Pontian Noodles (Echoes Of The South)

It would see that the South of Malaysia can't shake its hold on me! Fresh home from Johor, my dad takes me out to dinner to a restaurant which has its roots in Johor. Famed for its wantan mee, Pontian Noodle Restaurant claims that it is one of the biggest sellers of wantan mee, citing its all-natural ingredients for the noodles' springy consistency and good bite.

Carb, protein and veggies - here's your food pyramid. Or something like that.

While not exactly blown away, I have to say the wantan noodles were quite good. And they were quite affordable too. Three helpings, which came with wantan dumplings inside the noodles, and a side bowl of soupy wantan dumplings, came up to RM11.70.

The laksa was so-so though.

The Singapore laksa was nothing to crow about. Having eaten really fabulous versions in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, I knew this was a washed out version, with nary enough fragrant spices as the original. The rice noodles were smooth and fine, and the fish cake fresh and crunchy, but the gravy, which is the crux of all noodle dishes, was watery and lacking in body. Not something I would recommend for RM6.

Found it, I have!

As though to mock my futile gastronomic efforts, this place served up a really good tao suan (mung bean porridge). It was everything that putrid concoction served in the Johor Baru tea house was not. It has soft, mushy to the bite beans, proving it had been cooked long enough, there was enough sugar, and the starchy base was clear, without being a  mucilage substitute. While one could count the pieces of yu tiao in the bowl, it was clearly a case of quality over quantity, as the yu tiao was still crisp and fresh. At RM3 it was cheaper than the one in JB too!

A cool way to end dinner.

My cold dessert was the honey dew sago (RM4. This was good too! The milk base was just sweet enough, but did not overpower the natural fragrance of the honey dew and watermelon. The sago pearls were as good as Kit's, and the overall combination of the elements was one of refreshing goodness.

Pontian Noodles
15 Jalan SS2/64 Petaling Jaya
Selangor