Kuala Lumpur Horlick Fried Chicken and Japanese Hamburg – Day One
It’s always exciting to visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The diversity of flavorful foods in every direction of the city is spectacular. I always tell people that for me, KL is a culinary goldmine. Because I can find my favorite foods, Malay, Indian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern staples at prices I think are quite reasonable.
I only had four days for this trip, and that’s not a lot of time. Too little time and not enough stomach capacity. So I planned out some places I gotta try out, with the emphasis on visiting some clay pot chicken and rice restaurants.
First Stop – Horlick Fried Chicken
I saw some viral videos about Gerai Ah Kow chicken and rice. When I got off the plane and dropped my bags at the hotel this was the first place I made a beeline to.
If you’ve never had fried chicken in Malaysia, your mind will be blown. Malaysia takes fried chicken to a whole new level.
This shop fries up quarter legs covered in a light horlick and sesame batter. Horlick is a malted milk powder and I drank this a lot when I was a kid. Haven’t had Horlick ever since puberty. So this one will bring back the memories.
Plus I was looking for a new fried chicken recipe for my YouTube food channel, Wally Cooks Everything.
I got lost at first, even following Google Maps. I overshot Gerai Ah Kow by 500 meters. My brain always gets foggy after getting off a plane.
If you don’t know by now I am a dummy. Part of the problem was I assumed it was a standalone restaurant.
Gerai Ah Kow is located inside Medan Selera Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz food center. I have to go back someday because there are many hawker restaurants inside with amazing-looking food.
When I found Gerai Ah Kow I ordered a leg quarter, rice, and a small plate of bean sprouts. It also comes with a small bowl of soup with pickled mustard greens. And a bottle of bright orange chili sauce.
They open at 10:30 am close at 4:00 pm and are closed only on Thursdays. I read it gets busy, especially during lunchtime.
I got there an hour right before they closed. But I think it might be better to get there early
The first bite I kinda knew it wasn’t going to be… not so great. Mainly because the fried chicken was sitting on the tray for at least 30 minutes to an hour. So the chicken cooled down and the crispy skin which Gerai Ah Kow fried chickens are famous for was just not there.
There’s also some soy sauce with oil on the bottom of the plate of fried chicken.
It might be the reason why I couldn’t taste any of the Horlick flavors. But while reading their reviews on Google there were a handful of similar complaints
The sprouts were good and I think the fried anchovies on top gave it a good crunch. The sambal sauce was tasty, more sour than a spicy kick. They give you a whole bottle. I gotta admit, I was tempted to take it with me.
I think to get the best flavorful experience you should get there around lunchtime, when you know for certain they are frying up a fresh batch of horlick sesame fried chicken!
What I ordered at Gerai Ah Kow (Total RM 24):
- Fried Horlick Sesame Chicken (Big Set) RM 19
- Crispy Bean Sprouts RM 5
Hamburg at Donkai
After a not-so-stellar meal at Gerai Ah Kow, I owed my tastebuds something juicy. Something beefy!
The mighty Hambagu or Hamburg of Japan is a rehashing of the lowly Salisbury steak in the USA. But Japanese Wagyu Beef is Japanese Wagyu Beef! The cost is not that crazy which I will get to later. Donkai is the type of place you can affordably treat yourself to a tasty meal.
This restaurant called Donkai is located in the lobby of Bukit Collectionz Hotel, in the heart of Kuala Lumpur an area called Bukit Bintang.
This location is like the Times Square of New York City it’s a super busy area, close to shopping and train stations.
Close to many restaurants and nearby Jalan Alor Food Street.
Donkai opens every day, 11 am to 11 pm. I arrived there around 9 pm and only a few customers were enjoying their meals. Plenty of seats available so I sat near the main flat-top grill, where I could watch the cook work his magic.
Humbug Choices at Donkai:
- Angus Beef
- Australian Wagyu Beef
- Japanese Wagyu Beef
- Chicken
In addition, you’ll get unlimited refills of rice, vegetables, and miso soup. I wish they could also add unlimited hot green tea or iced green tea too.
On top of the type of humbug you’ve got sauce options:
- Original (which I think is a tonkatsu sauce)
- Truffle Sauce (truffle is overrated)
- Tartar Sauce (this one I’m curious about)
- Black Sauce (they said it’s an onion sauce)
And also complimentary seasonings and condiments plus unlimited Kim Chee.
I ordered 2 Japanese Wagyu Beef Hambug patties. Each patty weighs 100 grams. I was tempted to order three patties. But after my last meal, I still felt pretty full. And to top it off I picked Black Sauce.
Customers get two options on how patties are cooked, medium rare or well done. I chose medium rare. Though if it’s still too rare to your liking there is an individual hot plate right in front of you. Mine was cooked rare but some cooking time on the personal hot plate took care of that.
I also ordered one pasteurized egg. I wanted the onsen egg but they were out. Oh, I also ordered a can of A&W Root Beer. I haven’t had that in ages.
For me, I think the patties could do well with a little bit of salt. Not saying it’s tasteless because there are just so many sauces to pick from. It’s just that simple salt can heighten the natural taste of beef. On the other hand, sauces can overpower it.
What I ordered at Donkai (Total RM 72)
- 2 Japanese Beef Wagyu set
- Pasteurized Egg
- A&W Root Beer
Conclusion
My first day, well actually my first half day in Kuala Lumpur. I think I did pretty well covering two foods I wanted to eat. It was a good start for my recipe research so I can’t wait to get started working and planning on what to cook next.
And most certainly excited for my next day full day in Kuala Lumpur!
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