Back to one of Taiping’s most famous eateries - the 99-year-old Hainanese dining institution, 𝗬𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗻, for a late brunch today.
Founded in 1926 by a Hainanese emigrant from Wen Chang, Hainan Island, it is currently run by the third-generation owner, Chin Sui Yek (who was also born in Wen Chang) and his son, Chin Chun Kit, who’s born in Taiping.
Chin Sui Yek’s maternal twin cousins, the Chongs, run Kuala Kangsar’s best-known Hainanese eatery, 𝗬𝘂𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝘆.
We ordered some very well-executed Hainanese casual eats here:
Inche kabin - spice-marinated chicken pieces, a Penang-Nyonya staple but invented by Hainanese chefs under their employ. The name of the dish came from the Hainanese term for “marinated slices of chicken”, i.e. “yan chi ka pin”.
Hainanese fried noodles - the famously spartan stir-fry of yellow wheat noodles with chicken and shrimps, drenched with a tasty gravy.
Hainanese chicken chop - a uniquely Malaysian/Singaporean dish of batter-fried boneless chicken breast (reminiscent of a wiener schnitzel), served with potato wedges, fresh tomato, onions and peas (must be the tinned variety, never fresh ones), all smothered in a thin, brown gravy.
Hainanese fish chop. This is the pescatarian version of the chicken chop dish, and has to be unique to Yut Sun, as we haven’t really seen this dish elsewhere. But it worked beautifully.
We are on a food safari today, so hopping to another Taiping eatery for dessert.
