We went to Sungai Rengit, Pengerang again for another round of lobster hunting. We have tried the famous Jade Garden, and the newly opened Straits View and Hai Zhi Lian. So today, we wanted to try something else.
As usual, we walked the small shops in Sungai Rengit town and asked the locals which is their preferred seafood restaurant. Yoou Kee 佑记 came up for mention a few times and so we chose Yoou Kee for this round.
Yoou Kee is a typical, simple Malaysian small town street side restaurant. It is actually located right next door to Jade Garden, the largest seafood restaurant in Sungai Rengit. Still, Yoou Kee is holding its own well with their own loyal clientele.
Mr Low, the owner and Chef of Yoou Kee hails from Muar and had been working in restaurants for over 30 years. MR Low worked in Singapore restaurants for 10 years and then his own restaurant Yoou Kee for the next 20 years. Observing him in the kitchen, Mr Low seemed almost nonchalant with every precise movement effortless and efficient.
It was a Monday afternoon when we were there, which is usually slow but I noticed a few regulars dropping by. There was an extended family from Gelang Patah who came here mainly for Yoou Kee's Tung Tung (sea snail). They even ta pau (take away) another serving of Tung Tung to bring home. We did not order Tung Tung this round but will definitely try it at the next visit.
We had lobsters, of course, and Mr Low suggested his popular Butter Lobsters.
The live lobsters were simply cut in half, deep fried in oil and then lightly stir fried in a butter sauce.
The flavour of the butter sauce was light which was good as it complemented and enhanced the natural flavour of the lobsters.
By now after trying a few lobster dishes in Sungai Rengit, we were pretty accustomed to live and expertly prepared lobsters.
Yoou Kee's tasty lobsters were testimony to Mr Low's 30 years of experience.
When the Butter Lobsters arrived at the table, my first impression was that it looked a tad dry. But, looks deceive - all the lobster goodness was trapped inside that thin layer of batter.
Everything in the lobster such as its juiciness, bounciness and natural sweetness of the flesh were well preserved. The batter and butter sauce simply let the lobster's natural flavours shine.
We had a large crab prepared in salted egg sauce - another popular dish at Yoou Kee.
The salted egg sauce was savoury and complemented the natural sweetness of the meaty crab well. MR Low again demonstrated his depth of artistry in wielding the wok and in temperature control.
It was almost redundant to say that the salted egg sauce brought out the natural sweetness of the crab. So, we shall just let the picture speak for itself.
MR Low whipped out this savoury fried vegetable in an instant and it had that same simple and nice signature light touch of Mr Low.
Caught sight of this simple note stuck on a glass panel at Yoou Kee promoting their Chinese New Year set menus.
There you have it - another good seafood restaurant in Sungai Rengit that won't waste your trip to Pengerang. If you are vacationing in Desaru or just want to get away from the city over the weekend, you may want to explore the seafood restaurants of Sungai Rengit.
Restaurant name: Restoran Makanan Laut Yoou Kee 佑记
Address: 55, Jalan Pantai, Sungai Rengit, Pengerang
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/v4CU8
GPS: 1.351032,104.224258
Hours: 11:00am to 10:30pm
No pork, no lard
Date visited: 4 Feb 2013
Delicious!
ReplyDeleteWill they be open next week?/
ReplyDeleteHow much did the meal cost?
ReplyDeleteyeah i am curious about the pricing
ReplyDeleteBest seafood in Malaysia.
ReplyDeleteArrogant and unfriendly. We were refused a table for 2. Only served big crowds.
ReplyDeleteThey served one pax too. I try before..
ReplyDelete