Double boiled or steamed cooked herbal chicken soup is common in China's Guangdong province. It is a herbal tonic since time immemorial.
Cooking chicken with coconut water is long practiced in Hainan Island where chicken and coconut are both plentiful.
Chinese health fortifying soups came to British Malaya when migrant labourers from China peaked between 1830s to 1930s.
Given the abundance of coconuts in Southeast Asia, it was perhaps a little surprising that Chinese herbal chicken soup made with coconut water and steam cooked in coconut shell appeared only recently, around the 1970s.
There are no documents that say definitely how the dish came about but one of the pioneers was Keong Kee Herbal Soup in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur.
Keong Kee is still doing a thriving business. Their top seller is none other than their herbal chicken soup in coconut, both with locals and tourists (particularly from China). The dish is a natural fusion of Chinese tradition with local adaptation 就地取材.
Keong Kee's herbal chicken soup is a nice balance of natural chicken sweetness, coconut water sweetness and complementary Chinese herbal flavour. Yes, Chinese herbs such wai saan 淮山, goji berry 枸杞, red dates 红枣, etc in a complementary role while chicken and coconut water take centre stage.
Big pieces of chicken but most of its natural sweetness and tenderness given up to the soup.
RM15 for a serving now at Keong Kee.
Stall name: Keong Kee Herbal Soup
Address: Intersection of Jalan 1/77B and Jalan Changkat Thambi Dollah, Imbi, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nearest LRT: 10 minute walk from Imbi station
Tel: +6016 227 8688
Hours: 3:30pm - 10pm (Tues off)
Fatt Kee, a Cantonese roasts specialist famous for their roast duck also serves herbal chicken soup in coconut.
Huge piece of chicken shoehorned into the coconut shell.
Chicken was tender soft but not mushy. The meat still had a bit of residual natural chicken sweetness.
Beside the chicken, the coconut was tightly packed with Chinese herbs.
So, Fatt Kee's rendition has pronounced Chinese herbal taste overlaying the coconut water sweetness as well as chicken sweetness.
RM16 a serving at Fatt Kee.
Fatt Kee or Keong Kee? If you love herbal chicken soup, go for both lah.... More is better for your health mah.
If you can only choose one, Fatt Kee is more herbal tonic while Keong Kee is more balanced, slightly less herbal.
Written by Tony Boey on 21 Mar 2026
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