April 2012
Kar Heong is a likeable all rounder, offering not just excellent chicken and kai see hor fun, but also more than adequate pork balls, roast pork, bean sprouts and char siew.
The authenticity of the Ipoh style chicken rice and hor fun can be traced back to the original proprietors, whose provenance in Tapah has ensured them a good supply chain of silken kway teow that only Ipoh seems to be able to produce, as well as buxom pork balls with shards of dried cuttlefish that are a staple of nga choi kai outlets and are pleasingly reminiscent of the original. Throw into the fray Kar Heong’s winning signature steamed and roasted chicken and aromatic rice – and an air-conditioned interior – and it’s easy to fathom why the crowds regularly patronise this eatery, even with the myriad of bak kut teh joints located nearby.
Come hungry and ready to eat, as it’s mighty tough to choose between rice and noodles, or chicken and pork. Best to succumb and order it all, thereby forestalling the inevitable Kar Heong food envy that will settle in once you spot your neighbour’s chicken rice when you ordered kai see hor fun or vice versa. The kai see hor fun at Kar Heong is the ultimate comfort food because the broth is nourishing and beguiles the taste buds in the way that only broth that has been cooked with patience and a potful of bones can. Generous fistfuls of shredded chicken, spring onions, prawns, wantan, fried shallots and chives make this a perfect one-bowl meal for most people, but for the insatiable foodie, a side serve of chicken and rice is de rigueur.
While I prefer mine roasted for a rather more finished taste, the steamed chicken is equally popular here. Tender chicken meat accompanied by lashings of homemade chilli sauce and fluffy fragrant rice is a recipe for the food coma that will surely follow, but it’s worth the gluttony, if only because you’ve driven so far, and the food is so good.
Service is brisk but the lunch crowds can be a deterrent so either arrive really early or really late and be sure to wear attire with a forgiving waistline – pinched waist caused by tight waistband is a rookie error and the ultimate no-no. Fay Khoo
Kar Heong has another outlet in Kota Damansara.