Metro

Sunday October 25, 2009

Dengkil’s pride

Story and photos by RENITA CHE WAN


Smart or not, customers keep going back to this restaurant in Dengkil for its affordable food.

FANCY an affordable and tasty seafood meal for lunch or dinner while you are in the Putrajaya/ Cyberjaya area?

Then hop on to Dengkil (Ng) Seafood Restaurant, which is about 10 minutes’ drive away from Cyberjaya.

The restaurant serves a wide range of fish dishes including ikan patin - one of its most sought-after - and seafood such as fresh lobsters and cockles, and the owner, Ng Soon Hui, is nearby to make his recommendations.

Crowd puller: Ng Soon Hui showing off the Marbled Goby that is the top hit on his menu daily

Ng happily admits that location and a Marbled Goby have kept his business going for more than eight years now.

“I was told by a friend that a sure-fire way to maintain a restaurant is to have it in a corner lot and to keep an auspicious fish in an aquarium there,” he says.

As for why he decided on a seafood restaurant in a landlocked location miles away from the sea, he says he was told that some Chinese diners believe a meal of sea fish could boost one’s intelligence.

Freshwater treasure: The best way to enjoy Patin is to have it steamed with soy sauce

“Well, that was what one of my customers told me years ago. Crazy as it may sound, I think I believe him because my customers are smart enough to keep coming back to my restaurant after all these years!” he jokes.

Ng says his gastronomic adventure started after he dropped out of school at the age of 12 and he had to fend for his mother and four siblings.

He and his brothers had to work extremely hard to make sure that there was food on the table and a roof over their head, he recalls.

“We didn’t have enough money to put all of us through school,” he says, explaining his reason for dropping out. “I remember telling my mother that I wouldn’t do well in school anyway because I didn’t have the patience for it.”

Big and juicy: Vietnamese Claypot Lobster

When considering the options before him, Ng hit upon cooking as the best course to pursue.

“It was as though my prayers had been answered. Usually my younger brother and I help our mother to cook and I really enjoy doing it.”

So for the next few years, he did odd jobs at nearby restaurants, intent on working towards his dream of becoming a successful chef one day.

He has done it, and done so well that he himself admits he never dreamt his food business would be so successful. Business is brisk and the restaurant is never empty during lunch, says Ng, now 39.

And because the food is so good, his younger brother opened a similar restaurant - called One One Three Restaurant - a few metres away from his.

It is also doing very well!

The signature dishes that come highly recommended are the Marbled Goby (yes, he cooks them too) steamed in soy sauce or deep fried and served with soy sauce; Tong Po Yoke (pork ribs); Vietnamese Claypot Lobster; Steamed Patin (a must try if you’re a big fan of freshwater fish) and Lobster Noodle @ Sang Ha Lo Mein.

Prices are reasonable with a serving of the Tong Po Yoke and homemade fried buns costing only RM16.

The different types of fish cost between RM30 and RM60 depending on their size, and you decide how you want your fish cooked.

The restaurant is open from 10.30am to 3pm for lunch, followed by dinner from 5.30pm till midnight.

“My restaurant is open every single day of the week and so is my brother’s.

“Now be intelligent and come visit me soon!” Ng chuckles.

Dengkil (Ng) Seafood Restaurant is located at Lot 20, Tkt 1, Jalan Puchong Dengkil, Selangor, Tel: 03-8768 7868.

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