00:00I don't know how to cook. I just come here to wash dishes and do housework.
00:06If you know, you know.
00:08This is Kuala Lumpur's legendary vegetarian cha kway teow.
00:13Located in the Blue Boy Mansion vegetarian food court,
00:16which sits above a seven-story apartment block built in 1962,
00:21this spot in Bukit Bintang fills up fast during lunch hours.
00:25While the eatery is owned and operated by Chinese folks,
00:29this cha kway teow stall is run by Vijayan Narayan, fondly known as Awa.
00:35Born and bred in KL, Vijayan started working here when he was just 15.
00:41Fun fact, the 62-year-old is fluent in Cantonese.
00:45I've been working here for over 70 years.
00:50I don't know how to cook.
00:52I just come here to wash dishes and do housework.
00:57My aunts don't speak Malay. I don't know how to speak Cantonese.
01:03One chicken, one duck.
01:06That's how I learned. I learned in two years.
01:11I still don't know how to cook.
01:15Crafted using his own recipe, his cha kway teow steals the spotlight.
01:20OK, so this is the famous vegetarian cha kway teow.
01:24I'm excited, but I'm also skeptical because cha kway teow vegetarian.
01:28Let's see.
01:33Oh, wow.
01:35Oh, that is good.
01:38I would not be able to tell that this is vegetarian.
01:41That is very good.
01:43The wok hei, that smoky, charred aroma that defines great cha kway teow,
01:54is spot on with a perfect balance of spice and sweetness.
01:58Eggs, bean sprouts, mushrooms and vegetarian fish cake
02:02complete each delightful serving.
02:05While this is the star attraction,
02:07the food court has plenty of other vegetarian options,
02:10including nasi lemak, popiah, loba and chee cheong fun.
02:16All absolutely delicious.
02:19The sambal alone makes the nasi lemak a must try.
02:23For the full story on Blue Boy Mansion's cha kway teow and more,
02:27visit FMT and follow our socials.
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