Restoran Bei King 北京大飯店, Sitiawan

Legend has it that an elephant which was overladen with tin ore, got stuck in the Dinding River at low tide. Everyone left after all efforts to save the elephant proved to be in vain. However the elephant’s friend stayed on. It refused to budge and hung on together with its friend. In the end both the elephants drowned….Hence the name Setiakawan which means loyal friend.

I was in Sitiawan for a birthday celebration and was indeed very surprised to find out that food there was so cheap. The entire meal costs less than RM300 for 10 pax.

I was told that all Foo Chows celebrate their birthdays by eating this – mee suah cooked in red wine. I found the colour of this artificially red and was told that very little wine was used to cook this at the request of the birthday girl. Instead they have used the leftovers of what was formed  during the wone making process –mainly fermented rice (pulut).

Next up was the ‘cold plate’ what is more commonly known as the 4 seasons. I noticed that here they had more than 4 varieties in the plate – it was very appetising. The pig stomach, however, was a tad spicy – there were lots of dried chillies. The egg fried with sharks fin was superb.

Another interesting dish – foo chow fish ball and yen pi dumpling soup. Foo chow fish balls are unique because unlike normal fishballs, they are stuffed with minced pork.  

Pork trotter with man tou – when it arrived, I expected the wrapped-up foil to contain herbal chicken (just as we normally get in KL) but was astonished when it was opened up. The pork trotter was cooked until soft. The juice from the fat meat just oozes out when I bit into the meat. Love it!

Fried eggs with oyster – I was told that this was Bei King’s pride. They pride themselves as being able to cook and of course to serve the most crispy oh chien in Malaysia!

Pork with yam – the colour of this dish put me off as I am more inclined towards the Hakka version.

Butter prawns – I was impressed with the freshness of the prawns – which many of the other guests said was expected of Sitiawan.

Fish maw in sweet, sour & spicy gravy – Foo Chows call this dish a soup and I can’t help but wonder why. This is a very traditional Foo chow dish and I notice that they just can’t have a celebration without it. Anyway, the ones here are super spicy and I don’t like it.

Fried tofu with some abalone mushrooms and broccoli – presentation was so-so only to me, and tasted the same way too J

Mixed vegetable –well, frankly I’ve never come across any restaurant that can’t do this dish well…so there isn’t much to comment on this dish.

Address : Lot 35535, Taman Desa Selamat (Jalan Kampung Selamat)

32000 Sitiawan