautiful and offers a glimpse into the history of this Chinese Malay cuisine. Because Jeroen and I hardly eat meat and fish anymore, the choice is sometimes limited. Luckily we had enough choice in this restaurant, and we ordered the ‘Hot plate tofu’ (€3,27). Silken tofu in a creamy sauce with vegetables, this was very tasty because we don’t eat tofu this way very often. The ‘Chinese mixed vegetables’, was a big bowl for which we paid €2,23. We love to eat an omelet with rice and vegetables. You have a lot of different kinds of omelets, but often meat is added. The ‘Onion omelet’ (€2,03) is just big enough for two people. We haven’t seen the ‘Coconut rice’ (€0,39) on a menu before. The blue rice jumped out immediately, and the scent of coconut made a great addition to the vegetables and tofu.
Nyonya kitchen
The menu offers Southeast Asian and Chinese dishes, the favorite dishes of the café’s founder. These delicacies were served to him by a Nonya cook. The Nyonya cuisine or Peranakan cuisine comes from the Peranakans. These were descendants of Chinese migrants who settled in Malacca, Penang, Singapore, and Indonesia and then married local Malaysians. At Old China Cafe they serve specialties from the Malacca and Penang Nonya community. These meals have evolved since the 15th century with influences from Chinese, Malay, Portuguese, English, and even Dutch cuisine!
Coconut rice
The extensive menu looks beautiful and offers a glimpse into the history of this Chinese Malay cuisine. Because Jeroen and I hardly eat meat and fish anymore, the choice is sometimes limited. Luckily we had enough choice in this restaurant, and we ordered the ‘Hot plate tofu’ (€3,27). Silken tofu in a creamy sauce with vegetables, this was very tasty because we don’t eat tofu this way very often. The ‘Chinese mixed vegetables’, was a big bowl for which we paid €2,23. We love to eat an omelet with rice and vegetables. You have a lot of different kinds of omelets, but often meat is added. The ‘Onion omelet’ (€2,03) is just big enough for two people. We haven’t seen the ‘Coconut rice’ (€0,39) on a menu before. The blue rice jumped out immediately, and the scent of coconut made a great addition to the vegetables and tofu.
Gula Melaka
After this delicious meal, two more local desserts were waiting for us, namely the ‘Bubur Cha-Cha’ and ‘Sago Gula Melaka’. We know a dessert usually as a cold dish consisting of a scoop of ice cream or a piece of cake. The Bubur Cha-Cha is a sweet broth that is served hot. The sweet potato is cooked in coconut milk and sago and then flavored with pandan leaves. This was fun to try and incredibly sweet! Vegetables in a dessert felt a bit strange to eat, but actually, it tasted pretty good! Sago Gula Melaka is a pudding made from sago (palm flour) in coconut milk and gula Melaka palm sugar. I first took a bite of this pudding, and my first reaction was that this dessert is quite salty. Fortunately, a staff member quickly came up to us to tell that the syrupy palm sugar belongs in the pudding, and that’s what gives it its sweet taste. And indeed that saved a lot and made this local dish a lot tastier!
Old China Cafe
11, Jalan Balai Polis, 50000 Kuala Lumpur
Within walking distance of metro station Pasar Seni
Open every day from 11.30 am – 10.30 pm
Reservations
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