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Pu Yuan Restaurant 樸苑小食館 - Stir Fry Tapioca Noodles

Location: Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur
Type: Chinese Cuisine
Price: ~RM42 with drinks for 2pax
Verdict: Utmost Recommendation (if and only if you can bear with celery)

Entrance of Pu Yuan. It is literally at the back alley of the street.

The Interior. Very old school vibes, air-conditioned. According to the staff there, this restaurant has over 40 years of history.

We ordered two main dishes, Stir fry Tapioca Noodles, and Stir Fry Glass Noodles.

  • Tapioca noodles is chewy just to the right texture
  • Glass noodle is full with stir fry fragrance, with the egg.

Below points are applicable to both dishes:

  • There is quite a heavy Celery taste in it, but I feel that it adds a refreshing taste to it.
  • Dried shrimp really enhances the savouriness of the dish.
  • Sambal sauce elevates the dish with just the right amount of spiciness and heat.

Also, we ordered their Spring Roll

I’m crispy on the outside
But if you give it a bite
Then you could take time for my love

I’m crispy on the outside
But if you see inside, inside, inside:

  • Mix of fish paste and pork paste, similar to Lobak.
  • Fulfilling, every bite is full of meat.
  • Not oily at all, freshly fried.
  • Even snacks are not spared of Celery. But once again, it’s quite refreshing.

Stir Fry Tapioca Noodles is not your typical noodle, which is water mixed with tapioca powder that is imported from China. After mixing with water and coagulating, it is frozen for a night, then only it is cut into slices. Slices of tapioca noodle will have a greyish tone. Before stir frying it, it must be soaked in cold water beforehand.

The young chef of Pu Yuan restaurant expertly stir fry it to be a fragrance plate of tapioca noodle, attracting countless patrons for it.

After adding condiments and toppings, the tapioca noodle plating is even more elevated.The blackish yet shiny tapioca noodle makes you can’t wait to dig in. Chewing it in your mouth, the taste and smell is unbeatable. The moisture and chewiness of the tapioca noodles, is nothing that your typical noodle, bee hoon, kuey tiow can be rivalled of.

On the looks, the toppings of the tapioca noodle is nothing too fancy: Squid, prawn, meat, cabbage, choy sum etc. However, the gist of the dish is with this: dried shrimps, which brings the dish to a whole new level.

It is said that back in the days in China, tapioca noodles were typically eaten by poor people, and the dish is not renowned. Pu Yuan Restaurant brings this traditional dish to the public, so it will be a shame to not at least try it.