The Lot 10 shopping center situated in the KL "Golden Triangle" retail haven, has definitely seen better days...
(It used to be THE high class shopping center, before being overtaken by newer places like KLCC and Pavilion)
However, recently it has received renewed attention, as YTL has revamped the Lot 10 food court into the Hutong Gourmet Heritage Village - featuring 26 stalls handpicked by Tan Sri Dr Francis Yeoh... purportedly the 'best of the best' Malaysian street food that has survived at least 20 years*.
(*Although strangely, there are a few "odd" stalls there selling Thai, Western and German food...)
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Mini language lesson:
HUTONG
Hutongs, (simplified Chinese: 胡同; traditional Chinese: 衚衕; pinyin: hútòng) are a type of narrow streets or alleys, most commonly associated with Beijing, China.
(So sayeth Wikipedia anyway...)
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Anyway, you can go to this increasingly popular new food court through 2 entrances:
- In the main shopping centre:
OR
- the secret side entrance! (from the outside):
Inside, the food court is modern and slightly psychedelic in its design... and also, the stalls are arranged quite confusingly as the format is not very linear - many twist and turns and hidden corners:
Warning:
Don't be fooled - I got there relatively early that day (around 11am) so it looks quite empty.... but as it's hard to find a non-Halal food court in this area (and also due to all the media coverage it's been getting), Hutong is usually very packed, and the food can run out if you're late (as many of the stall owners will pre-prepare their secret recipe soups/ etc daily and deliver limited batches to their stall in Lot 10).
One of the highlights in my visit to Hutong was the famous Campbell Popiah:
I tried the classic popiah (RM 2.30+ each) and the egg skin popiah (RM 2.70+ each):
Not only was the old popiah man wonderfully friendly (He talked to me about his original stall, and how "Tan Sri loved to eat there all the time..." while I waited for my popiah..., but the cute little popiahs were delicious! :)
Popiah, oh popiah - Moist without being soggy, tasty without being overpowering/ fake. :) :)
(I preferred the classic one though.... The simple popiah skin didn't distract from the tasty filling)
My parents went for the also very famous Soong Kee Beef Noodles.
Pictured here, the Beef Noodles set - one bowl of noodles, vegetables, small soup with beef balls+slices+etc and a cup of Chinese tea (RM 7.50+) and an extra side of soup with beef balls+slices+etc (RM 5+):
The Famous balls:
Mmmmmmm.... :D
The soup was a wee bit too salty for my tastebuds but overall it was a good meal with the springy noodles, tender beef slices and bouncey beef meatballs. :)
For my main, (after wandering around for about 5 minutes!) I chose the Assam Laksa (RM 6.90+):
Laksa up close:
It didn't knock my socks off (was a tad too sour) but overall, not bad - smooth soup (not the thick, chunky type), sour, slightly spicy and with a fair amount of fish meat and fresh veges.
There is almost a mind boggling array of food available in Hutong, like Seremban Siew Pao, Hokkien Mee, Bak Kut Teh, Porridge, Chicken Rice etc, all from famous stalls across Malaysia:
Admittedly, the prices are expensive (if you compare to the original stalls), and apparently some of the "outstation stalls" don't measure up... but still, I love this place!
:)
I mean, what's not to love? - Other than being a fantastic way to maintain our Malaysian food heritage, I think an extra ringgit or two is really a small price to pay to have so many delicious types of Malaysian food under one roof, and in a comfy, clean environment.
So, it's: Delicious array of famous Malaysian food stalls under one roof! :) BUT prices are higher than original stalls (although still affordable by KL standards), can be very hard to find a table during peak hours and surrounding area can get quite jammed during week day peak hours.....
Summary Information:
Hutong Gourmet Heritage Village @ Lot 10, KL
Opening Hours: (approx.) 11am till 10pm
Phone: -
Address: Basement, Lot 10 Shopping Centre, Bukit Bintang, KL
NOT ENTIRELY HALAL*
(*A few stalls do not serve pork)
Hutong Gourmet Heritage Village @ Lot 10, KL
Opening Hours: (approx.) 11am till 10pm
Phone: -
Address: Basement, Lot 10 Shopping Centre, Bukit Bintang, KL
NOT ENTIRELY HALAL*
(*A few stalls do not serve pork)
OTHER REVIEWS:
- Masak-Masak
- Lots of Cravings
- the nomad Gourmand
- Eat Drink KL
- A lil' fat monkey
TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Lot 10 Shopping Centre, Bukit Bintang, Famous Local Hawker Food, Hutong Gourmet Heritage Village, Food Court, KL, Kuala Lumpur
Posts
Thanks for linking. Yeah gotta love the popiah there!
ReplyDeleteyea, i heard the place has all the great oldies, but I would not pay top dollar for coffee shop food la. sorry :P (dats why me and cumi will not step foot in hutong.. ooo.. hehe)
ReplyDeleteThat assam laksa had so much greens on top of it but the soup looked so colourless, haiyah! The beefballs looked awesome though.
ReplyDeleteyou should try the Singapore prawn mee and O Chien next time... but I forgot the stall's name :P
ReplyDeleteto qwazymonkey:
ReplyDeleteYeah man...
Especially since healthy (I think?) and yummy is such a rare combination! :)
to Ciki girl:
Lol.
No doubt it's a little expensive but it's great for lazy/ no sense of direction ppl like me! :) :)
to PureGlutton:
Haha...
Well, it's definitely not the pure Penang style assam laksa that is thick and pungeant... It's actually a bit like the Malay style one where the soup is a little bit more "ching"... :)
to thule a.k.a leo:
Next on my list is that and the BKT! :)
(Am so curious whether it's nice or not)
Unlike leo, I really didn't like the oh chien. But the prawn mee is not too bad la... ;)
ReplyDeleteto Bangsar-bAbE:
ReplyDeleteOh no. Now I'm confused! To eat or not to eat (the orr chien)?
Hmmm.. Maybe I'll just eat it anyway, just for fun! haha....
:)