Beggar Chicken @ New Heong Kee Restaurant

For my sister-in-law’s birthday last weekend we patronized this hidden gem that is situated pretty close to where I stay. It’s main attraction is the beggar chicken (or duck upon request).  Beggar chicken is a dish where a marinated whole chicken is wrapped with lotus leaves, aluminium foil and a layer of dough and baked for 3 hours in an oven. That’s the modern way. The old school way is here (along with some back story of its origins) where the chicken is wrapped with mud and baked for a longer period of time. As the sign says, we had to make reservations a day in advance for the chicken to be prepared.

The establishment was decently packed and was served with Acar (pickled vegetables) as an appetizer.

The food did not take long to arrive at our table. We ordered pork ribs in herb sauce, romaine lettuce in creamy sauce and a fish dish that was not worthy to be elaborated on. The portions were decent for a family of 4. The pork was amazing. It was herbish in flavor, tender and moist which is how a good roast should be.

The next is the star of the show. I eagerly made my way to the preparation area and got a shot of a worker ripping open the wrap of the chicken. It doesnt look pretty but I assure you it tastes good.

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The meat is so tender that you could rip the flesh with a mere scooping action with a spoon, like so

Upon the arrival of the chicken, the table of food was cleared in a span of 10-15 minutes for that something that took 8 hours (this is what the  worker told us) to prepare

The entire meal of 4 dishes costed us RM 110. Here’s the contact details of the establishment

New Heong Kee Beggar’s Chicken

446, Batu 7½, Jalan Ulu Kelang, 68000 Selangor (near Zoo Negara, just after the Shell petrol station along the MRR2 highway)

Tel: 03 4106 8698 / 016 393 2632

Business hours: Noon to 10pm

Close: Open every day

Terms: Cash

Budget: $$ (RM10 to RM20 per person)

Type of food: Chinese