FISH tiger prawns and have them cooked and served for dinner at Utama Prawning.

This urban farm-cum-restaurant is in a surprising location, tucked between a petrol station and an office block, in the shadow of 1Utama Shopping Centre.

At 6pm on a weekday, there were city folks, both young and old, sitting round the pond with fishing rods and bait in hand, waiting patiently for the prawns to bite.

But even if they didn’t, the restaurant will scoop up live prawns and serve them in a steamboat for you.

Organic vegetables are also grown at the farm, and you can have the pick of kangkung, siew bak choy, kailan and sweet potato leaves (RM12 for five helpings).

Prawning, which demands infinite patience, was not for us, so it was a halal steamboat with some side dishes for us.

It was most pleasant sitting in the sheltered wide-open space while waiting for the food.

We chose two types of broth – the superior fish soup and mushroom soup. An open jar of wriggling live tiger prawns (300g) came to the table, to be tipped into the boiling soup.

Luckily for us, the heat of the stove seemed to have dulled their activity and we had no problem putting the prawns in.

Our ingredients for the hotpot included handmade dumplings, fish and prawn paste, Fuzhou fish balls, seafood tofu, crispy fuchuk, enoki and shiitake mushrooms, cocktail sausages, sweet corn, noodles, and vegetables.

The prawns were, of course, fresh, firm and sweet, having been fished right out of the pond.

I favoured the superior fish stock as it paired well with the prawns and the other ingredients without overpowering their flavours.

The mushroom soup was slightly heavier. The Fuzhou fish balls stood out for the tasty minced chicken filling inside.

The dumplings – chicken and prawn wonton – were done well and tasted good. Of course, the fresh fish paste and prawn paste enhanced the flavour of both soups.

For the hotpot, it’s RM15 per pot of soup, with an extra RM5 for the fish soup. The live tiger prawns were RM10.80 per 100g, and the red-tailed patin RM98 each.

Tilapia, red tail patin, siakap and baby lobster are also reared in the ponds at Utama Prawning.

We had a red-tailed patin steamed in soy sauce and a sweet-and-sour siakap as our main dishes to savour with the hotpot.

I liked the siakap, which was deep-fried and doused with a sauce that had a balanced sweetness and tartness from the pineapple slices and tomato in it.

The signature fried chicken wings were done well, offering crispy and delicious bites (RM11 for three). Delightful cendol (RM7.80) and ABC (RM8.80) were just what we needed to cool down after the hotpot.

Utama Prawning’s restaurant is open from 3pm to 11pm. It is located between the Shell station and 1Powerhouse, Persiaran Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya. Call 011-513 7440 or 012-969 1516 for details. – December 24, 2022.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.