So moving along, what constitutes a rare gem of a Chinese Restaurant? Well in my books per se,
they must have:
(a) A menu that extends beyond just seafood.
(b) Food intensely flavoured with the essential sweet, sour, bitter and salty
(c) Cheap and Turns over fast
(d) Gets Singaporeans talking about you in the East even though you are located in the 'Ulu' confines of seclusion.
(f) Have zero if not impossible parking
Located along Kitchener Road, Pu Tien, on all accounts, qualifies at the last point. Its right in front of a bus-lane, situated on a small busy two-way traffic and the only parking lots available are parallel, perpetually occupied and across the street. The good news is they provide free valet, but as all "free" services in Singapore, they are short-handed and getting your car parked, even on an uneventful weekday night can be quite a feat.
The menu is Hing Wa but some popular favourites have also found their way into the menu. Good thing about Chinese dinners, the more diners the better, sample more, divide more-ways, pay less. Our entire dinner came up to an estimated $30 a head. For what we ate, it's reasonable hot-wok nooch!
We started with their signature deep fried yam cubes. I was instantly hooked. So addictive, I couldn't pry my chopsticks away even though my head was screaming "No Carbs after 7pm!" The yam was soft and fragrant on the inside, but lightly flavoured with a honey crisp coating.
Dinner progressed with hit after hit - pig intestines appetizers, sea-hum with garlic and chili, razor clams in white wine, steamed pawns in bamboo, etc. What I really liked about the dishes, is that the chef pairs something common with a little something different. Take the sweet and sour pork, though a common feature at most of my dinners, the chef chose to include plump juicy lychees along side to make the dish a little different. Another interesting dish was the beef served with fried buns. Normally the buns are steamed, and served to sandwich braised pork belly. With a little ingenuity, the pork belly is substituted with lean shredded pieces of beef and the buns, fried. So small a twist but what a vast difference and reaction it created among our table. The fat-fearers were happy, the meat-lovers were happy because the beef provided was more then generous and the kids love it!
Apart from the rich and high cholesterol, we also sampled their humble dishes and even these were not disappointing. The beancurd is homemade, the fried Hing Wa beehoon and Lor Mee are fried with a wealth of ingredients such as mushroom, prawns, egg, taupok, and vegetables.
I am always happy to find good hearty Chinese food served up at affordable prices. Good to know not all basics have crawled their way to expensive price tags and fine dining. This is a must try.
PU TIEN RESTAURANT
127-129 Kitchener Road (S) 208515,
Tel: 6295-6358
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