Restoren Fu Kua @ Taman Megah, PJ

My parents are so proud - now, I like eating bitter gourd!....

At first, the gorgeous Ciki girl had a little trouble convincing me to join her, Marcky and Missy BlurKit for dinner at the famous Fukua (Bittergourd!) Restaurant as I have always hated the bitter taste of that evil** gourd....
(** Despite its reputed health benefits - glucose/sugar controlling side effects, etc)

... but OMG.
What a surprise! I actually ended up liking it so much I dragged my parents for dinner there a couple of days later.
(So this post is an amalgation of 2 visits)

Located in the Taman Megah/ Taman SEA area, just behind the Cash Converters/ Sime Darby Medical Centre (fka. Megah Medical Center), it is 2 shop lots wide, with the option of either air conditioned or non-airconditioned:
Outside the restaurant....
Either way, the restaurant is simple but comfortable, in fact more comfortable than most, by coffeeshop standards:
Inside the air conditioned section....
The dish that really turned the tides for me was the Salted Egg Fu Kua (RM 12):
Awesome awesomeness....
The thin slices of bittergourd had the perfect texture (crunchy), without the usual overpowering bitter flavour, and coated with just enough savoury goodness of the salted egg to make it delicious but not cloying.
(Give me this and a plate of rice and I'm satisfied!)

The Black Bean Fish (RM 36) was not bad:
Fried fish with black bean sauce....
Although I don't really like black bean sauce (my mum does though), the slightly sweet sauce went well the fried fish, and masked any bitterness from the slices of bittergourd they had added in.

Really!, in both cases, there was really no yucky bitter taste at all. Still, if you are INSIST on avoiding the gourd at all costs, there are always the bittergourd-less options like:

- Black Pepper Pork Leg (RM 35):
Poor piggy....
Tender (although a bit more tender would have been awesome) and flavourful meat complemented by the slightly sweet black pepper sauce.

- Salted Veg Soup (RM 12):
(This price is for a big bowl, which can be portioned for about 7 people? Pictured below is just 1 portion)
One bowl of the soup....
Overall, the heartwarming soup was pretty good (but not exemplery) - nice appetisingly sour/salty broth on a cold rainy day.... Was sad that we were a couple of (pork) meatballs short though! - didn't get to try it but Marcky and Missy BlurKit said it was nice.

Too boring? Well, then you can opt for the more exotic offerings like:
- Stir Fried Frogs (RM 45):
Ribbit, ribbit....
Stir fried in a simple ginger and spring onion sauce, the frog was tender and otherwise faultless (although just a teeny weeny bit overcooked, if I were gonna be fussy)....

- Curry wild boar (RM 18):
Oink oink....
The wild boar meat was really tender and without any strong gamey taste (that's good, right?)... and the curry sauce was thick, not too spicy and fragrant of garlic and curry leaves.
(Not bad, but somehow it lacked the depth of flavour from added spices/etc that would have made it great)

Overall, while there were a few dishes that tasted ok but fell short of "wow!", there were definitely some like the Salted Egg Fu Kua that will keep me craving and coming back again and again. :D
(I suspect the healthy aspect of the bittergourd is negated by the unhealthiness of the salted egg, but just can't resist it! It's so tasty...)

So it's: Simple Chinese restaurant with a wide range of dishes, specialises in bittergourd incorporated food and drinks, reasonable prices BUT on weekday afternoons it can be a little hard to find parking and the menu is a bit daunting - many many pages of the food dish names with no descriptions or photos...

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Restoren Fu Kua @ Taman Megah, PJ
No.21, Jalan SS 23/15, Petaling Jaya

Taste: 7
Ambience : 6
Service : 6
Price** : RM 25 per person
Parking: Difficult on weekends

** Approximation - Chinese style sharing meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 016-243 4233/ 016-219 1548
Opening Hours: 11.30am - 3pm, 5.30pm - 11pm

NOT HALAL

MAP:

View Larger Map


OTHER REVIEWS:
- Cumi Dan Ciki
- Marcky.my
- Food-4-Thot


TAGS: Food, Blog, Weblog, Malaysia, Restaurant Review, Restoren Fu Kua, Taman Megah, Local Chinese food, PJ, Petaling Jaya