Every table at Restoran 8 Road ordered the signature tofu (RM16). – HungryGoWhere pic, March 7, 2016.There’s a myriad of Chinese food set-ups in the local dining scene – from glutton streets to glitzy banquet halls – but most Malaysians gladly embrace the humble tai chow for its laidback and unembellished nature.
It’s a place where families and friends can sit down for a satisfying hot meal without the whim and fancy of a stuffy restaurant and still find delicious foods hot off the wok late into the night. A bona fide Malaysian dining experience does not vary much from this.
HungryGoWhere rounds up the hot foodie neighbourhood of Puchong to bring you a bunch of cheap (usually anyway) and cheerful tai chows for a comforting Chinese meal without the fanfare.
Restoran 8 Road
Restoran 8 Road is one of the busiest eateries in Puchong. It’s so popular that every evening, you’ll see long queues waiting at the entrance.
Diners will be given a queue number and can pre-order their food before getting a table. On a weekends, patrons must wait close to 30 minutes for a table.
Service was fast – our food arrived after just 10 minutes of being seated. We ordered a 1kg catfish (pak so koong, at RM65 per kg) and had it steamed with premium soya sauce. The fish was extremely fresh with bouncy, tender texture in a light sweetish soya sauce.
Their signature tofu (RM16) seemed to be on every table so we decided to have it as well. It’s a dome-shaped slab of homemade tofu with a fine smoothness that just needed minimal enhancement in the form of some deep-fried crispy dried prawns and shallots. A sprinkling of chopped spring onions completed this simple delectable dish.
If you love frogs, Restoran 8 Road has some pretty good ones (RM51 per 750g). Steamed with Brands Essence, it’s both sweet and tender. Another interesting dish was the funky stir-fried pig intestines with dried prawns (RM10).
Sang Mewah’s Causeway Bay prawns has more sauce and less of the chopped garlic and chillies than the HK version. – HungryGoWhere pic, March 7, 2016.Restoran Sang Mewah
Located in the industrial area of Puchong Utama, Restoran Sang Mewah is popular with Puchong folk.
Despite its simple rustic set-up, there is an air-conditioned section for diners who prefer to eat in less-sweaty environments. Food is hearty, affordable and service was pretty fast, too.
We started our dinner with the wobbly, shiny braised Tung Po pork (RM26.50) which was a slab of pork belly braised in a tasty gravy.
Slicing through the soft tender meat, we knew this would be a whopper. Besides eating it with white rice, fried mantou is also an excellent option.
The pumpkin beancurd (RM12.72) was a generous portion – a huge dome-shaped slab of silky soft tofu, deep-fried and bathed with a thick creamy pumpkin sauce.
Sang Mewah’s Causeway Bay prawns (RM29.68) were quite unlike the typical HK-style as this version has more sauce and less of the chopped garlic and chillies. Nevertheless, the prawns were fresh and tasty so it turned out to be very enjoyable.
Our dinner ended with a spicy punch in the sambal pucuk paku (RM10.60).
The braised tilapia in yellow wine is enhanced with shredded ginger and scallions at Restoran Taste Good. – HungryGoWhere pic, March 7, 2016.Restoran Taste Good
In the same row of shophouse along this road, Restoran Taste Good is one of three restaurants lined up side by side. Service is quick and friendly and even on a busy evening, we waited at most 15 to 20 minutes for our food to be served.
It was a chilly, rainy evening, so we decided on several claypot items. First to arrive was the braised tofu with seafood (RM13).
There were sliced fish, shrimps, and squids besides sweet peas cooked with smooth silky tofu in the claypot. We scooped the thick gravy over our hot white rice and it was really good.
Next came a big pot of braised tilapia in yellow wine (RM38), enhanced with shredded ginger and scallions and dotted with Chinese wolfberries.
We spotted a handful of fiery cili padi which duly added that extra kick to the dish. All these made a heady combo with the sweet yellow wine and we slurped up every single drop of the broth.
A claypot of aromatic pork belly with salted fish (RM18) made its way to our table. The caramelising of pork and salted fish gave off a most divine aroma that had us ordering more white rice.
We also had their dried chilli mantis prawns (Kung Poh mantis prawns, RM19 and twin beans, RM15) to round up our dinner here.
Visit more Puchong tai chows with our top 5 guide! Or visit the best hidden gem Chinese Restaurants in Cheras for more tai chow goodness.
You’re not tired of tai chows yet now are you? Just download our new HungryGoWhere app to see what places are around your current location up to a radius of 5km! Or you can just look up any location, and see what's popular among fellow foodies. Share your suggestions too! Now available on iTunes and Google Play. – March 7, 2016.
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