[NON-HALAL]
He started making and selling yong tau foo on a tricycle in the Pudu area. Within a few years, he had made enough to buy his own shop in Pudu and bring his wife, Chong Chak Yin, over from China.
The couple started supplying their yong tau foo to restaurants, stalls, and schools in the Klang Valley and they worked hard. Over the decades, the shop grew into a small factory, and Kim Choon even sent five out of his nine children to study in Singapore. He passed away at 96 in 2011.
Ray is his second youngest child, and was sent to Singapore when he was only six years old. He returned to Malaysia in 1996 armed with a degree and started work at a bank but quit when his father died.
“I realised that I never spent enough time with him, and that was when I thought about starting a restaurant,” Ray told FMT.
He began by helping at the family factory. Finally, in 2014, he and his siblings opened a restaurant in Taman Desa. “We were there for seven years, and in March 2021, we moved to our current location in Overseas Union Garden,” the 51-year-old explained.
Today, the restaurant receives a fresh supply of yong tau foo from their Pudu factory – where three of Ray’s brothers still work.
“We named Choon Kee Tuckshop after our father because we wanted to remember his legacy, and all his sacrifices,” Ray said, explaining that his parents worked at least 17 hours every day for 30 years.
He said they only gave themselves one week off every year for Chinese New Year and it was only after the kids had grown up that his parents had Sundays off.
“Our father meant a lot to us. I believe that he would be very happy with what we are doing because he wanted as many of his children to be involved in the family business,” he added.
Tasting notes
The highlight of the tuckshop is the barbecued yong tau foo. “We are the first restaurant in Malaysia to introduce this,” Ray said, adding that he was inspired by his love for everything barbecued.
The stuffed okra, brinjal, red chilli, and tofu are first drenched in barbecue sauce, then smoked over charcoal. The result is a fragrant piece of yong tau foo with a slightly smoky taste that pairs well with the sweet sauce.
Alternatively, customers can request for the traditional deep-fried version or have it served in hot broth.
When here, don’t miss the variety of soft chee cheong fun dishes. The chee cheong fun served with sambal and curry pork skin is a scrumptious option. The pork skin – fried in tamarind – is soft and slightly sour while the curry is creamy and piquant.
Alternatively, try the chee cheong fun served in soya sauce with fried onions or in a thick sweet sauce with fried shrimps. All the chee cheong fun varieties are topped with crispy pork lardons.
Meanwhile, the claypot Bentong tau foo pok (tofu puffs) is simple yet delectable. Served in a claypot to retain the warmth of the pork bone broth, the tofu puffs are soft and generously filled with tasty fish and pork paste.
On to the seafood noodles! The rice vermicelli is served in a pork bone broth, which Ray revealed is slow-cooked for 10-15 hours. No MSG is used. It’s no surprise that the broth is thick and flavourful, making it a perfect complement to the soft noodles.
The dish comes with two fresh tiger prawns, squid, lala and slices of grouper.
For a comforting dish, the minced pork porridge with century and salted eggs hits all the right spots. The hearty dish is thick, smooth, and comes with a generous portion of minced meat.
The fresh ginger adds a fragrant touch while the eggs – though it may be an acquired taste for some – makes each spoonful a tasty one.
Learn more about Choon Kee Tuckshop on Facebook and Instagram.
Choon Kee Tuckshop (Non-Halal)
No 75, Jalan Hujan Rahmat 3
Taman Overseas Union (OUG)
58200 Kuala Lumpur
Business hours: 8am to 5pm (closed on Thursdays)