Under The Tree Again

I have always found that the best food in Malaysia can easily be found at food stalls under a tree that is crowded and with a row of cars directly parked in front or beside it. Well yesterday was no different when my wife and I patronised a stall opposite the Perodua workshop since we had to pick-up her car during lunch time. Lacking proper dining options in the vicinity, we headed to a stall opposite and found that they specialised in noodle dishes, including prawn noodles and their specialty for the day is something call fried chee cheong fun. This is something we have never heard of before and may be something worth investigating after this visit based on the noodles they served to us today. The wife had her favourite Cantonese style kway teow while I ordered my favourite, the prawn noodles. My anticipation was heightened when my wife's order came and the dish looked wonderful, and you would be amazed by the portions there as shown by the glass in the photo to give an indication of the size of plate. It even had two large sea prawns in lieu of the big river prawns in finer establishments. This calls for a taste test and they did not disappoint me and it was too bad that I had to wait another ten minutes before my bowl of prawn noodles and I was delightfully surprised. This is because it was served ala Penang Har Mee, complete with shredded chicken and side sambal that you do not find even in some fine dining establishments, and also some fish balls with a red oily layer on top as it should be. Top marks for this in my book.

On to the taste itself, the taste is quite authentic though the sweetness of the prawn did not come through as I felt it should be sweeter. Maybe the stock did not use too much prawn or maybe it is catering to the local tastebuds itself. This is because the prawns itself is sweet and fresh so they should have flavoured the stock more bodily if more prawns were used. As proof look at the photos of the peeled prawn held up to the camera, there is no way you will get a peeled whole prawn using a fork and knife if it is not fresh. All in all a satisfying substitute in the Klang Valley while awaiting the chance to get the genuine item in Penang. Another surprise awaits you at the counter as most noodle dishes cost only RM4.50 each and this is very reasonable as my prawn noodles came with four pieces of prawn and all the noodle dishes came in large portions. The proprietor told me they have to do such pricing as they cater to the industrial crowd, so it is an advantage for us normal visitors. Anyway if you are interested to visit look for D'Jamel Corner though you will not find any signage except behind the counter, and they are open for lunch and dinner Monday to Friday, while dinner only for Saturday and closed on Sunday. If you want to sing in this hard times, they also offer open-mic Karaoke at nights. So enjoy!