GERAI Golden Beach Corner, where we were headed one Saturday morning, is nowhere near a beach. We finally arrived at this well hidden restaurant, off Jalan Ipoh in Kuala Lumpur, after getting lost.

We were charmed by its doorway which was festively draped in red and festooned with red lanterns.

It’s like dining in a Chinese village house, a cool, roomy one. The tables are well spaced out and at one wall there’s a colourful display of things past, such as enamel trays, biscuit tins, clogs, even chamber pots and a shelf of old bottles of cologne and face powder.

Golden Beach Corner opens by 8.30am and most of the food is usually sold out by 2pm.

We ordered the bestseller, fried chee cheong fun, followed by nasi lemak ayam rendang, adding the ayam goreng, pork oil rice, claypot lao shu fun and fish paste noodles in milk soup. We even ordered two plates of keropok lekor for two friends who came later.

The fried chee cheong fan (RM7.80) was easily the best dish, like a yummy fried kway teow with enough wok heat in it. Beansprouts, Chinese chives, chilli, a few shrimps and egg were all it needed to make it delicious.

The coconut rice is coloured green with pandan juice in the nasi lemak ayam rendang (RM9.80). The fragrant rice is served with a generous dollop of hot sambal, egg, ikan bilis, peanuts and cucumber, and of course a flavourful and tender ayam rendang.

Ayam goreng (RM7), a whole chicken thigh and drumstick, was done well too. It was moist, with crispy skin and topped with spicy shreds of lemongrass and kerisik.

Pork oil rice (RM6.80) is rice with lard and a lot of lard crispies. A dark, saucy minced pork, topped with a sunny side up completes this tasty one-dish meal.

The claypot lao shu fen (RM8.80) at Golden Beach Corner is not the best I’ve had. It’s served with char siew and a raw egg to stir into the bubbling hotpot of plump short rice noodles.

There was keropok lekor (RM4.80) to munch on between the main dishes. They were addictive, though there was a complaint they had too much flour in them. Still, the two plates of lekor were finished in a jiffy.

Fish paste noodles in milk soup (RM10.80) is good, comfort food especially at breakfast. I liked the soft, springy fish paste slices in the tasty milky soup with a dash of rice wine and a light tomato tang. The smooth rice noodles, ginger slices, fresh Chinese parsley and lard crisps brought all this together deliciously.

Petai fried rice, sambal fried rice, handmade pan mee and curry laksa are other dishes to look out for here. Of course, you can also have your kaya butter bread and eggs with toast with a kopi-o that’s served with two biscuits.

There’s also chicken curry rice, petai fried noodles, spicy loh Mee and wat tan hor.

Gerai Golden Beach Corner is at Jalan 5/18A, Taman Mastiara, Kuala Lumpur. Call Sharon at 012-515 8840 or Kelvin at 016-220 0517, for enquiries. – October 30, 2021.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.