The Hainanory, Klang

The Hainanory is Klang’s new space for Malaysian Hainanese classics, including Hainanese noodles, mutton soup, chicken chop and chicken rice.

The Hainanory’s founders hail from a family whose patriarch left Hainan in the 1930s, becoming a banquet chef for weddings, temple festivals and community gatherings in Klang.

The Hainanese mutton soup is Grandpa’s port celebration speciality, soul-warming with plenty of tender mutton, white radish, black fungus, beancurd and herbs, flavourfully meaty with mighty nostalgia.

Hainanese noodles also taste like tradition, with market-fresh shrimp, sliced chicken, Chinese lettuce, cucumber, fish cakes and pineapples in a pale-hued gravy of fish and prawn stock.

The Hainanory opens shortly after sunrise, for simple breakfasts of crisp buttered kaya toast with kopitiam tea, a short stroll from Klang’s KTMB train station.

Tai Wong TTDI: New Chinese Muslim restaurant for London-style crispy duck, dim sum, sang har mee & more

Tai Wong is KL's unique new family-run Chinese Muslim restaurant where the crackle of woks meets the clatter of paddles by the sidelines of Kings Court Pickle & Social Hub TTDI.

With top temptations like London-style crispy duck, dim sum and sang har mee, this is a gorgeous setting with graceful water features, a poised flamingo sculpture, porcelain showcase and cherry blossom motifs.

Steering the kitchen is veteran chef Liew Chin Meng, with a nearly four-decade career in Malaysia and Singapore, including a residency this year at The Royal Selangor Golf Club.

Come for fairly priced fare like kam heong prawn mee hoon and chicken siew mai, stay for the pickleball action in this comfortably spacious hub.

Fun fact: Tai Wong's name is a nod to patriarch Bob Wong, whose family has spearheaded respected F&B establishments across KL since the 1980s.

The signature London-Style Crispy Duck (RM38 for quarter, RM58 for half) offers inspirations from London's streets of Chinatown, where 20th-century Chinese restaurateurs who lacked roasting ovens deep-fried their ducks instead.

Tai Wong's preparation is patient: Each duck is slow-cooked to succulence, suffused with 13 herbs and spices such as cinnamon, cumin, Szechuan pepper and black pepper, then deep-fried to render the skin irresistibly crackly.

When served, it becomes a social feast, wrapping fleshy shreds of the crisp-yet-supple meat in popiah skin with slivers of spring onion and cucumber, plus swipes of hoisin and house-made chilli sauce. Beautiful bundles of bliss, not to be missed!

Craving crustaceans? Tai Wong's champion choices span the Sang Har Mee (with crisp noodles in creamy, eggy broth) and Kam Heong Prawn Mee Hoon (savoury with spicy aromatics). Rich, robust and ready to reel us in with shellfish splendour.

Dim Sum is also a draw, with crowd-pleasers like Chicken Siew Mai, Crystal Dumplings, Seen Chuk Rolls, Shanghai Dumplings and BBQ Chicken Pau.

Quick meal sets are also available at RM25++ per set, with a soup of the day, main course with rice, sliced fruits and beverage.

Refresh your senses with Cucumber Coolers, especially if you're booking a session at Kings Court, with four courts at RM50 per hour on weekday afternoons, RM70 per hour on weeknights and weekends. Make your reservations at Courtsite - these are quality courts, complete with showers and a surau, perfect for pros and beginners alike.

Tai Wong
Ground Floor, Kings Court TTDI, Jalan Datuk Sulaiman, Sungai Penchala, Kuala Lumpur.
Open Daily, 11am-2:30pm, 5pm-10:30pm.