Homestyle Hainanese cuisine

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A young cook is whetting customers’ appetites with Chinese delicacies made according to time-honoured recipes.

THE name of the Ping Wah coffeeshop is emblazoned in bold blue Roman letters and red Chinese characters on a huge yellow board spanning its part of the shop lot’s façade.

Just inside, a much smaller sign is hung in the centre above the entrance of this open-concept outlet. Unlike the flashy board outside, this one is an age-old plaque, its face a blackened testimony to decades of use.

It’s the intense soy sauce coating it that flavours the Deep-Fried Baby Kurao.

This aged sign hints at the enduring nature of this coffeeshop in Taman Paramount, Petaling Jaya, and one almost expects to see an old restaurateur armed with great cooking skills and a secret collection of recipes in its kitchen.

Well, the food served here may be prepared according to time-honoured recipes, but the owner Joe Hoo is not even past three decades in age. He is only 27.

Visually, this place hasn’t got any fancy trappings but it does serve a variety of olden-day, home-cooked delights passed down by Hoo’s father, who was a cook for 40 years.

Sambal Prawn with Petai will be enjoyed by those who like their food spicy.

Hailing from Alor Star, Hoo learned the skills from his father during his childhood and was always whipping up a feast at parties during his college days. The experience finally led this accountancy graduate to venture into the food business two years ago.

A Hainanese (a dialect group famed for its culinary excellence), Hoo knows the traditional recipes like the back of his hand. He is also adept at dishing out Teochew and Hock Chew delicacies.

“In a small town like Alor Star, everybody knows each other so we get to learn the various cuisines,” he says.

He appreciates the nuances of Chinese cuisine and this is reflected in the dishes served at Ping Wah.

Pickled vegetables are sprinkled over the Hainanese fried egg for added crunch.

“Hainanese dishes always feature a touch of difference,” he says. “Take the fried egg, for example. Even though it is one of the most common features in Chinese meals, the Hainanese version is different as the cook will fry only the egg white until it is fluffy before pouring the yolk on top.”

A sprinkling of pickled vegetables is added to the juicy, fluffy egg for an extra crunch while the yolk acts like gravy to moisten the dish. It is a tad salty but it goes well with white rice.

Also manning the little eatery is a Hainanese chef who is equally adept at handling banquets in five-star international hotels. The duo’s synergy ensures that food quality will never be compromised even when there is a large crowd.

Fish Maw with Pineapple, and Deep Fried Baby Kurao are the authentically Hainanese treasures. The former (Hoo claims his restaurant is the only one in town serving it) is appetising and has a tangy bite to it that enhances the fish maw’s crunchy texture.

This fish dish is for those craving for an intense flavour, which is rendered by an improvised soy sauce. It is not as salty as the sauce’s solid colour would suggest, and it is easy on the palate.

Another delicacy that is very popular during lunch is Braised Pork with Potato. It is indeed a pleasant delight as it is reminiscent of home. Pork and potato are sliced and thoroughly infused with the unpretentious flavour of the light brown sauce.

Young but experienced: Joe Hoo, 27, is the owner of Restoran Ping Wah at Taman Paramount, Petaling Jaya, which offers authentic Hainanese food with a home-cooked feel.

Nyonya-style Stir-fried Pork sports a similar presentation but lures with a spicy kick characterised by the exotic aroma of lemongrass. The German-style Pork Knuckle will not disappoint those who love this meat.

“We do serve several popular dishes of other styles, like these two, to offer better variety,” Hoo says.

Sambal Prawn with Petai is another tasty offering. Baby prawn is chosen as, according to Hoo, as it brings out the flavour which is a heady mix of spiciness, aroma and the vegetable’s natural pungency.

“Even though we specialise in authentic home-cooked cuisine, we price the dishes reasonably,” says Hoo. “A table of 12 having seven dishes will likely pay only between RM80 and RM140.”

The restaurant also boasts an extensive collection of quality teas sourced from various parts of China. An avid collector of tea, Hoo has a wide range including an aged and pricey Pu Er that is as dark as the kopi-o served in his restaurant.