GOOD Nyonya food is hard to come by in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, so was I delighted when two years ago, Ho Li Chow opened in Damansara Kim in PJ.

At this bright and airy kopitiam I discovered lam mee, just like my mum used to make. And laksa lemak which we enjoyed at home but which we call Siamese laksa.  The assam laksa has my nod, too, as has the meehoon Siam.

I’m at Ho Li Chow at least once a week, and I must have tried everything on the menu and off menu as well. I have taken a shine to Aunty Sue, the warm and big-hearted Nyonya lady behind it. In the early days, she would treat me to her wonderful home-made kaya with toast.

First the lam mee, Penang style is unlike the horrid thick noodles in a dark starchy sauce that you find in KL.

It must have a good stock steeped from pork bones, prawn shells and flat sole, thin yellow noodles, bean sprouts, Chinese chives, omelette strips, prawns, belly pork and a great sambal belacan, of course.

At Ho Li Chow, Aunty Sue takes the crown for lam mee which has a naturally sweet stock with umami from the ingredients simmered in it. Her sambal is pounded by hand, not blended.

Laksa lemak is thick with fish in an aromatic curry with coconut milk finely balanced with asam. A small dish of hae ko or shrimp paste is served with it. It’s an unforgettable laksa, topped with mint leaves, pineapple, shallot and slivers of bunga kantan.

I also love the meehoon Siam fried with a special sauce with a sour tang – there’s lots of wok heat, with calamansi and sambal belacan completing this delicious fried rice noodles. I have had the assam laksa –again the generous heap of fish, the right tartness in the curry score each time.

For starters the bamboo basket of pie tee is not to be missed. The pie tee shell is thin and crispy, melting in the mouth with the bangkuang filing and the tart, garlicky chilli sauce.

 As for rice dishes, the nasi lemak with Nyonya curry pork is so pleasing and satisfying. But my favourite is always the Nyonya acar fish (a fried senangin) which Aunty Sue pickles with good rice vinegar, turmeric and lots of fried ginger and shallots. This is served with rice and ju hu char, bangkuang stewed with dried cuttlefish and pork.

I used to take away a big portion of ju hu char for dinner after eating there. It’s that good. There’s also tauyu bak, braised belly pork with spices and black sauce.

Ho Li Chow is now opened for dinner and eating there is inexpensive at this time, too. Its vinegar pig’s trotters, slow cooked in black vinegar, dried chillies, black pepper and Bombay onions veer away from the classic black vinegar trotters, but have a sweet and sour flavour elevated with the heat of pepper and chilli. It was lovely.

Ikan cincaru sumbat with sambal is a rare find in KL. It’s our family favourite. The fish has its sides stuffed with a paste of shallots, chilli, shrimp paste and fresh turmeric and fried. All the stirring aromas and flavours of these permeate the fish as its fried. It’s done well at Ho Li Chow.

Once a happy diner at the next table told us about the awesome assam curry fish he just had. So we had this. The fish curry with a garoupa fillet, tomatoes, ladies fingers and pineapple delivered the essence of Penang Nyonya cooking in its hot, sweet and sour curry scented with bunga kantan, serai and daun kesom complementing the fish.

The perky and lovely pucuk paku kerabu has shoots of the jungle fern resting in a coconut sauce stirred with sambal and dried shrimps and finished with calamansi juice.

Panfried honey pork has been a repeat order with me as I like the tender pork slices well-marinated and fried. There’s assam prawns bathed with thick assam juice and pan-fried which we always eat with nasi lemak and sambal at home.

A bill for a recent dinner there (with food enough for three), came up to RM53 only – we had fried honey pork, pucuk paku kerabu, chicken curry and ikan cencaru sumbat. – September 22, 2018.

* Ho Li Chow is at 40 Jalan SS20/10, Damansara Kim, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Tel: 03 7710 4088. It opens at 8.30am daily except on Monday.

* 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.