aly's wonderland

“French-ing”… I mean “Lunch-ing”, with the French Chefs at Sek Yuen, Jln Pudu

Sek Yuen @ Jln Pudu

Oh, it was last minute as usual. Waking up on a Sunday morning, finding out Lil’Chef had arranged lunch with (3 Michelin Star) guest Chef Mathieu Pacaud of L’Ambroisie (read about the Rolland Collection Wine Dinner HERE) and his trustee assistant Keenan Ballois.

“What?” I yelled. “Are you crazy? Where are we supposed to take them?” (Secretely in my head thinking, hmm… what to wear?)

“Sek Yuen, lah…” replied Lil’ Chef in his usual, blasé tone.

“But how?” I asked. “Won’t it be too hot for them? Won’t they prefer some air-conditioned hotel restaurant?”

“No, lah…” he replied, in a pacifying tone, sensing my panic. “I think they’ll appreciate the food at Sek Yuen.”

Okay, so we never found out what they thought, although they did try/eat everything that was put in front of them.

The panic set in, as it was 1130 am, and there was the gleaming, flashing SMS from (3 Michelin Star Chef – I just have to say it again!) Mathieu Pacaud. “Ok, we’ll see you at 1230.”

More panic. My last experience booking Lil’ Chef’s birthday dinner at Sek Yuen was difficult enough, due to the language barrier. I remember calling a few times and not even being able to make a reservation, no less order the ‘pre-order-only’ items. I had to enlist the help of the wonderful Boolicious last time, so I tried again this time.

No luck, she was overseas. Next on the list, Fatboybakes. No luck, church, who would have thought on a Sunday!

Finally, we managed to find someone who could translate the items we wanted to order into Chinese, wrote it down and called up Sek Yuen to make a booking. It was our lucky day, as the phone was passed over to a lovely gentleman who did speak some English, and was later wonderfully hospitable and helpful with our order. Ah, the drama, the panic, it was worth it.

It was terribly hot and humid (as it has been in KL recently) when we pulled up to the back alley to park. I think (3 Michelin Star Chef) Mathieu and Keenan were genuinely afraid as we walked down the covered side street to the entrance of Sek Yuen. “Where are they taking us?” they probably thought to themselves, as Lil’ Chef pointed out Pudu Jail on the drive over.

Hey, you can’t say we didn’t give them the authentic Malaysian experience, right?

Lil’ Chef took charge and ordered the food, while I took charge and ordered the Tigers. Yes, it truly was an authentic Malaysian experience. Unfortunately, the suckling pig needed 24 hour notice, so we settled for the 8 Treasure Duck instead.

Too much food for 4 people (they almost didn’t let us order so much, bless them, as wastage is not allowed) but we convinced them that we would take away whatever was left and give it to the hungry (by the hungry I mean Terry of the Red FM Drive).

Here’s what we had… in English.

*I’ve lost the scribbled list of Chinese names. Please feel free to comment if you know the real names!

To start, Four Seasons.

Something unusual to take back to Paris…

Then it was time to dig in…

Chicken Jelly (Lil’ Chef & my favourite)

Sharksfin Omelette

Both Mathieu and Keenan had not ever tried Sharksfin before, so it was out pleasure to introduce them to this endangered species delicacy.

Deep fried Pork Spring Roll (Similar to Penang Style Popiah)

It was funny, really, because we asked the lovely English speaking gentlemen what this was, and he replied “Pork! It’s Pork!” A good enough answer for me!

Yam Basket

I’m not normally a fan of Yam, but at Sek Yuen, I would gladly order another portion. Crispy, sweet, savaoury and oh so tasty.

It was good, so very good. Despite the heat, Sek Yuen is definitely one of my favourite Chinese Restaurants in KL. Of course, if you want to sit it the air-conditioned area, you’re very welcome to do so, but nothing beats sweating it out in the open-air restaurant.

You can feel the history, the generations of hard work, and the secret recipes, flowing through your bones.

It has class, it has character, it has an unbeatable Chicken Jelly and the most succulent 8-Treasure Duck (Pat Poh Ngap) that arrives whole.

A gentle split with the spoon…

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Your treasure, stuffed to the brim with herbs, lotus seed and gingko.

There’s a reason why they’ve been around for 60 years. And they have numerous press clippings on the wall to prove it!

We also had some Har Lok Sauce Prawns, which I loved, obviously, because as usual, all the prawn heads came to me.

We tried their Siew Yoke (Roast Pork Belly), which was tasty, albeit a little dry.

And for greens, some Sweet Potato Leaves.

(3 Michelin Star Chef) Mathieu Pacaud chatted happily throughout the meal. Warm, friendly, and with a sense of humour, despite the heat. Keenan and I tried to communicate with each other, sporadically, and almost managed to add each other on facebook by the end of lunch! That’s communication for you! There are many stories to be told, but I shall never divulge. Never…

I’m not sure if we scared them off or made them want to come back, but man, a meal at Sek Yuen is worth anything! Thanks to (3 Michelin Star Chef) Mathieu Pacaud and Keenan for being such wonderful company, and adventurous guests!

Here’s hoping you both will be back in Malaysia soon for another round of Sek Yuen’s treasures… and much much more…

CONTACT

SEK YUEN (Non-Halal)

315 Jalan Pudu

55100 Kuala Lumpur

TEL: 03-9222-0903 ‎