About Jugra

Jugra was the royal capital of Selangor when the then ruling monarch. Sultan Abdul Samad built Istana Jugra and moved there in 1875. Also at that time, Jugra also briefly became the centre of British administration in Selangor, The Sultan continued to live at Jugra until he died in 1898, His successor Sultan Sulaiman was proclaimed as Sultan there. This was the last important occasion to be held in Jugra. Sultan Alauddin Sulaiman subsequently moved his official residence to the Istana Klang further north in 1905. With that move, Jugra was no longer important and quickly shrank to become a backwater.

Today, Bukit Jugra is still very much a popular venue, albeit for different reasons. Its undulating terrain and scenic views make it an excellent spot for outdoor activities such as hiking and paragliding

Jugra Hills & Beggar's Chicken - Our first picture 14th April 1999

History of Beggar's chicken in Malaysia

Beggar's chicken in Chinese: 叫化鸡 is a Chinese dish of chicken that is stuffed, wrapped in clay and lotus leaves and  slowly baked using low heat. Preparation of a single portion may take up to six hours. Said to originate from Changsu in the Jiangsu province of China.

In Jugra with mangrove forest and a charcoal kiln, this dish was first seen started from the area of the charcoal kiln at the foot of Jugra hills. The dish became extremely popular in the 1970s and 80s

I was doing a Y2K exercise and the story of "beggar chicken" was listed as one of the topics. We went to have ourselves associated with this pictures. Thank God we collected these valuable pictures and scene which were gone by now. By then, the right to prepare this dish was handled by Heong Kee Restaurant who started an outlet in Jalan Ulu Klang. In a very low key style business in Jugra continued with no "walk-in" and no advertising signage. We reached this outlet in the stle of its humble beginning. Nothing much was revealed other than they had started doing Beggars Chicken in the 1970s.

Picture of Jugra Hill

Pix # 1 The low Jugra Hill itself

Notice that white structure - it is the light house

Pix # 2 Across the narrow "strait" on the other side - is Carey Island

A good panoramic view to compliment the hill slope with a light house

Pix # 3 The ruin of a jailhouse in Jugra

This place must have supported a good urban community to need a proper jailhouse

Pix # 4 An authentic restaurant  - Viking Seafood Restaurant

Here is one full fledged regular restaurant that among many other preparations - offered Beggar's Chicken without the need to book in advance. Then combined with a varied list of seafood

A dilapidated kiln

Pix # 5 A left over Charcoal Kiln

Really what a sight to behold. I termed this kiln as a sign of "Vanishing trade". I cannot help - lifestyle changes put charcoal away and their gradual demise. Most important, I have got this picture and one of kiln from Jugrai

Pix # 6  So close a charcoal Kiln

We thought that this contraption was used to facilitate the baking of chicken. But no! the hot ashes were taken out and used somewhere else.

Pix # 7  A charcoal Kiln

Fascinated! We had not yet seen those big factories existing in Matang with multiple kilns . In Matang, charcoal kilns are very alive

Pix # 8 One for the Album

Our souvenir pictures - that we were there! Indeed it is a good archive

Preparing to bake

Pix # 9  Huge pile of hot ashes

Yeah, the chicken cooking trade needs lot of or a mountain amount of ashes to keep the heat even

Pix # 10 Playing with yellow clay

You call this "Hands on". Joyce trying her hand to make a mould as a packet

Pix # 11 Now inside the Kiln

Finally, this was a hot pile of heated bricks With food inside in the process of being readied?

Pix # 12 The actual cooking area was not inside the furnace

We got ourselves playing with the hot ashes that restaurant used

Pix # 13 Stacks of chopped rubber wood

Look at the stock pile of rubber wood they had gathered for their use.

Pix # 14 Working inside the furnace

We got ourselves playing with the hot ashes that restaurant used. Place across the road. Could detect [left side] some structure. That was the temple. Relatively small then

Pix # 15 The original Signage

Yes! The very first time we had picture of this signboard. Way back in 1999 already.

Bagger's Chicken Restaurant - re-visited 2022

雪兰莪万津朱格拉山路

俗称蛤山路）天宝宫（拿督公庙）对面
 

No No! That's not the entire name of the restaurant in Chinese writing rather is the direction. This place specifically named Permatang Pasir, But generally called ln "Bukit Jugra, Banting, Selangor".

The Restaurant distance from Klang is 54 km and 9 km from Banting right at the coasts.  No publicity and not signage on the road and Billboard at the restaurant building.

 This is a small nondescript eating place specializing in Beggar's Chicken. They are the original creator who later sold its name and recipe to a company now having a Restaurant in Jalan Ulu Klang. After the cooling down period, the creator, they themselves revived the business once more on a very low key basis.

 It serves really good beggar's chicken as well as other dishes cooked beggar's style. The difference between their food preparation method and that of other places is that at this eating place, the chicken is not cooked in an oven but is cooked using hot embers! Traditional stories have it that in the old days, a beggar caught a chicken, and not having any pots and pans, he wrapped it in clay and buried it together with hot embers in a hole in the ground to cook it. Hence the name "beggar's chicken".

The eating place
This eating place looks like a hut and it is not easy to to recognise it as an eating place at a glance. However, the many cars parked beside it give a clue that culinary-wise, it is "hot and happening".

Pix # 16 The junction before the isolated road going up the Jugra Hills

Sign says Jalan Jeti. i.e. taking the left junction. But no sign indicating the way towards the Beggar's Chicken Restarant

Pix # 17 Restaurant Found!

For those who have being here and knowing the landmark it was easy to reach the restaurant without help. Up till and in front of the restaurant - Still no indicative sign seen. That's the wooden shack on the left - opposite the temple

Pix # 18 There you are! That familiar sign

Very tidy pace now! The house was not among some bushes but an isolated building

Pix # 19 Close-up

Pity the signage wasso small, only to those not having been here before. For first timer and worse still, English language educated, this sign means nothing, it's alien

Pix # 20 Temple by the road

The spot where an earlier picture on top shows the stock pile of rubber tree wood, it now the compound of of a temple

Pix # 21 Where is that old Kiln?

That same shack with all the old buildings, kiln all cleared. Kiln? that nostalgic landmark - gone!

Pix # 22 Restaurant itself

Passage - rntrance to the building and to the dining area from the road

Pix # 23 Open air next to a mangrove nipah forest

Dining area? Very Spartan! With plenty  of fresh air and not so much dust from the road

Pix # 24 Extracting food from a pile of ashes

Yes! Beggars style food from the dirt

Pix # 25 Burnt paper and foil

That's how it looked

Pix # 26 After tidying the packets and onto a wheel barrow

Good day! The restaurant crowded judging from the many packets. Otherwise it would be a very deserted place on weekdays

Pix # 27 Pure double boiled chick essence

Yummy! Just look at the colour

Pix # 28 Beggar's Chicken unwrapped

Pix # 29 Pork Knuckle

Prepared same style with the same herbs and cooked in the same style

Pix # 30 Stephen at work

I hope the page has showed how the place, the food and the environment looked like. For those who do not mind making that 60 km one way trip for some outing fun as well filling the stomach with the not-so-common food.

Good to go down memory lane and seek out the real legendary McCoy. As for food, Beggars Chicken is no longer among the popular choice. It is available in many restaurants. As for those dedicated outlets signing about this preparation, the Ijok restaurant is out,