SIMPLE, unpretentious and hearty best describes the food of Putian, a coastal area in the Fujian Province in China.

Flavours of the sea from clams, oysters, prawns and seaweed are often featured in the cuisine, whether in noodles, rice, vegetables and soups.

Putien the restaurant has been in Malaysia for a number of years, making its presence felt in shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Penang.

Tien by Putien is now open in KLCC, offering a pork-free Putian, or Henghwa, cuisine experience.

At Tien we shared a satisfying bowl of Tien red mushroom lor mee. Smooth rice noodles sat in a broth tinged pink by the mushrooms. It also had prawns, clams, chicken and vegetables to flavour the broth thickened with a little starch.

I didn’t expect to like the sweet and sour chicken with lychee so much. There was harmony in the sweet and sour sauce that brought together the deep-fried boneless chicken pieces with whole lychees, tomato, onions and green pepper. The lychees tipped the balance.

Shredded beef with sesame buns made an enjoyable snack in between courses. We filled the deep-fried mantou with the tasty strips of beef stir-fried with lots of onions. The mantou was not oily and had a generous topping of sesame seeds, browning well in the skilful frying.

We had more beef in the sizzling beef with hot pepper. There were fermented black beans and a little chilli in the frying with the beef, green and red peppers and tomato. It was served on a bed of raw onions on a sizzling platter.

Crispy pepper barramundi fish wings delivered the sides of this fish dipped in batter and deep-fried, then tossed in salt and coarsely ground pepper. It’s fish – the gelatinous parts—to eat with your hands. I thought it needed a little spice, from the spicy and sour chilli sauce on the table.

I liked the sizzling tofu with minced chicken, served on a thin omelette on the hot platter. The robust sauce of taucheo and chilli embraced the fried cubes of soft tofu, and small pieces of prawns on top added fresh sweetness to it.  It was definitely a dish to eat with rice.

We asked for iced bitter gourd and looked forward to the chilled crunchy slices of it, served with honey, but got Braised bitter gourd instead. No matter as the large juicy rings of bitter gourd with some of the seeds intact tasted quite good, with the flavours of the braising sauce clinging to them.

We sipped on soursop juice and a drink with choysam and soursop, both signature concoctions.

Prices range from RM12 for the shredded beef with sesame buns to RM38 for the crispy pepper barramundi fish wings.

Set menus of eight to nine courses with drinks are priced from RM268 to RM1,088.

Tien by Putien is on the fourth floor of the Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur City Centre. Call 03-2181 2839, for enquiries. – September 9, 2023.
 

* 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.