By Sumiitra Yiohan Sooriaarratchi
Mr Tuck Kee’s curry puffs are the best in town! He has been at this spot for over forty years, quietly going about his business serving up delightful curry puffs to his many fans. The stall is on Jalan Seladang (across the road from RHB Bank), off Jalan Pasar Pudu,
A native of Pudu, his journey in to the hawker food business was by accident. He used to work for United Engineers, the factory was located near Chan Sow Lin / Fraser Business Park area at the time. The company downsized and Mr Tuck Kee lost his job. Luckily he had knowledge of the curry puff recipe from the time when he was a boy and worked part-time for a curry puff hawker (also in the Pudu area) with his younger brother.
That’s how it all started. Over time he has steadily built up a successful curry puff business all by himself. His wife is Vietnamese and works in a beauty salon. They have two children, Poh Choo, aged ten and Chee Wai, nine.
He has many interesting stories to tell about the history of the Pudu area. One such is the location of the mansion belonging to the millionaire Malaysian-Chinese philanthropist Cheong Yoke Choy (Wikipedia). Cheong Yoke Choy was one of the founders of Kwong Yik Bank (now acquired by RHB Bank). Today, Berjaya Times Square (Wikipedia) occupies the land that was once Cheong Yoke Choy’s mansion. What a shame that its not around today.
You would be surprised at the gems of information that you can pick up if you take the time to strike up a conversation with the locals – and I mean the real locals of the area – not the hoards of people who flock to Kuala Lumpur from the suburbs and go about totally oblivious to the history and character of the city.
There are three types of curry puffs available at Mr Tuck Kee’s stall – chicken (RM2.00), mutton(RM2.00) and chicken with egg (RM2.30). You can also have awesome doughnuts (RM1.00), kaya puffs and red bean (towsar) puffs in addition to his curry puffs.
The curry puffs are larger then the usual size found across Malaysia and the curry filling has a unique flavour that is difficult to describe. So go on over to Mr Tuck Kee’s in Pudu and savour these rare delights.
*For curry puff orders. Please email us at leafblogazine@yandex.com and we will place an order with Mr Tuck Kee on your behalf. Or better still, head down to Pudu and place your order with Mr Tuck Kee himself.
