Yes, Klang may have built its strong reputation on a bowl of steaming hot bak kut teh but a 98-year-old kopitiam selling banana leaf sounds too good to miss.
With just a tiny yellow signboard displaying the words ‘Yap Kee’ hanging atop the entrance to a nondescript shop lot, Yap Kee Banana Leaf is not an easy find as it is tucked away among other colonial shops along Jalan Besar.
If you ever find yourself driving past Yap Kee during lunch hour, don’t be surprised to find a long queue that extends right out to the main road. The sight of hungry customers patiently waiting for a seat is very common here.
If you’re lucky enough to secure a seat at Yap Kee during its busiest periods, pull up a plastic chair and you’ll find a banana leaf placed in front of you within seconds.
But don’t expect fancy dishes such as biryani or butter chicken here though, as the banana leaf meal served at Yap Kee is very simple and straightforward.
That being said, the meals here are most definitely significant.
What you’ll be presented with instead, are choices of fish or mutton curry and the standard vegetable of the day. During FMT’s visit, it turned out to be the traditional turmeric fried cabbage.
You’ll be asked to select from three types of protein next, and you can decide whether you’d like a juicy piece of fried chicken, fried fish, or the mutton curry if you’re in the mood for something meatier.
Before you ask “Where’s the papadum?”, don’t worry. Yap Kee won’t ever forget the crispy and quintessential finishing touch to any banana leaf meal.
Yap Kee’s banana leaf, which comprises a generous portion of rice, curry, vegetable, fried chicken and fried fish will cost you RM9 — which means it is an extremely affordable yet formidable meal by KL standards.
Third-generation owner Yap Meng Yow helms the cashier counter at the kopitiam and is responsible for the drinks served at Yap Kee, so feel free to beckon him over and make your order.
You can stick to the staple chrysanthemum tea to accompany your banana leaf or try one of the kopitiam’s four signature juices — Kedondong Asam, Asam Boi Limau, Epal Asam and Orange juice.
Sixty-three-year-old Yap, who inherited Yap Kee from his father, explained to FMT that the idea behind the kopitiam originally came from his grandfather who joined forces with an Indian man by the name of Raman Nair back in 1923.
The partnership was so symbiotic as Yap’s grandfather would sell drinks and rent out space to Raman, who served his famous banana leaf rice to customers.
“I began working here in 1987. In fact, I spent a lot of my childhood days playing in this kopitiam,” grinned Yap.
According to Yap, the cooks will begin preparing the food from 8.30am to welcome ravenous customers who would wait in front of the Yap Kee’s grill doors by 11am.
He also added that before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, news of Yap Kee’s delicious food had spread so far that even tourists would travel all the way to Klang just for a bite.
“We really took a hit during the pandemic, but luckily, we still managed to do takeaways. The business has not fully recovered, but it’s getting better now,” smiled a grateful Yap.
Yap has three kids of his own who occasionally help out at the kopitiam during the weekends, but he admitted that he isn’t sure if they will be keen to take over the business.
Glancing at the clock, Yap decided that 3.30pm would be the perfect time to lunch, since the well-fed and satisfied crowd at the kopitiam had already dispersed.
His choice of lunch was a packet of buns, which he paired with Yap Kee’s delicious chicken curry.
“It’s my favourite; the taste has remained the same for many years,” smiled Yap, as he started digging in.
Yap Kee Banana Leaf
26, Jalan Besar
Kawasan 1
41000 Klang
Selangor
Operation hours: 11am to 4pm (closed on public holidays)