Cheap, delicious seafood… and more
Fried crabs with glass noodles... the crabs were great but the noodles needed something extra
By Eu Hooi Khaw
JULY 18 — I liked it that the Japanese snails or “loh yook” came without their shells, fried with very crispy dried prawns, lots of onions and cili padi. They were so good to eat, the dried prawns bursting with intense flavour against the shellfish, accentuated by the heat of the cili padi.
We were at Restoran New Grand View in Taman SEA, Petaling Jaya. I’m always looking for something new to try here, having eaten at this place on several occasions. “Sang cheong” fried in a similar style had been suggested to us first but my squeamish friends said no. I would have loved to have eaten that.
We were in the mood for some pork, so we ordered “Har Cheong Pai Kuat” or pork ribs marinated in shrimp sauce and deep fried. These meaty ribs, two-third lean and the rest fat, made tender, gorgeous bites, with subtle hints of shrimp and a little wine.
New Grand View is a seafood restaurant, so we had to have some crabs. To ensure we had some carbs to fill us up, we asked for the Fried Crabs with Glass Noodles. There was more than a kilo of crabs on the plate, heaped with glass noodles fried with lots of fat beansprouts and spring onions.
The crabs were very fresh, fleshy and sweet. The noodles lacked flavour somehow, so I suggested to the restaurant owner to add some crispy fried dried prawns and cili padi (I was hooked on them!). Anyway there was plenty left over from our Japanese snails and we got the noodles “fixed” to our taste.
The restaurant also does a very “honest” Chilli Crabs, according to a foodie I once brought there. They are hot, sweet and sour enough, and the sauce tempts you to ask for toast to mop it up with.
Stir fried Japanese snails with dried shrimps and cili padi is a winner
We added to our dinner some fried kangkong with garlic and we got a large portion of greens, fried just right and not oily.
The four dishes we had – pork ribs, crabs with glass noodles, Japanese snails and vegetables – are enough for five people. Our bill came to RM82 and since there were only three of us, we “ta pau” half the crabs home. (The crabs cost RM35 a kilo).
Once while eating here, I spied some luscious udang galah going to the next table, the shells glistening with a dark sticky sauce, much as in “korn cheen har lok.” We had to have that, so the four of us shared two prawns and were hugely happy after that.
The same prawns can also be cooked in some eggy noodles as in “Sang Har Meen.” You can come here for your fix, at a much lower price than at a certain seafood restaurant in PJ. It’s only about RM20 a prawn.
As for pork, we have tried the “Chooi Pei Chee Sau” or Crispy Fried Pig’s Trotter, with a skin that lives up to its name, with the meat all moist and tender. This is served with a cucumber and pineapple vinegar sauce, which gives a tart, fresh lift to the rich trotter.
There’s also a deep fried beancurd heaped with minced pork that I like very much.
Once Ikan Haruan was recommended to us, done in two styles: the flesh is stirfried with ginger and spring onions and the bones deepfried and simmered in soup with salted vegetables, black fungus, ginger and tofu.
The "Har Cheong Pai Kuat" is a must try
I enjoyed the soup which was nicely sour, with the zing of ginger and the natural sweetness of the fish. Ikan haruan is reputedly good for healing wounds, particularly after surgery.
The Steamed Salted Kampung Chicken is done rather well here but there’s another dish I keep forgetting to order, which is a house speciality – the Curry Fishhead. Perhaps next time.
Eating well at New Grand View is cheap compared to other seafood restaurants. There’s no air-conditioning but it’s a very airy, spacious and cool corner restaurant, with tables spilling on to the sidewalk.
You have to pay cash, but you can eat here from 4.30pm to 12.30am and there are no problems parking.
Restoran New Grand View is located at 44 Jalan SS23/11, Taman SEA, 47400 Petaling Jaya. Tel: 019-213 8833, 019-299 4256
