KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — I love sang har mee.I don’t have it as often as I’d like, but it’s always a treat when I do.Like any true fan, I have my go-to spots but I’m always chasing the next great plate, even if it means trekking all the way to Taman Muda, Ampang Jaya.
The restaurant opens at 10am, and people already begin arriving as soon as it opens. I’ve been drawn here for Taman Putra Fresh Prawn Noodle, made curious by the trusted opinions of a few discerning friends and the slightly more gushing takes of less discerning sources, which seemed more preoccupied with the size of the prawns than anything else.The restaurant has been around for 25 years, a fact tossed around anytime it’s mentioned, but what’s more interesting is the signage from a facelift that already looks a few years old.
As big as the prawns are, the wide, shallow plate used to serve them makes them look smaller than they really are. It states that the chef here trained under the sifu of 大成酒家, a banquet restaurant that thrived during the heyday of Ipoh’s tin mining industry.The name translates to Restoran Tai Seng, which much older folks, like my grandmother, still remember.
When I asked her, she recalled her glory days of drinking and feasting at both the original on Theatre Lane and the second location on Green Lane, before they closed sometime in the 1980s.This kind of “chef learning tree” is something we’re used to seeing with internationally renowned chefs who have becom.