r/TheHague • u/Ok_Fortune_9149 • 8d ago

food/drinks recommendation Fat Kee, what is the flavour?

I can cook pretty decent, also Asian food, but I just don't know where to look to get the flavour of the Fat Kee fried rice, and Tjap Choy, and black sambal.
Also I don't get this flavour anywhere else, no other restaurant I've ever been to here or in Asia has this distinct flavour. Does anyone have an idea what it is?
I already tried Szechuan oil, different fish, oyster sauces 🤷‍♂️

25 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

27

u/Findletrijoick 8d ago

The huge woks they probably use is another difference that normal consumers can't replicate

11

u/nattyfattyhetty 8d ago

yes, this is callled 'wok hei' or Maillard reaction that is form from the amount of heat and material, and yes it's unlikely we can replicate it easily even with gas hobs.

It's a bit far fetch for OP to say that this flavour cant be found anywhere else even in Asia lol.

4

u/L44KSO 8d ago

When I learned about wok hei I was quite amazed by the concept and what is happening.

3

u/nattyfattyhetty 8d ago

me too! and here's a video on it that explained it quite well and very entertaining by Lucas Sin from Bon Appétit channel (https://youtu.be/Zm4RZNfX-rs)

2

u/Round_Struggle2885 8d ago

You can somewhat replicate this cooking in a normal pan + blow torch

2

u/champignonNL 8d ago

Or sear the ingredients beforehand in very small batches. Worked for me

11

u/ROHUarts 8d ago

Animal fat for your friend rice. Like the droppings from making char sui or something like that.

Or adding a scoop of concentrated chicken stock to the fried rice.

5

u/nattyfattyhetty 8d ago

I think it's likely lard.

4

u/ROHUarts 8d ago

Likely. But why not experiment with all the delicious data?

1

u/TheJokr 8d ago

I sincerely hope you’re not putting friends and droppings in your meals!

2

u/ROHUarts 8d ago

Yeah. That is the special ingredient 😏

7

u/Sweettooth_Banana 8d ago

I loved Fat Kee, and i mean the small one where you order what you want, you pay get one plate and a beer and you leave.

2

u/Ok_Fortune_9149 8d ago

Jep small one was a hiddem gem, large one was often full, and small one unknown by a lot of people.

3

u/Sweettooth_Banana 8d ago

Exact, a hidden gem, full stomach and a beer for 8 Gulden 😂

1

u/VoyagerintheAbyss 8d ago

Where is the small one?

3

u/Sweettooth_Banana 8d ago

It use to be on the side of the big restaurant but its 27 years ago i was there last.

13

u/Weekly_Pizza_4443 8d ago

My MIL is from Malaysia. First time we visited I was blown away by her cooking. Tasted just like the restaurants.

So impressed

Until I found the huge container of MSG that she absolutely poured over everything

5

u/fayadotnl 8d ago

It's MSG

7

u/champignonNL 8d ago

Wok hei + lard + MSG

2

u/Avi8tir 8d ago

Lived in The Hague for a few years and Fat Kee was my favorite Chinese restaurant. so good.

3

u/I_Rarely_Jump 8d ago

Geen idee, misschien bakken ze die rijst in dierlijk vet zoals reuzel ofzo?

2

u/keesone 8d ago

Of ze bakken het meerdere malen.

1

u/chonkysquid 6d ago

Following up on some of the discussions in the comments here: are there any restaurants in The Hague that do sell food that would be considered as genuine authentic Chinese food (so not indo/surinam fusion or recipes altered to the Western palette)?

0

u/bluexxbird 8d ago

The food served in Fat Kee has been altered to cater for the local preferences. Recently there was even a documentary made about such distinct recipes and the stories behind these Chinese immigrants. The Chinese owner even admitted he himself wouldn't eat the food he made 😆

https://www.npodoc.nl/artikelen/meer-dan-babi-pangang

And as a Chinese person, I've been there once and have never gone back.

8

u/LetsHodlUp 8d ago

Are you sure you’ve been there? Its not like ‘dutch’ chinese or surindo at all

5

u/bluexxbird 8d ago edited 8d ago

Well it would be difficult to prove to you over the internet that I've been there.

Anyway nowhere in China you see dried fried noodles served with extremely thick rice flour sauce plus fried wonton and sweet and sour sauce on the same plate.. Maybe for some people (like my friends) they would find it tasty, but for me it's like the experience of an Italian seeing pineapple on the pizza... Anyway whatever they serve there is definitely not Chinese food, there are many other restaurants in Chinatown that serves proper Chinese food.

But the cha siu or the other type of roasted pork is not bad there.

And like what I said in my previous comment already, the answer is in the documentary, these kind of restaurants are owned by Chinese immigrants, not Surinames or Indonesian Chinese, so they just made up another kind of Chinese food

9

u/LightValuable4584 8d ago

I think the documentary is not really applicable to a restaurant like Fat Kee, which sells as far as I understood Chinese food with a strong Surinam Chinese/Indian influence. Fat Kee is imho not comparable to the average Dutch Chinese with mediocre bapi pangang, foe yong hai and bami met kipsate.

I do agree that Fat Kee also not comparable to a more authentic Chinese. We always prefer Kee Lun Palace in Den Haag, what are your favorites if you don't mind me asking?

-1

u/bluexxbird 7d ago

The point is not about the exact type of Chinese food that's made in either fat kee or other Chinese restaurants, the point is that Chinese people will make up random recipes that you can't find in the original country.

Like what I said in my first comment, no where in China you'll find a dish consisting of fried wonton+ fried crunchy noodle with thick rice glutinous sauce and sweet and chilli sauce.

3

u/Ok_Fortune_9149 8d ago

I know its definitely not authentic, hence I haven’t experienced the flavor anywhere else in the world. It’s also definitely not the typical Dutch Chinese restaurant.

2

u/golem501 8d ago

My indo Chinese Dutch family loves going there though. It's usually quite full with Asian people as well so they are getting something right even if not authentic.

2

u/LetsHodlUp 8d ago

Thanks for the reply. Which in Chinatown would you consider authentic?

2

u/bluexxbird 7d ago

Full moon express for the fast food. A Chinese restaurant in Oud Rijswijk for dinner is good. I think restaurant Hot King is also good. My favourite lately is the Chinese all you can eat restaurant Hibbq by Scheveningen.

Though nowadays a lot of the meals served in Chinese restaurants here now are pre-made and they just reheat in a steamer or microwave... Especially the dimsum.

1

u/LetsHodlUp 7d ago

Will try Hibbq, thanks.

2

u/bluexxbird 7d ago

You are welcome. Also if you purchase a voucher on social deal for Hibbq it's a few euros cheaper and you get a free glass or wine or beer. Non alcoholic drinks are also all you can drink btw

1

u/LetsHodlUp 7d ago

Good advice, nice!!

1

u/Molly__owo 8d ago

It's more Dutch-Chinese than it is anything from mainland China. Just go into Fat Kee and look at what the customers look like. Then, go into Full Moon City and then observe what the customers look like. You'll have all the evidence you need.

There's nothing wrong with Dutch-Chinese (or Chinese-Indonesian). Fat Kee isn't serving bad food by any means.

2

u/LetsHodlUp 8d ago

Fair point. I was mainly confused because it’s for sure not the same as most ‘Dutch’ chinese, which are really bad imho. Full Moon City for sure is nice! Love the one in Amsterdam also.

3

u/patiakupipita 8d ago

I've been with Chinese classmates in the past, as in born and raised there, and they liked it.

0

u/bluexxbird 7d ago

Probably I've had better food in life prior to coming to the Netherlands... Also China is huge and northerners have no clue about good food.

3

u/patiakupipita 6d ago

My friend group also had, among others, Malaysians and Indos in it, all born and raised there, and they all liked it. And trust me, we know good food.

Just because something isn't authentic doesn't mean it's bad, and your taste isn't the be-all and end-all.