M’sia - Ah Khai Char Siew, No. 63, Jalan 20/7, Petaling Jaya, opposite Seaview Restaurant

This is guy who makes the nicest char siew I have ever tasted. While we’ve not even come close to finding something similar in London, he’s pretty hard to beat in Malaysia also (there is one place in KL but that’s not the point of the post today). He loves posing for pictures with us whenever we’re there, which makes a nice change from the usual sulks and distrustful stares I get from some places. This guy is all smiles whenever we’re there, maybe that’s why his char siew tastes so good.

Anyway, back to the point. He runs a small little stall in a coffee shop across from Seaview Restaurant, and despite there not being too many other stalls in this place, tables are filled with customers – so the assumption here is that they are all here to eat his char siew.

However, if you’re not that into your roasted, delicious, sweet and slightly crispy pieces of pork, then there’s the chicken option too. They do pretty good roast chicken here; the meat is tender and moist, and the gravy very delicately flavoured.

I do find it difficult to eat anything else but the char siew when I’m here though. I mean, look at it. Look at how each piece is perfectly marinated, perfectly roasted, and perfectly crispy sweet on the outside, and mouth-meltingly … melting on the inside.

The secret to all this perfection in his cooking, I guess, is mainly down to the cut of meat he uses. This is definitely not weight-loss food – the reason the meat is melt-in-the-mouth is because it’s mainly fatty pieces of pork, which also explains why the pieces char so well.

If you’re around Seaview and don’t fancy the same bowls of noodles, you have to try this place out. The dude is really nice, and has been featured in quite a few articles (I know this because he has them stuck on the side of the stall). He’s really proud of what he does, and rightly should be too as this is one of, if not THE, best char siew we’ve tasted. Don’t even have to ask the question, I’d most definitely one hundred percent recommend you try this out.

Update: Now moved to a new location a few shops away.