Leong Chee Hoong in Bukit Tinggi came highly recommended by our friends, who cites this restaurant as their favourite pitstop on the way to Genting and back. We decided to give it a try since Bukit Tinggi is also our default pitstop, enroute Kuantan.
At 12.30pm on a weekday, Leong Chee Hoong was fairly crowded – mostly with people working in the area and those in laborious work. Like estate workers and owners. I say so because they wouldn’t stop smoking despite the no-smoking sign, so if you’re planning to dine here, this might be a deterrent if you have small kids.
Anyway, we ordered a portion of claypot glass noodles with river prawns (RM76), salted egg yolk French beans and crispy fried pork belly, which is apparently a signature at Leong Chee Hoong, and most restaurants in Bukit Tinggi.
The French beans (RM20) were decent; with a good amount of char from the wok and garlic bits. I would have preferred more salted egg yolk but that’s my personal preference as I like this dish to be more decadent.
Wasn’t a fan of the crispy pork belly (RM25) as this one erred on the sweet side. I also found this too saucy as the ones I’m accustomed to are coated with thick, caramelised sauce versus the one from Leong Chee Hoong which was (a tad) more watery.
Claypot glass noodles with river prawn is my favourite thing to eat in Bukit Tinggi and Gohtong Jaya – my excuse years ago was because the weather is cooling, but these days, it’s so hot and humid in Bukit Tinggi! Still, this dish is a must-have for me, so we tried the version at Leong Chee Hoong.
I like that the broth is cooked with a generous amount of Chinese rice wine so there’s plenty of kick from that. The prawn we got was also fresh and succulent, with plenty of roe in the head. This added richness to the broth, which would have been perfect had they not put so much chilli padi inside.
This made the broth spice and alcohol packed, but we couldn’t taste the prawn as it was so spicy. A shame really, as it would have been a good dish. I’m not sure if that’s the way this restaurant cooks their river prawns but the restaurant we usually go to in Bukit Tinggi offers a more balanced broth.
Overall, we found the food decent but still prefer dining at , just down the road. The environment at the latter is also more comfortable so you won’t have to put up with second hand smoke and the humidity too much.
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Ambiance: 5.5/10
Price: 6/10
Food: 6/10 (non-halal)
Verdict: Decent claypot river prawns with glass noodles. Ambiance isn’t as comfortable so if your not good with the humidity, you’ll find dining here a bit uncomfortable.
Do you have a food recommendation? Tell us!
Restoran Leong Chee Hoong
Kampung Bukit Tinggi,
28750 Bentong, Pahang.
Tel: 09-233 0092
Business hours: 10.30am till 9pm