Putien Puchong Buddha Jumps Over The Wall

It's been awhile since I've been back to Putien. This restaurant is one of the handful of Chinese restaurants that is consistent in quality and taste. The only bad dish I ever had was their oyster omelette with only 10% oyster and the rest were starch and eggs.

On this visit, they introduced a cheaper version of their Golden Buddha Jump Over The Wall. I read from somewhere last year that this famous and expensive dish from Fujian cost RM288 per bowl. With this version, the price is RM78. Naturally, every premium ingredient (with the exception of the dried scallop and quail egg) shrinks to a mini version of itself. This includes a small abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw and pork tendon. The dish came in a one person bowl with a Buddha sitting on top of the cover. And some well wishes too from the restaurant manager. Not sure whether this is a practice by Putien or it's customary with this dish. Opening the cover reveals a golden brown broth with its aroma that reminds you of a broth that is rich in dried seafood. A good sign. Expectedly, that is exactly how the soup tastes - rich but not overwhelmingly so. My mother wanted a bowl of rice to go with hers after one sip of the broth. An indication of approval.

We actually had a plate of their Mazu Mee Sua before the Buddha dish. I always skipped the Mee Sua in my previous visits and went for their signature Pa Mee. But this time I'm glad I skipped the latter and ordered the former. It is a much better choice with its light but flavorful gravy. The noodles soaked up the gravy readily but amazingly without turning soggy. This kind of noodles are known to turn soggy almost immediately in a soup but not this one.

A quick look at the menu before this seems to reveal some new dishes. At the moment the restaurant is also promoting their seasonal favourite - doutou clams. I am particularly curious about the ones that are salt baked. They are quite pricey though at RM118 per plate of 10. I just might make my way back to Putien again for this.