Porridge in SS2/1 Petaling Jaya

FAMOUS PORRIDGE IN SS2/1 PETALING JAYA

By Stephen Ng

When Alex Locke, 60 started operating his stall in SS2/1 Petaling Jaya eleven years, his son, Kenny Locke was only a young boy, but today, the father-and-son team is selling not only their famous porridge but a wide variety of noodles as well.

Since the Senior Locke, a former chef in a Sze Chuan restaurant at Ladies’ Street in Hong Kong, started the porridge business at the same spot in the 1990s, business has been good as word of mouth started to spread.

Locke said he has applied all the skills he had picked up preparing roasted duck, barbecued pork and other Chinese delicacies in Hong Kong to his porridge business, which still attracts people even as late as 10.30pm.

“I find that people in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya have so many varieties of food to eat everyday. Sometimes, they want something for a change,” he said. “Many of them come all the way here to eat my porridge because they like the tastes.”

His son, 23-year-old son, Kenny Locke has joined the father’s business since he completed Form Five. “My father needs someone in the stall, and I always like to cook,” he said. “I have never regretted doing the business.”

Locke Junior specialises more in the noodle business. “We use almost the same ingredients as the porridge,” he said. “The only difference is that we have noodles as a choice for people who prefer to eat noodles. All the fish we use here are the Red Snappers.”

The Lockes have come out with several signature dishes – with Special Porridge priced at RM4.50 a bowl. “For that price, we are giving Ikan Bilis, Peanuts, “Char Choy”, “Tong Choy”, Squid, Century Eggs and “Mok Yi” fungus,” said the senior Locke.

Their chicken porridge is still sold at RM3 a bowl. “This dish will remain at this price for some time,” he said. “With the inflations, where else can you find a bowl of chicken porridge at that price?”

If you are looking for a name for the stall, forget about it. The “Porridge stall”, as it is known, operates from 6.30pm to 11.30pm and off on Mondays.

It is located near the Taman Bahagia LRT Station at Jalan SS2/1 Petaling Jaya, behind Cheung Kong Restaurant. In case you cannot find your way, their mobile number posted on the signboard to contact is 016-3755304.

Besides the noodles, the Lockes also have Fish Head Meehoon, Fish Paste Noodles, Yee Meen Noodles served with shredded chicken meat and SS2 Cantonese Noodles.

“The Sze Chuan Fish Noodles are very sellable,” said the Senior Locke. “To spice up the taste, we put some char choy, spring onions, ginger and pepper, and we only use Red Snapper. The fish has to be fresh, too.”