Dinner at Pu Tien

CH suggested dinner at Pu Tien which proved to be a very wise move. Pu Tien is well known for its Fujian cuisine which revolves around the use of very fresh seafood. We don't frequent Chinese restaurants on Friday nights unless we have company. That way, we can sample more dishes without feeling stuffed.

Our friend Chris and EY arrived ahead of us, so they did the ordering while waiting for us to arrive. I must say parking at Kitchener Road is a nightmare due to the busy streets and lack of parking space. When I discovered Pu Tien has a valet service, I was more than pleased to hand over my car. Besides the good food at this restaurant, the service here is excellent.

The manager, an affable gentleman, promptly made us felt at home and introduced us to the fine art of drinking Chinese tea. We ordered the 'ti kuan yin' tea which was very light and aromatic. The tea came in a lovely tea cup too.

For starters, we had the famous drunken cockle. I don't normally eat cockles as they can look very bloody but this was very tastefully done and smothered with a thick layer of minced garlic, shallot and chilli dressing. The cockles were crunchy with a nice bite. Very nice indeed especially when eaten with a generous heap of garlic and the tangy sauce.

When the bamboo prawn was served, EY couldn't help but comment that the prawns looked like they were taking a bath. Indeed, they (2 pieces each per serving) were soaking in a hot tub of soup. The clear looking broth was very flavourful with a nice dong gui (Chinese herb) scent. They must have used live prawns because they tasted so fresh!

The homemade tofu was one of the best dishes of the night. Again, don't be fooled by this simple looking dish. The tofu was extremely soft and smooth, and covered in a fragrantly delicious gravy. I kept wondering about the secret ingredient used for the sauce.

The 'deep fried duck with yam' dish was also lovely. I like anything with yam in it, so this worked for me.

Though this is one of the restaurant's most popular dishes, I felt that the fried mee suah (noodle) dish was a little bland. The stock was as uninspiring as the colour of the noodles. For some reason, the clams didn't really do much to lift the flavour of the dish.

The deep fried fish was served on a bed of light soy sauce and shredded spring onions that gave the dish a nice fragrant lift. The fish used was also very fresh making it a delight to eat.

The other fried noodle (very fine bee hoon) was much better than the mee suah dish. Somehow, the noodles managed to absorb the flavours of the ingredients (prawns, sliced pork and mushrooms) so that every strand was tasty.

Finally, the dessert - pumpkin cream with ice cream. We were told it is one of the most popular desserts here, and they were not kidding. Everything, from the pumpkin cream to the coconut ice cream and dollop of pulot hitam (glutinuous black rice) on top, was yummy. I love how the sweet milky ice cream contrasts against the light pumpkin sauce, I almost wanted to lick the bowl.