AN OLD RESIDENT AND SCHOOL FRIEND IS LOOKING FOR HER FAVOURITE PRAWN MEE IN PUDU

PENANG STYLE OR KL STYLE PRAWN MEE ?

Restoran Tong Fong Prawn Mee(behind SEAPARK KFC)

Lean Gaik Prawn Mee

TWO BOWLS OF PENANG PRAWN MEE PREPARED BY PENANGITES AND SERVED IN KL.

A long time KL friend came back with her husband, an Ang Moh and both planned toenjoy her favourite Prawn Mee of yesteryears in Pudu, a stall located a few doors away from a TNB shop along Jalan Pudu. That was two months ago but to their disappointment, the stall has changed owners. No longer would you see the crowd sweating it out in the coffee shed where the stall operates from or by the roadside pavement. I was told the owner of the famous Prawn Mee (Weng Kee)of 20 history has retired.

For those who know this famous Prawn Mee which serves what I call the KL style of prawn mee, the soup being darker and the chilly flavour more subdued, and who miss its offering, don't fret, I have discovered its new business premise. The new outlet is called Madam Chong's Prawn Noodle House and its address, 22 Dinasti Sentral, Jalan Kuchai Maju 19, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur(0192247895).

Madam Chong's  Prawn Mee

I tasted its standard serving and topped it with its popular pork meatballs. My first reaction; it is not quite like what I used to remember it to be. The soup seems to have  shell like taste and not  much prawn taste.Probably its method of extracting the prawn flavour has changed from the conventional pounding of the prawn shells to grinding the shells? The pork meatballs is still as good as before, chewy and flavourful.
Do try it and let me have your view. I am not really a fan of this prawn mee.
My favourite KL style prawn mee is Restoran Tan Kee which operates from a shop along Jalan Pahang, next door to a Goodyear Tyre shop about two kilometers from Tawakal Hospital. This vendor's soup is more flavourful and its serving can be topped up with pork ribs and not pork meatballs. You can also opt for larger prawns for a price. Unfortunately, the soup is oily but you would have to trade off  the oil for more prawn fragrance.
What is prawn mee if the prawn flavour is not strong enough.
If you prefer a strong prawn flavour with less oil, you would have to opt for Penang style prawn mee which in Penang is called Hokkien Mee(this is different from the KL black mee.)
This type of prawn mee used to be very popular in PJ especially in SS2 where many Penangites have their homes. Remember Lim Kee prawn mee which have a few stalls in coffee shops around SS2, the remaining one operating from Restoran Chow Yang.
Today, it is still at the same coffee shop although the ownership of the coffee shop has changed. Restoran O & S at Paramount Garden PJ also has good prawn mee Penang style . Both serve their prawn mee with extras such as pork ribs and intestines.
In PJ New Town, the coffee shop next to UOB Bank is also popular and this stall has been around in the PJ New Town area for about 40 years,
In OUG, Restoran Ong Lay also has a popular prawn mee and the operator learned it, I was told  from his relatives from Taiping.Both these operators serve basic prawn mee with half a hard boiled egg without pork ribs, meatballs or intestines. The earlier operator will provide crispy pork lard when requested.

the stall at Restoran Ong Lay in OUG.

a bowl of Prawn Mee at Restoran Ong Lay. Notice the soup is ligther and redder than the KL type.

Still, I am bias towards prawn mee served by Penangites. They are good at balancing the right amount of prawn flavour and chilly with each not dominating the other. A good bowl of prawn mee would be one which you would drink up all the soup! My vote goes to Restoran Tong Fong and Lean Gaik Prawn Mee House. The earlier is operated by an old couple who have been operating in the SEA Park area for quite sometime now. They also serve Penang curry mee and Kway Teow Th'ng. The prawn mee is basic and wholesome. The soup is not so hot that it will deter you from drinking up the soup. Crispy pork lard is also available on request. They operate from morning till lunch time.
As for Lean Gaik, it is operated by the son of the family which operates Lean Gaik in Butterworth Chai Leng Park. For those of you from Penang, yes this is the famous Chai Leng Park prawn mee. It has opened a branch in KL. A friend from Penang whom I brought to test the prawn mee, affirmed that it is up to his mark. It also offers pork ribs and large prawns as extras. Crispy pork lard also available on request.
Here's the address; Block B-G-2A, Jalan Metro Perdana 2, Taman Usahawan Kepong, Kepong Utara, 52100 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03-62578323. They are open till night.
Well! to all those who left KL a long time ago, GOOD OLDTIMES  prawn mee is still not totally lost in KL. As for those from Penang, let me know if the last to choices can check your desire to drive home to Penang for your prawn mee fix in the short run???

WHERE ARE THE RESTAURANTS OUR PARENTS HELD THEIR WEDDING DINNERS?

Remember Kum Leng Restaurant,Teochew Restaurant, Pitt Yau Thin Restaurant and Sek Yuen Restaurant at  Jalan Pudu Kuala Lumpur. Today only Sek Yuen Restaurant is still open for business. Those of us born in the sixties or earlier would recall attending wedding dinners at these restaurants.  Our parents may have held their wedding dinners at one of these restaurants.

I drove past Teochew Restaurant today and noticed that it is no longer open for business and nostalgia for good old fashion wedding dishes came to my mind. Do you recall eating " cold chicken" ie boiled chicken kept inside gelatin and then iced; a centre piece on the cold platter, an opening dish during wedding dinners.? (remember to ask for mustard sauce to dip the chicken with)What about sharkfins fried with eggs and crab meat which is eaten with fresh lettuce?(black vinegar is important to bring out the flavour) or eight treasure duck?

I had the pleasure of enjoying these good old dishes with my classmates at Sek Yuen. Here, the management are already in their sixties. The cooks still use firewood to cook and you have the option to enjoy these nostalgic dishes either is air condition comfort or at the old world section where giant fans and wooden chairs and tables greet the diners.Sek Yuen operates from two restaurants which are located next to each otther but separated by a lane.

Other old style dishes which are popular are pei par duck, char siew, fried spring roll, cantonese fried kuey teow (they still include gizzards, liver and pig stomach as part of the ingredient). You can also try the yam basket and the sweet and sour pork if you choose to have rice to complete your meal. The restaurant serves two types of soup; a fish head soup (which is herbal- a lot of tong kuai and kei chi) or a watered down fatt thieu cheong- also known as buddha jump over the wall.

On this visit, I ordered the cold chicken, eight treasure duck, fried sharksfin with crab meat in egg omellette, white chinese cabbage with dried scallops, and fish head soup.The dishes go well with steam rice. The cook was not heavy with salt and msg hangover was not perceived. Whilst I have tasted better quality cooking in the past, I must give  a big tick to the chef as the taste is close to what I can remember when eating these same dishes at weddings in the seventies and early eighties.The "wok hei" strong heat from firewood heating up the wok to give the flavour is still present in the cooking to make the claim of "good old taste"

Do head to this restaurant before the old cooks call it a day!

Address: 313 & 315 Jalan Pudu Kuala Lumpur . Tel:03-92220903 Enjoy!