Mega 50 promotes 50 warming dishes: Malaysian Bak Kut Teh rice, Hong Kong clay pot dishes

▲ Malaysian Bak Kut Teh Rice. (Photo / Provided by Mega 50 Catering & Banquets)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Although temperatures have warmed up these past few days, with highs of 30°C at noon, winter is actually just around the corner. Restaurants have started rolling out new seasonal dishes, and two outlets under Mega 50 are offering warming comfort foods — such as the Malaysian Station Clay Pot from Moonview Cantonese Restaurant, and the Malaysian Bak Kut Teh rice from Asia 49 Asian Cuisine & Lounge — to help everyone stay cozy through the colder months.

Asia 49 Asian Cuisine & Lounge’s head chef, Ng Wai Kit, has created seven à la carte warming dishes: Malaysian Bak Kut Teh rice, Vietnamese beef pho, grilled duck breast ramen, Malaysian mung bean sweet soup with glutinous balls, Korean spicy stir-fried rice cakes, Asian seafood salad, and salmon salad with ginger dressing. Prices range between approximately NT$120 and NT$350.

The chef explained that in Malaysia, where the weather is summer-like all year round, this “Bak Kut Teh” served in a clay pot can be enjoyed from breakfast to late-night meals. The large pot is simmered with a unique blend of traditional Chinese herbs and features pork belly, pork ribs, pork offal, and pig’s tendons, among other ingredients. The chef’s version stays true to the original flavors, using premium pork belly, fresh pork ribs, shiitake mushrooms, and a special Bak Kut Teh spice bag infused with extra angelica root and goji berries. It’s further enhanced with skin-on garlic, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and oyster sauce for added aroma and color.


▲ Hong Kong-style Braised Lamb Brisket Clay Pot. (Photo / Provided by Mega 50 Catering & Banquets)

Moonview Cantonese Restaurant offers a selection of seasonal clay pot dishes, including the “Malaysian Station Clay Pot” — a childhood favorite dish of head chef Su Quan Hui that left a lasting impression, a slightly modified “Hong Kong-style Braised Lamb Brisket Clay Pot,” and an innovative “Black Iberico Pork & Oyster Clay Pot.” Other options include Taro & Chinese Sausage Chicken Clay Pot, Scallion & Ginger Fish Head Clay Pot, and the Hong Kong-style Braised Lamb Brisket Clay Pot. Prices range from NT$380 to NT$680.

Su Quan Hui recalls the first time he tried this clay pot dish was when he was a young man just starting out working at a Hong Kong night market stall. His master cooked it as staff meal, and the aroma of shrimp paste wafting from the pot intrigued him. Even the master didn’t know the origin of the dish’s unique name. Later in life, after doing some research, he learned that it was actually an old, classic recipe made with roast pork, tofu, Chinese chives, and shrimp paste — also known as Shrimp Paste Roast Pork & Tofu Clay Pot.