HEAVY flavours and hearty dishes are the stuff of Hakka food. Stewed pork trotters with black vinegar, braised belly pork with preserved vegetables, chicken in rice wine, yam abacus and yong tow foo are well-known Hakka dishes – and they are all on the menu at Hakka Rang in SS2, Petaling Jaya.

It’s a family-owned restaurant, the original has been around for more than 10 years in Kota Damansara. This branch in SS2 opened a couple of months ago.

I can’t resist chicken in rice wine when I see it on the menu. I had this with noodles for lunch, as a lone diner. The wine was sweet, fragrant with ginger and stirred the senses as it was strong on the alcohol.

There were goji berries in the soup, strips of wood ear fungus, cubes of chicken fillet and omelette.

How I wished there had been chunks of kampung chicken in it instead. That would have heightened my enjoyment of the delicious rice wine soup (RM21.90).

I liked that the noodles (mee sua) were served separately in a bowl. You could also opt for just egg with rice wine soup (RM18.90).

The yam abacus or Suen Pun Chee (RM16.90) is so called because the round pieces of springy dough with a dent in the centre resemble the counting beads of the abacus.

Made with yam and tapioca flour, the abacus beads here were fried with lots of cuttlefish strips, finely cut wood ear fungus, dried tofu, minced pork, spring onions and Chinese celery.

It was finished with a sprinkling of crushed peanuts. It was so delicious, the smooth yam beads drawing flavours from the crispy cuttlefish strips and meat, and Chinese celery.

Sweet, sour, and hot were in a sublime balance in the stewed pork trotter in black vinegar (RM19.90). Chunks of ginger and dried chillies lent gentle heat to the flavoursome stew.

The pork trotter was well braised and tender, and we were happy with some lean meat with the fat, and soft, creamy skin well braised in the black vinegar stew.

I’m always drawn to Lui Cha rice, which is rice surrounded by a variety of finely cut cooked vegetables, fried tofu, peanuts and sesame.

At Hakka Rang, the vegetables in the Lui Cha (RM14.90) include kai lan, sayur manis (manicai), French beans, long beans and preserved radish.

The soup was a blend of Thai basil, mint, ground sesame and peanuts stirred into green tea.

Sadly, there was not much oomph in the soup, which was supposed to bring the rice and all the ingredients together.

I had a takeaway of its Hakka stuffed bean curd balls, filled with minced pork with bits of salted fish (RM16.90 for five pieces). They tasted good and just right for a light dinner.

A friend also gave the thumbs up to a steamed grouper in a black bean, spicy sauce.

I’m coming back for the pork belly with yam, claypot bean curd with minced pork, steamed minced meat with salted fish and braised chicken with bitter gourd. 

There are set menus for lunch for RM46.90 to RM66.90 that should feed at least three people.

Hakka Rang Restaurant is at 36 Jalan SS2/10, Petaling Jaya, tel: 011-2518 8638. It is also at 47-1 Jalan PJU 5/7, Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, tel: 018-388 8620. – August 20, 2022.

* 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.