Aun Kheng Lim: Since 1987, this Ipoh landmark has been selling traditional salt-baked chicken

Whenever you plan to visit Ipoh, there’s a strong chance your relatives will pass a request to you. To buy them the city’s famous salt-baked chicken. Of all the places in Ipoh selling the traditional Chinese delicacy, Aun Kheng Lim is likely the most famous.

Everyone knows Aun Kheng Lim

Today, the shop, which opened in 1987, is quite hard to miss. After all, it occupies a prominent red-and-white shop lot along the ever-busy Jalan Theatre. And if you somehow cannot locate it, just ask any local. They will know what you are talking about and will point you in the right direction.

What is salt-baked chicken?

Image Credit: Aun Kheng Lim (Left), C on Google Review (Right)

But, wait. What’s salted-baked chicken anyway? In Ipoh, the dish is popularly known as “ayam garam” in Bahasa Melayu and “yim guk gai” in Cantonese. Surprisingly, salted-baked chicken is a dish from the Chinese Hakka community.

A Hakka dish

Historically, the Hakkas used salt to preserve and cook chicken. Somewhere down the line, it became a dish in itself, made by encasing chicken in a salt crust. This crust cooks the chicken and seals in the meat’s moisture and flavour, resulting in a juicy, tasty chicken.

Chickens for RM30

While Aun Kheng Lim may not have been the birthplace of salt-baked chicken, it still has made a name for itself regardless. Everyday, it is not uncommon to see lines of customers waiting to pick up their delicious orders. At the time of writing, the price of a whole chicken is usually about RM30 or so.

Herbs and oil paper

Image Credit: Jahya “Otaku” Tan on Google Review (Left), Elna Tan on Google Review (Right)

At Aun Kheng Lim, the chickens are prepared with a mix of traditional Chinese herbs. This gives the chicken an unsurprisingly strong herbal smell. Afterwards, they are wrapped in oiled paper before being placed inside a huge, heated wok. This wok is then filled to the brim with sea salt and the chickens inside are left to bake.

No place to eat

If you expect to immediately tuck in and enjoy your meal at Aun Kheng Lim, you will be left wanting. The shop is that – a shop. It is not a restaurant in any sense, with no tables and chairs for customers. You just go in, line up, place your order and wait patiently for it.

So, with no tables and chairs, what’s the best way to enjoy the chicken? Why, just find some friends, find a quiet spot, tear open the paper and enjoy! The chicken is best consumed while hot and fresh. The box does make for easy takeaways. Once opened though, there’s no stopping your friends from eating everything inside.

How does it taste?

Image Credit: Calvin on Google Review (Left), J Lastrado on Google Review (Right)

What does it taste like? The meat is tender, falling off the bone easily. Unsurprisingly, there’s a certain saltiness to the meat, but it isn’t overpowering. It also has a certain smokiness, due to how it was baked. The best way to enjoy the chicken is by serving it with hot, steaming rice drizzled with all the meat juices, as well as a cold drink to wash down the salt.

Vending machines in Klang Valley

Image Credit: JA Lee on Google Review (Left), Antony Li on Google Review (Right)

If you would like to enjoy Aun Kheng Lim’s salt-baked chicken but don’t have the time to travel to Ipoh, you’re in luck. The shop has established vending machines in selected locations throughout the Klang Valley and even Johor.

The Klang Valley locations include places such as Puchong’s Puteri Mart as well as Petaling Jaya’s Jaya One. There’s also a vending machine outside the shop itself, for customers who come to the shop when it’s not open.

Apparently, the chickens are sold at slightly higher prices at the machines but still retain the same quality as the Ipoh shop. Best way to check? Buy one for yourself! And maybe a few more for the family.

Aun Kheng Lim

Address: 24, Jalan Theatre, Taman Jubilee, 30300 Ipoh, Perak